Samhandling med pårørende og profesjonelle tjenester: erfaringer til pasienter med varige psykiske helseutfordringer

Abstract

Purpose and background: This study explores patients with severe and persistent mental health challenges in a municipality and their experiences of collaboration. The patient group has complex needs and is dependent on cross-disciplinary services. Methods: Every patient with severe and persistent mental health challenges in the municipality (208 in total) was invited, of which 106 participated in semi-structured interviews which were then qualitatively analyzed through systematic text condensation. Results and implications: The patients expressed a fundamental need for understanding of their long-term illness and associated needs. The users expressed satisfaction with the understanding from and collaboration with relatives. The participants sought more respect in their relationships with the professional services and for the professional services to take responsibility for collaboration, particularly regarding comprehensive measures that included somatic problems. Further and more specific development work ought to be carried out with the patients to optimize collaboration. Keywords: collaboration, mental health care, severe and persistent mental illness