Roles of Health Care Professionals in Support Groups for Patients with Familial Tumor Syndromes and Their Families

Abstract

[Purpose] To clarify the roles of health care professionals in support groups comprising patients, their families, and health care professionals. [Method] With the approval of the director of the Association of Patients with Familial Adenomatous Polyposis（FAP）Patients and Their Families, a content analysis was performed on newsletters published by the association.　[Results] To solve problems that cannot be solved only through information exchange among association members, intervention by health care professionals who have medical knowledge regarding FAP was necessary. The roles of health care professionals in support groups consisted of the following: （1） Helping patients and their families understand medical information, （2） Providing information to help patients understand their own medical and physical conditions, （3） Providing information about what patients should be aware of in their daily lives, （4） Referring patients to appropriate medical care, （5） Helping patients improve their selfcare ability, and （6） Presenting the results of relevant studies. [Discussion] An analysis of the roles that health care professionals played in support group activities for 10 years has revealed how medical knowledge is provided according to members’ individual needs. A future plan is to clarify indicators for determining whether group or individual intervention is preferable. It is also planned to use information about various group interventions as a resource when creating a handbook for FAP patients.