[Therapeutic education coordination function and skills].

Introduction: Therapeutic Patient Education (TPE) coordination function has been developed worldwide for several decades. In France, this function is an integral part of authorization of TPE programs. However, both in France and in other European countries, situations, activities and qualifications common to TPE coordinators are becoming progressively more structured, regardless of the disease and/or the type of practice concerned.

Methods: The French National Institutefor Prevention and Health Education (INPES) conducted a project based on an innovative method comprising formalization of practices as perceived by professionals themselves (91 professionals in France and about thirty in five other European countries were interviewed) and consultation of a taskforce composed of national and international TPE experts, in a perspective of repeated construction with successive phases of consultation.

Results: The analysis conducted in the course of this project demonstrated the pivotal role of TPE coordinators at the interface with the various TPE actors. The TPE coordinator function was defined by guidelines comprising six symbolic situations, 20 activities and 26 key skills in three domains.

Discussion: This work constituted the basis for the elaboration of a new skill-based regulatory framework for TPE coordination. The TPE coordinator guidelines provide a relevant tool to organize training and validation of the experience acquired in thisfield and also open up new research perspectives.