Abstract
This study aimed to examine the needs of clients accessing a community mental health crisis stabilization unit (CSU) in Winnipeg, Canada.
Sociodemographics, service connections, and need were assessed among CSU clients. The Camberwell Assessment of Need Short Appraisal Schedule – Patient (CANSAS-P) was administered to differentiate need domains that were met and unmet. An ordinal regression examined sociodemographics and level of total unmet need; client characteristics were correlated with unmet need. In total, 271 questionnaires were analyzed. On average, respondents had 6.2 areas of unmet need, with “psychosocial distress” (n = 186, 68.6%), “safety to self” (n = 140, 51.7%), “company” (n = 139, 51.3%), and “physical health” (n = 124, 45.8%) being reported most often. Higher level of unmet need was predicted by disability income and absence of income. Overall, CSU clients had high rates of unmet need reflecting important determinants of health. This information can inform community mental health crisis service delivery to positively impact mental health recovery.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Karin Love and Jennifer Hensel. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Karin Love. All authors edited and provided comments/review on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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All aspects of this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Ethics approval was obtained from the University of Manitoba Research Ethics Board (HS22123 (H2018:354)).
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Love, K., Bolton, J., Hunzinger, E. et al. Needs Assessment of Clients Accessing a Community Mental Health Crisis Stabilization Unit. Community Ment Health J 59, 400–408 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-022-01019-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-022-01019-4