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Ill People (ill + people)
Selected AbstractsEuropean perspectives: a carer's viewACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2001Ursula Brand Objective:,To present the work of the European Federation of Associations of Families of Mentally Ill People (EUFAMI) and discuss issues of concern to family carers. Method:,The problem areas identified and discussed by family carers are presented on the basis of questionnaire surveys organized by EUFAMI. Addresses of national organisations of family carers are included. Results:,A range of problem areas are identified; they include subsistence and welfare payments for the severely mentally ill, some shortage of general hospital units, problems of care co-ordination, issues of respect for family carers and family involvement. Conclusion:,The aim of best practice in mental health care throughout Europe has not yet been reached. Key activities of EUFAMI are aimed at empowerment of families and best practice in psychiatry in Europe. [source] The Australian experience of deinstitutionalization: interaction of Australian culture with the development and reform of its mental health servicesACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2006A. Rosen Objective:, To describe the Australian experience of deinstitutionalization of the Australian National Mental Health Strategy in the context of the history of mental health services in Australia, and of Australian culture. Method:, The development of Australian Mental Health Services is described with reference to developments in both psychiatric intervention research and Australian culture. The effects and achievements of national mental health reforms are described and critically examined. Results:, The relationship in Australia between the development of mental health services and the development of Australian society includes the stories of colonization, gold rushes, suppression of indigenous peoples' rights, incarceration of mentally ill people, and incompatible state service systems. Mental health services required reform to provide consistent services and support for full citizenship and rights for such individuals who are still on the margins of society. Recent national developments in service models and service system research have been driven by the Australian National Mental Health Strategy. The translation of national policy into state/territory mental health service systems has led to a ,natural' experiment between states. Differing funding and implementation strategies between states have developed services with particular strengths and limitations. Conclusion:, The effects of competition for limited resources between core mental health service delivery and the shift to a population-based public health approach (to prevention of mental illness and promotion of mental health), leaves our services vulnerable to doing neither particularly well. The recent loss of momentum of these reforms, due to failure of governments to continue to drive and fund them adequately, is causing the erosion of their considerable achievements. [source] Mental health care reform in Sweden, 1995ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2001C.-G. Stefansson Objective:,To describe the content of the Community Mental Health Care reform in Sweden, in effect from 1995 and directed to severely mentally ill people (SMI). Method:,Evaluating changes, at local and national level, in living conditions among SMI and resources of services directed to them, by using registers, questionnaires, interviews and case studies. Results:,A survey, covering 93% of the population, identified 43 000 SMI (prevalence of 0.63%); 4000 long-stay patients and 400 rehabilitation programmes were transferred from psychiatric services to social services (15% of the budget of psychiatric services). Employment and rehabilitation projects, family support and user programmes and educational projects for social services staff, were launched (funded by state subsidies). Conclusion:,SMI still have difficulties in obtaining adequate support on the basis of disability laws and there continue to be barriers between social services and psychiatric services. [source] Self-efficacy, social support and service integration at medical cannabis facilities in the San Francisco Bay area of CaliforniaHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 1 2008Amanda E. Reiman PhD MSW Abstract In an effort to examine and possibly utilise the community-based, bottom-up service design of medical cannabis facilities in the San Francisco Bay area of California, 130 adults who had received medical cannabis recommendations from a physician were surveyed at seven facilities to describe the social service aspects of these unique, community-based programmes. This study used an unselected consecutive sample and cross-sectional survey design that included primary data collection at the medical cannabis facilities themselves. In this exploratory study, individual level data were collected on patient demographics and reported patient satisfaction as gathered by the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire III. Surveys were filled out onsite. In the case of a refusal, the next person was asked. The refusal rate varied depending on the study site and ranged between 25% and 60%, depending on the facility and the day of sampling. Organisational-level data, such as operating characteristics and products offered, created a backdrop for further examination into the social services offered by these facilities and the attempts made by this largely unregulated healthcare system to create a community-based environment of social support for chronically ill people. Informal assessment suggests that chronic pain is the most common malady for which medical cannabis is used. Descriptive statistics were generated to examine sample- and site-related differences. Results show that medical cannabis patients have created a system of dispensing medical cannabis that also includes services such as counselling, entertainment and support groups , all important components of coping with chronic illness. Furthermore, patients tend to be male, over 35, identify with more than one ethnicity, and earn less than US$20 000 annually. Levels of satisfaction with facility care were fairly high, and higher than nationally reported satisfaction with health care in the USA. Facilities tended to follow a social model of cannabis care, including allowing patients to use medicine onsite and offering social services. This approach has implications for the creation and maintenance of a continuum of care among bottom-up social and health services agencies. [source] Establishing contact and gaining trust: an exploratory study of care avoidanceJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 2 2010Gert Schout schout g., de jong g. & zeelen j. (2010) Establishing contact and gaining trust: an exploratory study of care avoidance. Journal of Advanced Nursing 66(2), 324,333. Abstract Title.,Establishing contact and gaining trust: an exploratory study of care avoidance. Aim., This paper is a report of a study conducted to explore the competencies , especially deep-rooted personal qualities , of care providers who succeed in making contact and gaining trust with clients who are inclined to avoid the care they need. Background., Demands, thresholds and fragmentation of services hinder the accessibility of health care, such that some severe mentally ill people do not receive the treatment they need or avoid healthcare services. Methods of establishing contact and gaining trust in mental health care include practical assistance, realistic expectations, establishing long-term goals, empathy and a client-centred and flexible approach. Method., A public mental healthcare practice in The Netherlands with outstanding performance was studied from 2002,2007 using participant observation, interviews with experienced care providers and interviews with clients with a long history of avoiding care facilities, conflicts and troubled relationships with care providers. Findings., A number of personal qualities are vital for establishing contact and gaining trust with these clients: altruism, a degree of compassion, loyalty, involvement, tenacity, a critical attitude to the mainstream, flexibility, optimism, diplomacy, patience, creativity, and a certain degree of immunity to stress. Conclusion., Care providers who establish contact and win trust employ ,non-judgemental appreciation'. They start from the acceptance of what is and try to connect with the client and their world. These professionals use their initial actions to identify and praise qualities and achievements of clients. This style of work is supported by a set of deep-rooted personal qualities we can summarize as ,empathy'. [source] Credibility Assessments of Online Health Information: The Effects of Source Expertise and Knowledge of ContentJOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION, Issue 4 2001Matthew S. Eastin Millions of Americans use the Internet as a resource for information, with a large proportion seeking health information. Research indicates that medical professionals do not author an extensive amount of health information available on the Internet. This creates a possibility for false information, thereby potentially leading ill people away from proper care. One way to begin addressing this problem is to assess perceptions of credibility about information found online. A between-groups, 2 (message type) × 3 (source type) factorial design was tested by manipulating source expertise (high, medium, low) and content knowledge (known and unknown). While findings did not indicate a significant interaction between source and content type, they did indicate an overall tendency to rate all information as relatively credible. In addition, results indicate that both knowledge of content and source expertise affect perceptions of online health information. [source] Caring for people in the ,virtual ward': the practical ramifications for acute nursing workJOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC & MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 4 2003M. DEACON, ba (hons) m.phil rmn srn enb(810) This paper discusses an aspect of data analysis arising from an ethnographic study of acute mental health nursing conducted in an inner city psychiatric unit. The data were collected in the form of field notes. These were made during and following episodes of participant observation on one acute ward and on a psychiatric intensive care unit over a period of 20 months. Acute wards have been subject to continuing criticism as both sites of care and treatment for mentally ill people and of nursing work. However, the practical operations of this social world remain largely unexamined. It is argued that without this understanding, mundane work methods will always be regarded as an impediment to work that is regarded as ,therapeutic' and therefore, of importance. The focus will be on phenomena named the ,virtual ward'. The research has demonstrated that the boundaries of nurses' responsibility reach far beyond the ward's spatial environment, both physically and communicatively. The complexity of the work that takes place within the virtual ward and the skills required for its successful completion are taken for granted, but are also a practical source of frustration. Anonymized examples from the practice site studied are used to illuminate the discussion. Working within the virtual ward is part of the messy reality of nurses' work. It is argued that understanding and respecting this reality is necessary if we are to be seriously and consistently ambitious about practice development. [source] Research Article: Participation of patients with chronic illness in nursing care: An Iranian perspectiveNURSING & HEALTH SCIENCES, Issue 3 2010Mohsen Soleimani rn, phd (Cand.) Abstract The increasing number of chronically ill people has served as an impetus for the promotion of patient participation in nursing care. However, little is known about patient participation in Iran. The aim of this study was to identify the factors that are relevant to patient participation and the nature of that participation, as experienced by chronically ill patients and registered nurses in Iran. Grounded theory was used as the method. Twenty-two participants were recruited by using purposeful and theoretical sampling. The data were generated by semistructured interviews and participant observations. Constant comparison was used for the data analysis. This study indicated that participation is an interactive process between nurses, patients, and family members in the caregiving context. Participation occurred when the caring agents worked together. The core category of "convergence of the caring agents" emerged. The subcategories emerged as the levels of participation and included "adhering", "involving", "sharing", and "true participation". The factors related to the caring agents and caregiving context could be considered as predictors of the level of participation when caring for these patients. [source] Implementing HoNOS: An eight stage approachCLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 2 2001Derek Milne The Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) were developed as a brief way to quantify progress towards the national target of improving significantly the health and social functioning of mentally ill people (Wing et al., 1998). As an instrument, HoNOS was regarded as adequate for this purpose and so field testing was deemed to be the next task. However, the implementation of an outcome measure such as HoNOS under routine service conditions represents a significant implementation challenge. Therefore, we conducted an eight stage approach to implementation, with a sample of multi-disciplinary care managers from one county in the UK (N = 30). The results of shadowing and initial interviews indicated that significant barriers to implementation were insufficient staff and the high level of routine demands on staff for the completion of paperwork. These barriers outweighed the perceived boosters, including the favourable responses of colleagues and the benefits of data feedback from HoNOS. More staff, standardized training in the use of HoNOS, regular feedback and less paperwork were amongst ten suggestions for facilitating implementation. During a pilot period, staff received training, used HoNOS and were given graphical feedback of the HoNOS results. They were then re-interviewed, at which time they reported becoming fairly positive about the use of HoNOS and definitely valued the implementation approach. However, it is concluded that the routine use of HoNOS will require continued effort from staff and their managers (e.g. refresher training courses) and alternative or additional outcome measures may be necessary to provide useful clinical information. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||