The present study examined the association between ethnicity and clinical characteristics of patients admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit in Portugal. The only ethnicity-related terms routinely recorded in the medical records were "Black" (mainly from the African Portuguese-speaking countries of Cape Verde, Angola, Guinea, Sao Tome and Mozambique) and "White." Black immigrants appeared to be over-represented, comprising 19.6% of inpatients; and were younger and more frequently male when compared with White inpatients. They were more frequently diagnosed with schizophrenia and acute or transient psychosis, and less frequently diagnosed with delusional and personality disorders than White inpatients. These results are consistent with previous studies in the US and UK, and highlight the need for more culturally sensitive care in mental health services.
Background: Despite the progress over recent decades in developing community mental health services internationally, many people still receive treatment and care in institutional settings. Those most likely to reside longest in these facilities have the most complex mental health problems and are at most risk of potential abuses of care and exploitation. This study aimed to develop an international, standardised toolkit to assess the quality of care in longer term hospital and community based mental health units, including the degree to which human rights, social inclusion and autonomy are promoted. Method: The domains of care included in the toolkit were identified from a systematic literature review, international expert Delphi exercise, and review of care standards in ten European countries. The draft toolkit comprised 154 questions for unit managers. Inter-rater reliability was tested in 202 units across ten countries at different stages of deinstitutionalisation and development of community mental health services. Exploratory factor analysis was used to corroborate the allocation of items to domains. Feedback from those using the toolkit was collected about its usefulness and ease of completion. Results: The toolkit had excellent inter-rater reliability and few items with narrow spread of response. Unit managers found the content highly relevant and were able to complete it in around 90 minutes. Minimal refinement was required and the final version comprised 145 questions assessing seven domains of care. Conclusions: Triangulation of qualitative and quantitative evidence directed the development of a robust and comprehensive international quality assessment toolkit for units in highly variable socioeconomic and political contexts. ; publishersversion ; published
Background: To understand if supported accommodations (SA) are promoting the recovery of people with serious mental disorders, quality of life (QoL) is an important outcome. This study aimed to analyse the association between QoL and experiences of care in general and to identify specific experiences of care that are associated with QoL in users of SA. Methods: A random sample of users of 42 SA was interviewed to obtain standardized measures of QoL and personal experiences of care. The sample was also characterized according to sociodemographic and clinical aspects. Linear regressions models analysed the association between QoL and experiences of care, adjusting for potential confounders. Results include estimated regression coefficients, corresponding 95% confidence intervals and p-values. Results: The number of users interviewed was 272. The median QoL was 4.9 (2.3–6.8) out of 7. Although 84.9% of users were satisfied with the care received, only 16.2% felt involved in their treatment. Feeling safe (β = .73; 95% CI [0.22–1.24], p = .006) and having privacy (β = .42; 95% CI [0.09–0.75], p = .014) influenced QoL. Involvement in care (β = .44; 95% CI [0.13–0.74], p = .006), safety and privacy (β = .72; 95% CI [0.44–0.99], p = 8.38e-07) and user-professional relationship (β = .42; 95% CI [0.14–0.69], p = .003) were also associated with QoL. Conclusions: Feeling safe, having privacy, feeling involved in care and having good user-professional relationships influence the QoL of users. These findings have implications from the political and economic level to the organizational and individual levels.
Introduction: Supported accommodations (SAs) are key components of community mental health care, but little is known about residents' care pathways. This study analysed the care pathways of residents of SAs, and factors associated with their age of entry and length of stay. Methods: A random sample of SAs' residents in Portugal was interviewed and a questionnaire was specifically developed to assess their care pathways. Associations between sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, age of entry and length of stay, were analysed using hierarchical regression. Results: Overall, 213 residents of 43 different SAs participated. Their mean age was 55 years. Most were male, single, pensioners and had early-onset psychotic disorders. On average, they integrated the current SA at around 50 years old and had a 4.5 year length of stay. Most participants had been in another SA before (35.0% in more supported, 33.8% in less supported and 6.3% in similarly supported SAs). Conclusions: Findings suggest that residents spend several years in the residential pathway, with a significant proportion moving to more supported SAs. This calls for increasing the number of SAs with different typologies and developing coordinated community supports.
BACKGROUND: Despite the progress over recent decades in developing community mental health services internationally, many people still receive treatment and care in institutional settings. Those most likely to reside longest in these facilities have the most complex mental health problems and are at most risk of potential abuses of care and exploitation. This study aimed to develop an international, standardised toolkit to assess the quality of care in longer term hospital and community based mental health units, including the degree to which human rights, social inclusion and autonomy are promoted. METHOD: The domains of care included in the toolkit were identified from a systematic literature review, international expert Delphi exercise, and review of care standards in ten European countries. The draft toolkit comprised 154 questions for unit managers. Inter-rater reliability was tested in 202 units across ten countries at different stages of deinstitutionalisation and development of community mental health services. Exploratory factor analysis was used to corroborate the allocation of items to domains. Feedback from those using the toolkit was collected about its usefulness and ease of completion. RESULTS: The toolkit had excellent inter-rater reliability and few items with narrow spread of response. Unit managers found the content highly relevant and were able to complete it in around 90 minutes. Minimal refinement was required and the final version comprised 145 questions assessing seven domains of care. CONCLUSIONS: Triangulation of qualitative and quantitative evidence directed the development of a robust and comprehensive international quality assessment toolkit for units in highly variable socioeconomic and political contexts.
Abstract Background Despite the progress over recent decades in developing community mental health services internationally, many people still receive treatment and care in institutional settings. Those most likely to reside longest in these facilities have the most complex mental health problems and are at most risk of potential abuses of care and exploitation. This study aimed to develop an international, standardised toolkit to assess the quality of care in longer term hospital and community based mental health units, including the degree to which human rights, social inclusion and autonomy are promoted. Method The domains of care included in the toolkit were identified from a systematic literature review, international expert Delphi exercise, and review of care standards in ten European countries. The draft toolkit comprised 154 questions for unit managers. Inter-rater reliability was tested in 202 units across ten countries at different stages of deinstitutionalisation and development of community mental health services. Exploratory factor analysis was used to corroborate the allocation of items to domains. Feedback from those using the toolkit was collected about its usefulness and ease of completion. Results The toolkit had excellent inter-rater reliability and few items with narrow spread of response. Unit managers found the content highly relevant and were able to complete it in around 90 minutes. Minimal refinement was required and the final version comprised 145 questions assessing seven domains of care. Conclusions Triangulation of qualitative and quantitative evidence directed the development of a robust and comprehensive international quality assessment toolkit for units in highly variable socioeconomic and political contexts.
