Care in the Community

Question 1

What is care in the community?

Answer 1

a residential alternative to standard acute in-patient mental health service

Question 2

It can take various forms such as?

Answer 2

residential care units, brief stay wards and ‘normal’ living

Question 3

What is a residential care unit?

Answer 3

shared living space with a 24/7 psychiatric nurse, intended as a half way house for patients who have left in-patient care

Question 4

What biological advance led to the birth of a care in the community model?

Answer 4

pharmacological treatment means if patients are reliable with their meds they can live a relatively normal life

Question 5

What social advances led to the birth of a care in the community model?

Answer 5

changing attitudes to mental health, better understanding of mental illness and less stigma attached (to a certain degree)

Question 6

What are some benefits to having a community care model?

Answer 6

Its cheaper than keeping patients in hospital full time, also frees up space in hospitals for those who are more in need. It improves patients quality of life in general and having people suffering from mental illness in the community may help reduce stigma

Question 7

What are the two main challenges to the community care model?

Answer 7

Stigma/prejudice and Service delivery

Question 8

What are some language stigmas related to mental health?

Answer 8

language like crazy, mental, schizo, depressed used in everyday language reinforces the negative stereotypes associated with mental health

Question 9

Media stigmas?

Answer 9

The media portrays mental health in a negative light, they throw around terms like schizophrenic, psychopathic, sociopathy without any evidence and without explaining what they actually mean which increases fear of mental health in the general public

Question 10

Role of the biological model stigma?

Answer 10

Dr Read argues that trying to explain mental illness to the general public using a biological model is actually ineffective and leaves out the social reasons for mental illness. ‘mental illness is just like a physical illness’ doesn’t help people as much as contact with people who suffer from mental illness

Question 11

Crime stigma?

Answer 11

The general public often believe that people who suffer from mental illness are likely to be criminals, when in fact schizophrenics are more likely to be victims of crimes than perpetrators.

Question 12

What did Mullen et al find?

Answer 12

that the increase in crime perpetrated by schizophrenics are consistent with the increase in crime in the general population - de institutionalization does not account for this (community care makes no difference to amount of crimes done by schizophrenics)

Question 13

What are some solutions to reduce stigma?

Answer 13

Full disclosure of where community care is happening, educating people at a younger age (primary schools not adults) is more effective and increasing contact between the general public and mental health sufferers

Question 14

Who is involved in community care models? (Service delivery)

Answer 14

GP, psychologist, psychiatrist, community nurses and key workers

Question 15

What are some of the roles they undertake in service delivery?

Answer 15

Medication adherence, day-to-day living, family life, social function, help improve employability

Question 16

To be successful community care must be?

Answer 16

well-resources and intergrative

Question 17

Some of the hurdles in community care are?

Answer 17

lack of funding, poor inter-team communication and prejudice

Question 18

Lloyd-Evans et al found what about the effectiveness of community care?

Answer 18

community care models provide a feasible alternative to in-patient care for acute mental illness, but more research needs to be done to ensure and encourage that the models work

Question 19

What does the future of community care involve?

Answer 19

more research, the creation of effective models, clearer guidelines, funding and evidence based practice