User-Led Mental Health Service Evaluation: The Contribution of User-Focused Monitoring to Recovery-Oriented Quality Development

Abstract

AbstractUser-focused monitoring (UFM) is a method of user-led mental health service evaluation that focuses on strengthening user involvement and developing the quality of services. Despite an increased emphasis on user involvement and the recovery orientation of services, scientific knowledge remains limited regarding how such goals can be realised. In this study, our aim is to explore UFM with a specific focus on how recovery processes are examined through the method in order to discuss how UFM can be developed in order to support a recovery orientation in mental health service evaluation. We sampled 20 Swedish UFM reports for qualitative analysis, and we found that UFM is a promising method for integrating a personal recovery perspective in service evaluations. By being performed peer-to-peer, the method has the unique ability to gather experiential knowledge regarding the situation of service users. UFM especially contributes to exploring service users’ experiences related to social connectedness and user involvement in services. We also discuss how the method can be developed to further support a recovery orientation in UFM. This might be achieved by integrating a process-oriented approach in the evaluations and by including the user informants’ own goals and views on what constitutes meaningful support in UFM. Suggestions for future developments concern incorporating personal recovery perspectives in the training of user monitors and creating structures for aggregating the knowledge produced through UFM.