People with a disability or a chronic condition can benefit greatly from being a member of a patient organization. Such organizations are committed to the interests of certain groups of patients.
The emergence of patient organizations
Patient organizations have emerged over the years through, among other things:
- The loss of social connections (family, acquaintances),
- Rise of the self-help ideology (people will get by),
- Increased education level,
- Wide availability of information (on the Internet, on TV),
- Failure to provide professional assistance; A doctor or nurse can do his best to inform a patient about his condition, but talking to fellow sufferers also helps a lot.
Different types of patient organizations
Patient organizations are divided into different categories, namely;
Categorical patient association
This patient association really focuses on the patient . They are often available for patients with a specific condition, so their field of work is very well defined. For example, the patient association for people with asthma actually includes people (or family members of people) with asthma.
General patient organization
Focus on the different aspects that influence (groups of) people with a certain condition. They are not only there for the patient himself, but also to provide advice about the environment, food and drinks. They also influence policy within a particular municipality.
Patient platform
This platform represents the joint interests of various patient organizations.
The patient perspective
Patient organizations always work with a patient perspective in mind. This contains certain things that a patient organization wants to defend and which interests they want to stand up for, for example;
- Right to self-determination,
- Right to individual diversity,
- Right to maintain a social network,
- Indivisibility of the individual,
- Positive representation of the disease in society.
