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Service User and Family Carer Involvement in Mental Health Care: Divergent Views

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Abstract

This study assessed differences between service users’, family carers’ and mental healthcare providers’ perceptions on service user and family carer involvement in mental healthcare. We conducted questionnaires in care networks for persons with serious and persistent mental illness, among 111 service users, 73 family carers and 216 mental healthcare providers. Many aspects of service user and family carer involvement are achieved to satisfactory levels while other aspects are scarcely realized. Service users and mental healthcare providers perceive family carer involvement as less important and realized than service user involvement. Family carers hold more favorable views on the importance and realization of involvement than do mental healthcare providers. The implementation of stakeholders’ involvement in healthcare is ongoing. Notwithstanding great efforts, service users’ and family carers’ involvement preferences are not yet fully considered. Developing procedures, training and monitoring cycles regarding involvement may enhance this situation.

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Notes

  1. Two family carers did not provide their age.

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Acknowledgments

Chantal Gelders and Bernard Jacob of L’Association Interrégionale de Guidance et de Santé are thanked for their help with data collection among the French-speaking respondents. The authors gratefully thank all study participants and everyone who helped in the study. We also thank our project partners: Psytoyens asbl, UilenSpiegel vzw, Similes Francophone and Similes Vlaanderen. Professor Guido Pieters is thanked for his constructive suggestions to this paper. This research was funded by the Belgian Federal Government Service of Public Health (FOD Volksgezondheid, Veiligheid van de Voedselketen en Leefmilieu).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LUCAS, Centre for Care Research and Consultancy, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 39, PB 5310, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Else Tambuyzer & Chantal Van Audenhove

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  1. Else Tambuyzer
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  2. Chantal Van Audenhove
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Correspondence to Else Tambuyzer.

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Tambuyzer, E., Van Audenhove, C. Service User and Family Carer Involvement in Mental Health Care: Divergent Views. Community Ment Health J 49, 675–685 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-012-9574-2

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