Book description
There are wide inconsistencies between, and even within, countries in
how community-orientated care is defined and interpreted. The analysis
presented in this book take as a starting point an evidence-based
balanced care model in which services are provided in community settings
close to the populations served, with hospital stays being reduced as
far as possible, usually located in acute wards in general hospitals.
The surprising conclusion from the research is that the same problems
arise in all countries, regardless of resource status, and thus the
recommendations of this book apply to mental health provision everywhere.
This book reviews the implementation of community-orientated care
using the balanced care model. It summarizes the steps, obstacles and
mistakes that have been encountered in the implementation of community
mental health care worldwide and presents guidelines on how to avoid
them. It proposes realistic and achievable recommendations for the
development and implementation of community-orientated mental health
care over the next ten years. These guidelines will be of practical
use to psychiatrists and other mental health and public health
practitioners at all levels worldwide, including policy makers,
commissioners, funders, non-governmental organisations, service users
and carers. A core message of the book is that the mental health
sector will more powerfully advocate for better services in future
through strong and unified alliances, especially with powerful
representation from consumer/service user and carer groups.
Community-orientated care draws on a wide range of practitioners,
providers, care and support systems (both professional and
non-professional), though particular components may play a larger or
lesser role in different settings depending on the local context and
the available resources, especially trained staff. Research by a WPA
task force has demonstrated that most of the challenges are common and
global, but with local variations. The book is therefore relevant to
psychiatrists and mental health workers in developed countries who are
trying to deliver better health care on reduced budgets and for those
in the developing economies who are in the position to modernise their
mental health care. It provides clear, concise guidance on policy and
practice decisions, learning from what has and has not worked in
regions in the world.
The book contains many tables documenting the evidence, supported by
an essential reference list, and a Key Points summary for each chapter.
Highly Commended in the Psychiatry section of the
2012
BMA Book Awards
.
Graham Thornicroft
and
Maya Semrau
, Health Service and Population Research Department, Institute of
Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
Atalay Alem, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine,
Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
Robert E. Drake, Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center, NH, USA
Hiroto Ito, National Institute of Mental Health, National
Centre of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan
Jair Mari, Department of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal de
São Paulo, Brazil
Peter McGeorge, New Zealand Mental Health Commission,
Wellington, New Zealand
R. Thara, Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF), Chennai,
India
