scholarly journals Experiences of mental health service users on their empowerment and social integration in the community

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasiliki Yotsidi ◽  
Kalliope Kounenou
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Community Mental Health Services ◽  
Service Users

The transition from institutionalized towards community mental health services demands the evolution from social exclusion to integration practices. Empowerment of people with mental disorders, through their involvement in planning and service provision, prevails as a cutting-edge in such practices. Along these lines, this study adopted a structured bottom-up research methodology to explore the experiences of people with severe mental disorders on nine areas of their community participation. Three focus groups of 18 persons with psychotic disorders who were treated on an out-patient community mental health centre were set up. Qualitative data analysis showed that the areas of treatment, housing, education, and entertainment have turned to be more accessible for mental health service users than those of employment, active citizenship, social relations, social networks and activities in the community. The latter were revealed to still be obstructed by specific personal and social variables, which should be taken into account for community-based treatment to become more responsive and tailor-made. Results are discussed in relation to the role of counselling psychology in improving community mental health services and ensuring that service providers empathize with and respond to individuals' understanding of their condition and what contributes to their care and well-being.

Quality of mental health services: a self audit in the South Verona mental health service

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liliana Allevi ◽  
Giovanni Salvi ◽  
Mirella Ruggeri
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Community Mental Health Services ◽  
Community Mental Health Service ◽  
Continuous Quality ◽  
One Year

SUMMARYAims – To start a process of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) in an Italian Community Mental Health Service by using a quality assurance questionnaire in a self audit exercise. Methods – The questionnaire was administered to 14 key workers and clinical managers with different roles and seniority. One senior manager's evaluation was used as a benchmark for all the others. Changes were introduced in the service practice according to what emerged from the evaluation. Meetings were scheduled to monitor those changes and renew the CQI process. Results – There was a wide difference in the key workers' answers. Overall, the senior manager's evaluation was on the 60th percentile of the distribution of the other evaluations. Those areas that required prompt intervention were risk management, personnel development, and CQI. The CQI process was followed up for one year: some interventions were carried out to change the practice of the service. Conclusions – A self audit exercise in Community Mental Health Services was both feasible and useful. The CQI process was easier to start than to carry on over the long term.

Trajectories of psychological distress after prison release: implications for mental health service need in ex-prisoners

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 611-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. G. Thomas ◽  
M. J. Spittal ◽  
E. B. Heffernan ◽  
F. S. Taxman ◽  
R. Alati ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Community Mental Health Services ◽  
Mental Health Service Use ◽  
Very High

BackgroundUnderstanding individual-level changes in mental health status after prison release is crucial to providing targeted and effective mental health care to ex-prisoners. We aimed to describe trajectories of psychological distress following prison discharge and compare these trajectories with mental health service use in the community.MethodThe Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) was administered to 1216 sentenced adult prisoners in Queensland, Australia, before prison release and approximately 1, 3 and 6 months after release. We used group-based trajectory modeling to identify K10 trajectories after release. Contact with community mental health services in the year following release was assessed via data linkage.ResultsWe identified five trajectory groups, representing consistently low (51.1% of the cohort), consistently moderate (29.8%), high increasing (11.6%), high declining (5.5%) and consistently very high (1.9%) psychological distress. Mood disorder, anxiety disorder, history of self-harm and risky drug use were risk factors for the high increasing, very high and high declining trajectory groups. Women were over-represented in the high increasing and high declining groups, but men were at higher risk of very high psychological distress. Within the high increasing and very high groups, 25% of participants accessed community mental health services in the first year post-release, for a median of 4.4 contact hours.ConclusionsFor the majority of prisoners with high to very high psychological distress, distress persists after release. However, contact with mental health services in the community appears low. Further research is required to understand barriers to mental health service access among ex-prisoners.

scholarly journals Supporting mental health service users to stop smoking: findings from a process evaluation of the implementation of smokefree policies into two mental health trusts

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E Jones ◽  
S. Mulrine ◽  
H. Clements ◽  
S. Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Process Evaluation ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Process Data

Abstract Background: Life expectancy is 10-20 years lower among people with a severe mental health disorder. Most of these early deaths are due to chronic conditions, including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Smoking is a major risk factor for these conditions and introducing smokefree policies has been recommended to mental health service providers in England by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), in their Public Health Guideline 48: Smoking: acute, maternity and mental health services. This paper reports a process evaluation of introducing these policy recommendations, which were updated in 2013. Aim: To reflect on the process outcomes when introducing smokefree policies in National Health Service (NHS) Trusts providing mental health services in an English region. Method: Process data were collected through semi-structured interviews with staff (n=51), members of partnering organisations (n=5), service users (n=7) and carers (n=2) between November 2016 – April 2017. Normalization Process Theory (NPT) was used to design the data collection tools and analyse the data. A framework approach was taken with the analysis, using the four concepts of NPT: coherence, cognitive participation, collective action and reflexive monitoring. Results: The policy made sense to some staff, patients and carers (coherence) who ‘bought-into’ the idea (cognitive participation) but other participants disagreed. Although smokefree policies were operationalised (collective action), sometimes they were opposed. Progress was made, especially in some units, but continued to be resisted in others. Informal appraisal of progress (reflexive monitoring) presented a varied picture. Conclusion Some progress has been made in terms of changing an entrenched, smoking culture into one that is smokefree on Trust sites across the region. Perseverance and resourcing over the long-term is required to establish a non-smoking culture in on-site provision of mental health services.

scholarly journals Speaking Truth to Power: Mental Health Service Users’ Experiences of Participation in their Diagnosis and Treatment

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-156
Author(s):  
Gloria Kirwan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Service User ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Diagnosis And Treatment ◽  
Service Users

In a qualitative study, long-term mental health service users shared their views on the concept of ‘participation’ as shaped by their personal histories of contact with mental health services in Ireland. Adopting a narrative methodology, the study participants were asked to draw on their experiences with mental health services to illustrate their general views on participation by service users in mental health care contexts.In this study, the research participants recounted positive experiences of participation in which their expressed views regarding their symptoms and treatment needs were incorporated into the service responses they received. The data revealed that service users perceived open and inclusive communication by service providers as an important factor in optimising their ability to participate in help-seeking, diagnosis and treatment plans. However, the study also illuminated the chilling effect on participation when service users’ views were not heeded or acknowledged by service providers. The findings highlight how the failure to include service users’ insights can negatively encroach on service user participation. The service user narratives collected in this study exposed the often uneasy juxtaposition of the service user’s personally held ‘truth’ regarding their lived experience of mental distress versus the powerful system of expert diagnosis and treatment. This article focuses on reporting selective findings from the study regarding participation in the contexts of help-seeking, diagnosis and treatment decisions.

scholarly journals Supporting mental health service users to stop smoking: findings from a process evaluation of the implementation of smokefree policies into two mental health trusts

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Jones ◽  
S. Mulrine ◽  
H. Clements ◽  
S. Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Process Evaluation ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Process Data

Abstract Background Life expectancy is 10–20 years lower among people with a severe mental health disorder. Most of these early deaths are due to chronic conditions, including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Smoking is a major risk factor for these conditions and introducing smokefree policies has been recommended to mental health service providers in England by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), in their Public Health Guideline 48: Smoking: acute, maternity and mental health services. This paper reports a process evaluation of introducing these policy recommendations, which were updated in 2013. Method Process data were collected through semi-structured interviews with staff (n = 51), members of partnering organisations (n = 5), service users (n = 7) and carers (n = 2) between November 2016 – April 2017. Normalization Process Theory (NPT) was used to design the data collection tools and analyse the data. A framework approach was taken with the analysis, using the four concepts of NPT: coherence, cognitive participation, collective action and reflexive monitoring. Results The policy made sense to some staff, patients and carers (coherence) who ‘bought-into’ the idea (cognitive participation) but other participants disagreed. Although smokefree policies were operationalised (collective action), sometimes they were opposed. Progress was made, especially in some units, but continued to be resisted in others. Informal appraisal of progress (reflexive monitoring) presented a varied picture. Conclusion Some progress has been made in terms of changing an entrenched, smoking culture into one that is smokefree on Trust sites across the region. Perseverance and resourcing over the long-term is required to establish a non-smoking culture in on-site provision of mental health services.

scholarly journals Supporting mental health service users to stop smoking: findings from a process evaluation of the implementation of smokefree policies into two mental health trusts

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E Jones ◽  
S. Mulrine ◽  
H. Clements ◽  
S. Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Process Evaluation ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Process Data

Abstract Background: Life expectancy is 10-20 years lower among people with a severe mental health disorder. Most of these early deaths are due to chronic conditions, including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Smoking is a major risk factor for these conditions and introducing smokefree policies has been recommended to mental health service providers in England by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), in their Public Health Guideline 48: Smoking: acute, maternity and mental health services. This paper reports a process evaluation of introducing these policy recommendations, which were updated in 2013. Aim: To reflect on the process outcomes when introducing smokefree policies in National Health Service (NHS) Trusts providing mental health services in an English region. Method: Process data were collected through semi-structured interviews with staff ( n=51 ), members of partnering organisations ( n=5 ), service users ( n=7 ) and carers ( n=2 ) between November 2016 – April 2017. Normalization Process Theory (NPT) was used to design the data collection tools and analyse the data. A framework approach was taken with the analysis, using the four concepts of NPT: coherence, cognitive participation, collective action and reflexive monitoring. Results: The policy made sense to some staff, patients and carers (coherence) who ‘bought-into’ the idea (cognitive participation) but other participants disagreed. Although smokefree policies were operationalised (collective action), sometimes they were opposed. Progress was made, especially in some units, but continued to be resisted in others. Informal appraisal of progress (reflexive monitoring) presented a varied picture. Conclusion: Some progress has been made in terms of changing an entrenched, smoking culture into one that is smokefree on Trust sites across the region. Perseverance and resourcing over the long-term is required to establish a non-smoking culture in on-site provision of mental health services.

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