A community project: assessing needs in people with mental illness

Abstract

Introduction The community, essential in the construction and maintenance of well-being and quality of life, has become a focus of attention of health professionals that work with people with mental illness. Recovery is developed in this space and it is a priority to assess the needs of people who go through this process. Objectives Assess the needs of people with mental illness after hospital discharge in the scope of recovery. Methods Quantitative, descriptive and exploratory study, inserted in a broader investigation with people with mental illness, subjected to an individualized intervention program with 3 evaluation moments: M0 - initial; M1 - intermediate (2 months); and M2 - final (4 months). The sample, at this moment, consists of 29 individuals. This study intends to present results related to M0. Applied a needs assessment instrument, developed by the research team; it was made a descriptive analysis of the data. The study was approved by the ethic commission of the institution where the sample was selected. Results Of the 29 people, 12 are employed, 12 unemployed, 4 retired and 1 is studying, the mean of ages is 48.6 years, with a predominance of mood and personality disorders and psychoses. The needs assessment instrument evaluates 6 dimensions: social relationships, illness, economic, access to health services and professionals, psychological and environment. The higher is the score obtained, the lower is the need presented in that dimension. By the descriptive analysis of the dimensions of the instrument, the mean values for each one are: social relations – 53.8; disease – 61.4; economic – 47.6; access to health and professional services – 67.0; psychological – 52.3; environment – 74.0. Conclusions The people evaluated present more needs in the economic and psychological scope. These data suggest to researchers an attention to these dimensions. For each person an intervention program was designed, taking into account his/her needs. The data should be read with caution, because the sample is not yet closed. Conflict of interest disclosure: None. This is a result of the project (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-023855), supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).