What expert patients report that they do in the French health care system, and the competencies and personality traits required

Context: Some patients, known as expert patients, strive to improve the performance of the health care system. The precise nature of their activities, skills and personality traits are unclear however, which could compromise their recognition. Methods: This study was conducted based on the assumptions of methodological individualism and social constructivism. We identified twelve expert patients using a judgment sampling technique and asked them to give accounts of their practices. We then performed thematic and categorical data analysis. Results: We identified the activities that these patients engage in when they are acting as expert-patients. From that characterisation we determined that their core competency was “to improve the management and/or prevention of the illness.” In practicing that core competency they make use of thirteen competencies in the realms of self-reliance and intercultural and emotional competence. Their personality traits are on the order of emotional intelligence. Discussion: These results help us better understand the nature of expert patients’ actions and their contribution to the health care system. These should make it easier for traditional actors to identify and recruit them, as recommended by the World Health Organisation. They could also be used as pedagogical benchmarks in a potential (self-) training process.