Alternative professional roles in health care delivery: leadership patterns in self-help groups

The increasing professionalization of health care delivery systems, improved client awareness, funding cutbacks, and an emphasis on voluntarism have led recipients of health services to turn increasingly to self-help groups. This article examines the leadership and organizational pattern of such groups, using a study of 43 self-help groups from around the U.S. whose members are parents of children with cancer. Three leadership patterns emerged: groups were independent and parent-led, were led by professionals, or had a shared leadership of parents and professionals. Data indicate that the professionally led groups were the smallest, least formal, and had the narrowest range of activities. The groups with shared leadership had the greatest longevity, tended most often to retain as members parents of deceased children. The authors conclude that such coalitions of clients and professionals are vital for ensuring proper service delivery at a time when health care systems will likely remain bureaucratic and public resources for professional care are being reduced.