IS THE SERVICE OF INPATIENT MENTAL – HEALTH CLIENT CENTRED?

Background: Higher demands have been raised for evidence based practice in mental health. Client centred approach is a key component in assessing the quality of programs that promote client´s perspective of service. The aim... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
Higher demands have been raised for evidence based practice in mental health. Client centred approach is a key component in assessing the quality of programs that promote client´s perspective of service. The aim of this study was to assess client´s view of interdisciplinary service in inpatient mental health care, emphasizing how the service reflects the main concepts of client centred practice.
Method:
A self - report assessment was used to collect data from 30 participants who all had received inpatient care for at least two weeks. The assessment contains 29 questions and has six conceptually derived subscales. Internal reliability for the whole assessment was measured 0,93 and 0,70-0,86 for the subscales.
Results:
The service did to some extend meet the main requirements of client centred practice. The subscales “Attitude and support” and “Client centred education” reflected most of the concept of client centred service, but “Outcomes of service” and “Family involvement” least. On one subscale younger clients found the service less client centred than those who were older.
Conclusion:
Results indicate that the inpatient mental health service reflected many of the basic components of client centred practice, but to a different extend.
Application to Practice:
More emphasis needs to be placed on evaluation of outcomes from clients´ perspective and include family and close friends to a greater extent. Attention should be drawn to different needs of clients at various life stages.