Mental illness: community intervention on the way of recovery: InterComuniCaRe

Abstract

BACKGROUND In Portugal there have been great efforts to implement policies to progressively replace the caregiving in psychiatric hospitals by more extensive and integrated care into the health system, having implied a philosophy of community accompaniment inherent to the continuity of caregiving. Therefore, to achieve the goals associated to the implicit values and principles in the portuguese National Mental Health Plan (NMHP), in particular the recovery, is necessary a cooperation between the health and educational institutions, in order to fulfill the deinstitutionalization of the patients. It is widely accepted today that the current mental health policies advocate the implementation of continued and integrated care in mental health, where the home care support teams take part.

MATERIAL & METHODS This research project has as a study object the recovery of individuals with mental illness and presents as general aim the development of an intervention program in the range of recovery, and it is developed by two beneficiaries, the Instituto das Irmãs Hospitaleiras do Sagrado Coração de Jesus – Casa de Saúde do Bom Jesus (psychiatric health unit) and the Universidade do Minho - Escola Superior de Enfermagem (nursing school), placed in the north of Portugal. Having as a reference the tacit values in NMHP and the importance of continued and integrated care in mental health, the presented project intends to respond to the aim through an action research, implemented by a team of expert researchers, with community home intervention, and a sample constituted by patients with severe mental illness, supported by effective collaboration in scientific research and technological development between the beneficiaries of the project, for the development of knowledge in the mental health range.

RESULTS This research intends to contribute to the increase of knowledge in the scope of the recovery intervention, in particular in the context of action of the community health teams, through the construction of a guide for health professionals named Guião de Intervenção de Recovery para Pessoas com Doença Mental, which will be completed in 2019.

CONCLUSIONS The synergies between the two institutions are promoters of a research philosophy which it is presented as an asset to the development of this project in a relevant area such as mental health. This research project will also contribute to the promotion of the quality of life and well-being of the people who will be submitted to the intervention, producing indicators that will demonstrate effective outcomes in health.