Maori experience of community treatment orders in Otago, New Zealand

Abstract

This was a small study of a limited number of Maori patients under CommTOs. Their views may not be fully representative. There was a general consensus among those interviewed that the timely use of CommTOs can enhance the mental wellbeing and social relationships of Maori patients. Continuing efforts are needed by health professionals to communicate effectively with whanau and to understand the conflicts experienced by Maori in reconciling their traditional beliefs with the medical model of mental illness.

How patients in New Zealand view community treatment orders

“…Advantages include the accessibility of mental health professionals, ease of readmission to hospital when desired and the opportunity for discharge from hospital to community care. The disadvantages include reduced liberty, control over medication and restrictions on decision-making capacity (Carne, 1996;Gibbs et al, 2004;Power, 1999).…”

‘Responsible, but Still not a Real Treatment Partner’: A Qualitative Study of the Experiences of Relatives of Patients on Outpatient Commitment Orders

“…However, relatives feel little involved in OC and that the scheme challenged their relationship with the patient. They also thought that OC should encompass more areas (Canvin, Rugkasa, Sinclair, & Burns, 2014;Gibbs, Dawson, Forsyth, & Mullen, 2004;O'Reilly, Keegan, Corring, Shrikhande, & Natarajan, 2006). The purpose of this study was to examine how OC is experienced by relatives of OC patients in a Norwegian context.…”

The lived experience of involuntary community treatment: a qualitative study of mental health consumers and carers

“…24 There is general acceptance of the use of CTOs for beneficial purposes, where there were psychiatric problems, lack of insight, or risk.25 Many consumers prefer CTOs to hospital care, criminal justice settings or homelessness, although in contrast, they are aggrieved at the loss of control over their circumstances. 26 The literature also indicates that the experience of CTOs involves a tension between the undesirable sense of coercion and loss associated with such orders, and the benefits of improved clinical state, psychosocial function, and access and engagement with treatment services.8,9 Research on coercion emphasises that this tension is complex: coercion is a context-dependent process that requires rich and nuanced description to be better understood;27,28 and that any potential benefits, and therefore justification, may be eroded by how it is implemented in practice. 4,29 In the qualitative study presented here, we sought to derive an idiographic model of the lived experience of CTOs among consumers and carers in NSW.…”