Staff's Experiences of a Person-Centered Health Education Group Intervention for People with a Persistent Mental Illness

• Patient education in mental health care is a conventional intervention to increase patients' knowledge about their illness and treatment. A provider-centered focus in patient education may put patients in a passive role, which can counteract their processes of recovery. There is an increasing emphasis on recovery-oriented practice, an approach that is aligned with the service user perspective, but little is known about healthcare staffs’ perspective on person-centered mental health care. A qualitative approach was used to describe staffs’ experiences of being group leaders in a person-centered health education intervention in municipal services for persons with a persistent mental illness. The analysis of staff experiences revealed three core categories: implications of division of responsibility between local authorities, awareness of facilitating factors of growth and the meaning of dialogue, forming the theme “Preconditions for person-centered care”. Further research is required to explore larger economic, political and social structures as a backdrop to person-centered mental health care, from the perspective of service users, families, health professionals and society at large.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Omvårdnad (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Nursing (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

health education

mental health care

person-centeredness

persistent mental illness

staff experiences

Vårdvetenskap

Caring Science

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)