医療施設内における乳がん患者会の存在と役割

施設内の乳がん患者会の有無とその特徴を明らかにする目的で,日本乳癌学会参加564施設(認定347施設,非認定217施設)を対象に郵送質問紙調査を行った.236施設(回収率41.8%)から回答があり,以下の結果を得た.1)乳がん患者会がある施設は,236施設中52施設(22.0%)であった.2)乳がん患者会がある施設の設置主体,規模及び日本乳癌学会認定の有無に違いは見られなかった.しかし,年間乳がん手術件数は,患者会がある施設が有意に多かった.3)患者会は,医療者が発起している会が52施設中22施設(42.3%),患者が発起している会が17施設(32.7%),患者と医療者で発起している会が8施設(15.4%)であった.施設内の患者会は,医療者と患者がコミュニケーションを図る場所,退院直後や外来で活発な治療を受けている時期の患者にとっては利用しやすい身近なサポート資源であると考えられた.4)施設内の患者会は会の内容,運営など,医療者主導の会が多く,セルフヘルプ性は低かった.また,患者の年齢,術後年数など幅があるため,患者個々のニーズには対応できない部分もあり,術後経過と共に支援の内容や必要性が変化してきた際には,施設外の患者会も利用していくシステムも今後必要ではないかと示唆された.

The purpose of this study was to determine the number of breast cancer support groups withinhospitals and to describe their characteristics. A questionnaire was mailed to 564 member hospitals of theJapanese Breast Cancer Society (347 accredited, 217 non-accredited). 236 hospitals responded (a responserate of 41.8 percent), and we obtained the following results.1) 52 of 236 hospitals (22.0 percent) had a breast cancer support group.2) No significant differences were found among the hospitals concerning their administrative entity, size,or accredited versus non-accredited status by the Japanese Breast Cancer Society. However, thehospitals with a support group performed a significantly larger number of breast cancer operationsannually than those without a group.3) 22 (42.3 percent), 17 (32.7 percent) and 8 (15.4 percent) of the 52 hospitals had a support groupestablished by physicians, patients, or by both physicians and patients, respectively. A support groupwithin a hospital is considered to provide opportunities for physicians and patients to communicate, aswell as a patient-friendly support resource for those who have just left the hospital and those who areunder intensive treatment on an outpatient basis.4) Many of the support groups were headed by physicians in content and administration and played arather small role as a self-help resource. Additionally, some support groups could not cover patients'individual needs because the ages and postoperative periods of patients varied widely. Therefore, it issuggested that a system be devised where patients can utilize outside support groups when the contentand requirements of needed support change during the postoperative period.