Rural women with chronic illnesses needed for Online support network

by MSU-Bozeman News Service

August 29, 2001   

The Women to Women 2 Project, a computer support network for rural women with chronic illness, is seeking women to participate in a new group in the late fall of 2001.

Participants interested in the project, based at the Montana State University College of Nursing, must be between the ages of 35 and 60 and living with chronic illness such as diabetes, cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid conditions, or heart disease.  Candidates must live in Montana, or within 100 miles of the Montana border, and also must live at least 25 miles outside a town of 12,000 or more.

Women to Women 2 is designed to evaluate the impact of computer outreach technology and assess its effect on the women’s ability to adapt to chronic illness, particularly in the areas of social support and health knowledge.

Women in the project will be assigned to one of three groups of 20 women each.  One group will participate in a computer support group experience and access health information on the World Wide Web (WWW) with expert assistance.  A second group will access health information on the WWW using self-guided health teaching units. And yet another group will not use computers, but will receive important health related data.

All groups will participate in one telephone interview and complete four written questionnaires during the 12-month study.   To qualify for participation, women must be physically able to use a computer, but owning a computer and having computer skills are NOT necessary.

Women who are interested in the project are encouraged to call toll free at 1-888-375-1317 at Montana State University College of Nursing, Bozeman, Montana.

Send questions or comments to Carol Schmidt: cschmidt@montana.edu. Or you can send letters to Carol Schmidt, MSU Communications Services, 416 Culbertson Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717.

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