Mental health professionals' attitudes towards consumer participation in inpatient units

Abstract

Consumer participation has been a major focus in mental health services in recent years, but the attitudes of mental health professionals towards this initiative remain variable. The purpose of this study was to describe mental health professionals' attitudes towards mental health consumer participation in inpatient psychiatric units. The Consumer Participation and Consultant Questionnaire was used with a non-probability sample of 47 mental health professionals from two adult inpatient psychiatric units situated in a large Australian public general hospital. Ethics approval was obtained from a university and a hospital ethics committee. Data were analysed using SPSS, Version 12. Overall, respondents had favourable attitudes towards consumer participation in management, care and treatment, and mental health planning. They were less supportive about matters that directly or indirectly related to their spheres of responsibility. The type of unit that the respondents worked in was not a factor in their beliefs about consumer participation. Recommendations are made about the development of guidelines for consumer participation in inpatient units, the educational preparation of mental health clinicians, and the need for mental health professionals to reflect on, and discuss their own beliefs and practices about, consumer participation.

The Impact of Mental Health Nursing Education on Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Attitudes to Consumer Participation

“…The literature emphasises the negative and stigmatising attitudes of mental health professionals towards people diagnosed with a mental illness (Bertram & Stickley, 2005;Bluebird, 2004;Cowling et al, 2006;Crawford & Rutter, 2004;Goodwin & Happell, 2006, 2007a, 2008Lammers & Happell, 2003;McAllister & Walsh, 2004;McCann et al, 2008;Middleton et al, 2004;Petersen et al, 2008). In the current study the nursing student participants appear to be very supportive of the active engagement of consumers in relation to the mental health services they receive.…”

“…The attitudes of mental health professionals have been identified as a major barrier to facilitating the change in prac-tice required to ensure that consumer participation moves beyond rhetoric to become reality (Bertram & Stickley, 2005;Bluebird, 2004;Cowling, Edan, Cuff, Armitage, & Herszberg, 2006;Crawford & Rutter, 2004;Goodwin & Happell, 2006, 2007a, 2008Lammers & Happell, 2003;McAllister & Walsh, 2004;McCann, Baird, Clark, & Lu, 2008;Middleton, Stanton, & Renouf, 2004;Petersen, Hounsgaard, & Nielsen, 2008). Consumer participation challenges the traditional power base of the health professional which gives preference to the clinical voice and the assumption that he or she knows what is in the best interests of the consumer.…”

“…A review of the literature suggests that consumer participation in education has not become an integral part of professional education McCann et al, 2008;Meehan & Glover, 2007). concluded that the involvement of a mental health consumer academic was effective in promoting more positive attitudes among mental health nursing students to consumer participation.…”

The role of community representatives on health service committees: staff expectations vs. reality

“…There have been a few studies that have examined staff and professional attitudes to community, consumer or lay participation in specific organizational contexts and processes 22,27–30 . Surveys conducted in Australian drug treatment and mental health services have found positive staff attitudes to consumer participation 31,32 . Another Australian survey found staff attitudes become more positive over time and as a direct result of interaction with community members in health care decision‐making forums 30 .…”

Directions for Future Patient-Centered and Comparative Effectiveness Research for People With Serious Mental Illness

“…An Australian study of demographic and workforce characteristics and their relationship to acceptance of peer providers found that receptivity and support for consumer involvement in treatment-related activities varied by gender (females more supportive), time in the profession (junior people more receptive), and time in the job (most senior and most junior least receptive). 134 …”