Self-Help-Friendly Hospitals: Integrating Self-Help Groups as a Complementary Service in Healthcare

Background: This study reports the results of a project evaluation (2021–2024) that aimed to integrate self-help friendliness within the Swiss healthcare system and foster collaboration between hospitals, self-help centers, and self-help groups (SHGs). Methods: A mixed-methods design was used, comprising document analysis, standardized online surveys of hospital staff involved in 56 cooperative projects at two time points with repeated group comparisons (T0: n = 530, T1: n = 281), and in-depth case studies at four cooperation sites. Results: The descriptive findings indicate that the implemented measures contributed to achieving project objectives. Hospital staff increasingly perceived SHGs as complementary to professional care and reported more frequent provision of information to patients and their relatives. In addition, SHGs became more visible within hospitals. Conclusions: This study provides descriptive insights into the implementation of self-help friendliness in practice and suggests that introducing self-help friendliness in hospitals is both feasible and beneficial. Long-term, sustainable collaboration requires clear roles and responsibilities, organizational support, and recognition of the experiential expertise of SHGs.