Consumer Participation in Mental Healthcare - Essay Example

Consumer Participation in Mental Healthcare Consumer participation is an active involvement of mental patients in all activities related with access of sound mental health services. This is an important link in delivery of mental health services. It takes different forms such as, planning, decision making, sharing of their experiences, and opinions. Consumer participation targets to streamline the sour relationships between the mental patients and the health givers. This is through cultivation of a culture of transparency, equity, and affectivity. Different stakeholders have suggested several strategies and intervention mechanisms to promote consumer participation in mental health care. According to World Health Organization (W.H.O), the empowerment of patients is a prudent strategy to strike a balance between the patients and mental healthcare providers. This report seeks to explore consumer participation in mental healthcare in three series. First, it will briefly look at the benefits and barriers to consumer participation. Second, it will give consumers account with the healthcare. Lastly, it will analyze its finding and provide concrete conclusion. Several governments have formulated policies that aim at solving the barriers between their mental patients and healthcare providers. These initiatives intend to maximize the benefits of a smooth mental healthcare. Different stakeholders employ these initiatives at different level. With the knowledge that consumers are paramount to the successes of the endeavor, these governments focus on consumer friendly interventions. The varied level of participation include, establishment of national consumer networks, officers of consumer networks, and consumer- directed provider organizations. Moreover, the policies promote consumer participation in the mental health facilities. These include consumer participatory roles in treatment services, and formation of alliances with mental health professionals. In the light of the benefits of increased consumer participation, the Victorian Government encouraged the mental patients to take a participatory role in their health provision in 2006 (Willis & Reynolds 2008:148). The Victorian consumers worked together with the community and with support from Department of Human Services. The driving force of all these policies is to bridge the gap between the two mental patients and health sector. Consumer participation has many benefits in the mental healthcare not only to the consumer but also to the improvement of health sector’s image. To start with, through patient empowerment programs, there is remarkable improvement in health service delivery. These programs help mental patients to develop self-esteem, confidence and to realize their rights even in such mental state. Empowerment eliminates the perception that mental patient’s have little to contribute in the society and nation as a whole. Empowerment achieves acceptance of the mental patients in the society. These programs unite the patients and the community. This brings harmony and gives a chance for the mental patients to participate in productive activities. This is not only at community level, but also at national level. Moreover, the programs boost the full recovery of individuals. Mental patients empowerment serves as a unifying factor between the patients and the health professionals. Health practitioners accord respect to this patients. This is because they know an empowered patient knows his/her right. Any attempt to violate the patients’ right is met with punitive measures. Second, consumer participation improves access to quality mental healthcare. Consumers and other stakeholders contribute immensely to sound strategies. The inclusion of consumers ensures there is accountability and transparence in the mental healthcare. Designing of consumer friendly strategies is achieved. Moreover, consumers participate in the implementation of programs that are befitting to them and the community. This allows the health sector to give services that acknowledges a given culture. To add on, the consumers feel at ease to access mental healthcare because there is no intimidation of patients from the medical professionals. It therefore means that, the consumer can share critical information of his/her illness. This allows the healthcare provides to give a proper diagnosis and prescription. There is good relationship between the consumer and the health providers. Consumers in turn express their satisfaction. This achieves the most required change in the health care because the consumer gets the right medical attention (Willis & Reynolds,2008:148). Third, comprehensive consumer participation reduces the number of suicidal deaths. This is because there are no stigmatizations of the mental health patients (Girardi, Pompili & Tatarelli 2007:343). Minimizing the factors that contribute to suicidal attempts works positively to save the lives of mental patients. With consumer participation in mental health care sector, discrimination is discouraged. It therefore means that, the consumers enjoy close-knit family ties and secure employment opportunities. Consumer participation has led to the establishment of comprehensive counseling programs in the mental health care. Through introduction of this motivating counseling program, consumers recover from their traumatic past experiences. In overall, the consumer participation prolongs life (Barrett, Gill & Pratt 2007:342). Fourth, the consumer participation in healthcare ensures that there is adequate allocation of resources. This is because consumers dictate the financial requirements of healthcare programs, treatments services, and other intervention mechanisms. Acknowledging the inputs and insights of consumers streamlines the mental healthcare service provision. In addition, they promote accountability of utilization of funds. Therefore, the presence of consumers ensures a well utilization of funds for the intended projects. Consumers also help in decision making of the viable consumer friendly projects. This happens through sound financial planning and implementation processes (Willis & Reynolds 2008:153). Last but not the least, consumer participations revolutionize the mental healthcare. Consumers become advocates of consumer participation program. They participate in organization that support and education for the fellow consumers. Some of the activities they engage in include, organizing community talks, education, and individual mental management. In addition, the out-patient provide counseling services to mental patients, direct them to seek specialized medical attention, and they change the lives of consumers for better. Although, consumer participation has achieved many benefits in mental healthcare, there are barriers to the considerable progress achieved. These barriers derail the effort s that chief stakeholders make to promote consumer participation. To start with, consumers lack relevant information on the process of consumer participation. Consumer participation programs do not have explicit guidelines to stipulate the access and the specific roles of the consumers. This means that, those consumers that participate in these programs contribute little to its success. They enter into the program blindly because it lacks a clear definition of its objective. In the same string, the mental healthcare has incompetent staff. This incompetence spells doom to every good turn the consumer promotion advocates make (Hardiman, Theriot & Hodges) The second barrier is existence of a big gap between the health providers and the consumers in terms of their perception for each other. The health professional view himself or herself as superior and regard the consumer as juniors. This creates a divide between the two. This is unhelpful. The professional feel that they are the problem fixers or solvers. As long as the consumers continue to seek their services, they will always maintain their superiority. In addition, it makes the consumers lose confidence and reverts to low-esteemed individuals Hardiman, Theriot, & Hodges). This makes linking the two parties a difficult task to perform. Third, the mental healthcare is sometimes unwilling to allow consumer participation in their profession. The presence of consumers sharing ideas and insights to find mental health solution is a challenge to their profession. The mental health professionals perceive that, customers may have demands, which the healthcare may fail to meet (Hardiman, Theriot & Hodges. Likewise, the consumers presuppose that the mental healthcare will not pay an attention to their contribution. Although these consumers may have sound and progressive ideas, they decide to keep to themselves rather than to meet deaf ears. This jeopardizes the right moves that the consumer participation make. Lastly, the consumer-managed programs, which consumer participatory agencies fund, face a risk of marginalization (Hardiman, Theriot & Hodges). Establishment of consumer-run programs allows unhealthy competition to set in between them and the professional mental healthcare. The professional mental healthcare providers tempt the consumers to seek attention in their facilities. This kills the spirit of the advocacies of consumer participatory groups. The opponents of the consumer participation in mental healthcare become a less competitor to the rigidly established traditional health care. To promote consumer participation efforts, various nations have developed considerable interest to harmonize the mental healthcare. Australian government designed a framework in 2007. This was a blue print to deal with the challenges experienced in the mental healthcare. This was an Australian government commitment to improve the quality of mental patients. To demonstrate government’s assurance to deliver good in the mental health sector, ACT Mental Health Consumer Network was formed. This was after the government found that there was an inequality in the treatment of mental patients. The network dedicated to attain the best practice in the mental healthcare sector. It advocated for consumer involvement in the decision-making, policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation of the health care given in the hospitals. A research published in Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing in the year 2003 gave an account of consumer participation in mental healthcare (Lammers & Happel 2003:4). The report revealed varied feelings on consumer participation. Some participants felt that, consumer participation was purely an individual decision. The report goes ahead to say that, many of the participates wanted a improvement of the healthcare sector. They pointed out such measures will ensure more consumer participation (Lammers & Happel 2003:4). Some participants proposed programs to increase consumer participation in mental health care. These included self-help groups, and consumer-run programs. According to them, such program would strengthen the consumer participatory initiatives (Lammers & Happel 2003:4). Further, the participants of the research expressed their discontent about the type of communication between the mental healthcare givers and the consumer. The health practitioners used languages which the consumers could not comprehend (Lammers & Happel 2003:5). This created a communication barrier. The research noted that, there were some drawbacks in consumer participation. However, it acknowledged the achieved success. It proposed an improvement in the relationship between the mental health care providers and the consumers. Another report carried out in the year 2002 to get the consumer accounts on health care revealed that, encouragement from the family members contributed a lot their participation. The report argues that, the consumer were happy about the friendly reception by friends and fellow consumers. Some mental consumers pointed out that, they took part during the formulation of the Mental Health Act in the parliament. They had taken the initiative to form committees in order to increase consumer participation. The findings of these reports showed that, consumers had huge problems that hindered them from active participation. These included, transport constrains, unawareness to consumer participation and their role, and physical challenges. The report recommended using the right strategies to attract mental consumer to participate fully. (Tobin, Chen, &Leathley 2002). The report portrays many benefits of involving consumers in their activities of mental health care. However, these positive outcomes meet huge barriers. In the light of this, nations such as Australia and United States have embarked on comprehensive interventions to deal with the obstacles. Mental patients express their dissatisfaction on ignorance that the health providers display. The findings presented in essay on the consumer participation reveal key areas that need a sober attention. To begin with, it requires a concerted efforts and utterly dedication to bring about sanity in the mental healthcare. Achievement of this goal can only occur if principal stakeholders in the mental health sector accommodate each other’s varied views and act collectively. Bibliography Australian Capital Territory, 2007. Consumer Participation and Carer Participation across Mental Health ACT. Accessed on 20 Mar 2012, from http://health.act.gov.au/c/health?a=dlpubpoldoc&document=908 Barrett, N,. Gill, K., & Pratt, C, 2007. Psychiatric rehabilitation. Salt Lake City: Academic Press. Commonwealth of Australia. National Mental Health Policy 2008. Accessed on 20 Mar, 2012, from http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/532CBE92A8323E03CA25756E001203BF/$File/finpol08.pdf Elder, R., Evans, K., & Nizette, D. 2009. Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. Chatswood: Elsevier Australia. Girardi, P., Pompili, M., & Tatarelli, R., 2007. Suicide in psychiatric disorders. New York: Nova Publishers. Gitterman, A., & Heller, N., 2011. Mental health and social problems: a social work perspective. London: Taylor & Francis. Hardiman, E., Theriot, M., & Hodges. Evidence-Based Practice in Mental Health: Implications and Challenges for Consumer-Run Programs. Accessed on 20 Mar 2012 from, http://lyceumbooks.com/pdf/BestPractices/Chapter08.pdf Hogan, M., 2003. New Freedom Commission Report: The President's New Freedom Commission: Recommendations to Transform Mental Health Care in America. Accessed on 20 Mar 2012, from http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=87835 Lammers, J. & Happell, B. 2003. Consumer Participation in Mental Health services: looking from a consumer perspective. Accessed on 20 Mar 2012, from http://www.alberta.cmha.ca/data/1/rec_docs/918_consumer%20participation%20in%20mental%20health%20services.pdf Miller, W., Rollnick, S., & Butler, C., 2007. Motivational interviewing in health care: helping patients change behavior. New York: Guilford Press . Willis, E., & Reynolds, L., 2008. Understanding the Australian Health Care System. 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