Attitudes towards community mental health care of residents in North London

Abstract

The closure of large psychiatric hospitals and the opening of community-based mental health facilities is a central part of British health policy for the care of people with mental illness. The North East Thames Regional Health Authority's (NETRHA) psychiatric hospitals closure plan started in 1985. As part of this a programme was established to assess the closure process (Leff, 1993). This study was carried out between 1988 and 1992 and was designed to study the reactions of the public to the hospital closure decision (Reda, 1993).

Combating the stigma of schizophrenia

“…When neighbours of a new group home for people with mental illness in south London were sur-veyed, two-thirds expressed a willingness to help the new facility and showed interest in learning more about mental illness (Reda, 1995). Organisers found that this goodwill could be mobilised by a focused education campaign which encour-aged neighbours to initiate social contact with mentally ill residents (Wolff, 1997).…”

Can We Manage Without the Mental Hospital?

“…The establishment of sheltered homes was almost always accomplished as quietly as possible, partly due to considerations of normalization and partly to avoid opposition from prejudiced neighbours. The disadvantage of this strategy is that it fails to mobilize social support for the new residents from neighbours having a fund of goodwill towards them [8]. In order to build on this resource, Wolff et al [9] mounted an education campaign for the neighbours in a street in which a sheltered home was being developed.…”

Atitudes dos vizinhos de Serviços Residenciais Terapêuticos em relação aos pacientes psiquiátricos e aos serviços

“…Dentre os 10 estudos internacionais, seis encontraram atitudes positivas das pessoas em relação aos pacientes psiquiátricos e sua presença na vizinhança (Zippay & Lee, 2008;Aubry, Tefft, & Currie, 1995;Arens, 1993;Rabkin, Muhlin, & Cohen, 1984;Cook, 1997;Wahl, 1993). Três pesquisas encontraram atitudes negativas dos vizinhos (Reda, 1995;Trute & Loewen, 1978;Wolff, Pathare, Craig, & Leff, 1996). Em um estudo, o autor concluiu que, de forma geral, não houve alteração das atitudes das pessoas em relação aos pacientes, antes e após a instalação do serviço na vizinhança, mas em um dos aspectos avaliados, observou-se que as atitudes se tornaram mais negativas (Brunton, 1997).…”