Definition of a community-based provider
Short on Time? Get Expert Nursing Help
Our nursing writers can handle your essay, care plan or case study from start to finish.
Community-based mental health care includes an array of services and programs( such as assistive community treatment and partial hospitalization programs ) designed to meet the needs of local communities. These programs are mainly delivered by community agencies and at times through health clinics or hospitals. Most programs offered by community-based agencies are intended to serve the most mentally ill and most vulnerable individuals in the community. According to O’Donnell et al. (2019), a community-based mental health provider is a health professional who provides support and treatment in the community or at home rather than in a conventional clinical setting. These providers include social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and nurses, and are fundamental for mentally ill individuals who are hesitant to seek treatment as a result of a combination of factors such as unstable housing, mental health symptoms, frequent homelessness, and extreme poverty. Community-based mental health providers who provide support and treatment to people with severe mental disorders are an important segment of the mental health workforce.
Importance of assertive community treatment (ACT) teams
Assertive community treatment is a highly integrated and intensive model of community mental health delivery that offers comprehensive, locally based treatments to individuals with persistent and serious mental illnesses. According to Goyal (2020), recipients of ACT receive mental health treatment from multidisciplinary, all day and all night staffing of a psychiatric unit within the comfort of their community and home. ACT model has a low client-to-staff ratio of around ten clients per ACT practitioner. Also, ACT teams offer round-the-clock emergency services and continuous coverage Community-Based Care Provider in Mental Health.
The ACT team is a multi-disciplinary team staffed with psychiatrists, case managers, therapists, nurses, and psychologists. Members of the ACT team work in collaboration to deliver mental health services that are individualized and person-centered to address the needs of each prison. According to O’Donnell et al.(2019), developed to facilitate the reintegration of mentally ill patients from psychiatric hospitals into the community. ACT teams deliver services in the home of the individual or where the individual is most at ease receiving services. ACT is very effective for the management of symptoms and lessening psychiatric hospital admissions and housing instability. ACT team members deliver services where and when needed by the mentally ill individuals in the community. The activities performed by ACT team members include social skills training, delivering medications, monitoring physical and mental health, and frequently contacting family members.
The work practices and combined expertise of the ACT multidisciplinary team enable mental health service users to be given more holistic care that addresses their social, medical, and mental needs. According to Roth et al. (2021), the ACT multidisciplinary team provides intensive support to mentally ill patients within the community. These teams focus on recovery rather than on the illness. Components of a flexible ACT approach include regular team meetings, a low patient-to-staff ratio, team-based and shared caseload, and home visits. Although coordination of individual caseloads is performed by a case manager, all professionals within the ACT team offer mental health care. In periods when there is a higher need for care and treatment, the teams work jointly in meeting these needs. This model of care offers an opportunity for transitioning between low- and high-intensity care and treatment along with a shared caseload and therefore is likely to promote recovery.
Although recovery from serious mental illnesses is dependent on the individual patient, professional guidance and support improve recovery outcomes. According to Roth et al. (2021), a recovery-orient practice focuses on the individual patient, enhances social inclusion, addresses stigmatization, and improves participation in the society, citizenship, and quality of life. Individuals with serious mental illnesses work in collaboration with ACT teams which enhances shared decision making and also puts individual patients’ viewpoints on recuperation at the midpoint of the treatment. The recovery-oriented approach encompasses empowerment of the service user, peer support, respect for individual needs, the right to informed choice, and the right to ethical treatment.
In mental health, peer support refers to support for an individual with a mental health problem offered by persons who have personally had and experienced a mental health problem. Roth et al. (2021) indicate that people with lived experiences are included in the ACT service delivery teams, as peer specialists or peer workers. The provision of support by peer workers can positively influence the recovery journey of persons suffering from serious mental illness. Treatment and support provided by a highly qualified ACT team supports can support mentally ill patients to smoothly transition from the hospital to the community, take part in social life and increase patient satisfaction. This necessitates devotion by each ACT team member, a common purpose, a clear allocation of roles, and a shared vision,
Importance of partial hospitalization programs
Partial hospitalization programs also referred to as evening or day treatment programs are intended to ease the transition from inpatient hospitalization to community living or prevent hospitalization. According to Townsend and Morgan (2017), different forms of treatment are offered through partial hospitalization programs including therapeutic community activities; family, group, and individual therapies; drug and alcohol education; psychoeducation; occupational therapy; therapeutic recreational activities; and crisis intervention. The majority of partial hospitalization programs provide medication administration and monitoring as a portion of their care.
Partial hospitalization programs usually provide a comprehensive treatment plan developed by an interdisciplinary team of social workers, recreational and occupational therapists, nurses, psychologists, and psychiatrists. Townsend and Morgan (2017) posit that partial hospital programs are a useful scheme for preventing hospitalization for persons with chronic and severe mental illness. These programs are a scheme for transitioning patients from the acute care setting back into the mainstream community. For some people who have undergone deinstitutionalization, a partial hospitalization program offers structure, opportunities, and support for social socialization, along with an improvement in their quality of life.
Importance of alternate delivery care methods such as telepsychiatry in the community
The use of alternate delivery care methods such as telepsychiatry in the community can improve access for people with severe mental illnesses who receive community-based psychiatric care. There is a shortage of psychiatrists to provide mental health care services in the community. Also, Community-mental health providers are required to directly negotiate challenges such as delivering care in neighborhoods with high crimes and poor infrastructure such as poor roads. These challenges might hinder community-based mental health providers from reaching all individuals who require their services. The use of telepsychiatry can help overcome these challenges. According to Abbasy (2020), similar to telemedicine, telepsychiatry encompasses the interaction between the patient and the psychiatrist. Also, it includes psychiatrists providing support to primary care providers with mental health care expertise and consultation. Delivery of mental health services s can occur via lie, interactive communication but can also encompass recording medical information such as videos and images and sending them to a distant site for them to be reviewed later Community-Based Care Provider in Mental Health.
Video-based telepsychiatry in the community can help meet the needs of patients by enabling them to remotely access mental health care. According to Abbasy (2020), video-based telepsychiatry can improve patients’ access to mental health care that might not be available, for instance in remote areas; bring care to the location of the patient; lessen delays in care; improve follow-up and continuity of care; reduce stigmatization; and lessen potential barriers to transportations, such as the need for long drives or lack of transportation. Mentally ill patients might be more willing and relaxed to give information from a nearby office or the comfort of their home. Telepsychiatry permits psychiatrists to provide treatment to more individuals in distant locations.
References
Abbasy, S. U. (2020). Importance and Advantages of Telepsychiatry in Mental Health During COVID 19 Pandemic. Psychology and Psychotherapy Research Study, 4, 2. DOI: 10.31031/PPRS.2020.04.000585
Goyal, S. K. (2020). Essentials of Psychiatry . Wolters Kluwer India Pvt Ltd.
O’Donnell, H., Davis, K., & Mestan, S. (2019). Building The Community-Based Mental Health Workforce To Expand Access to Treatment . Health Affairs . Doi: 10.1377 / forefront . 20191022.281887
Roth, C., Wensing, M., Kuzman, M. R…. Petrea, I. (2021). Experiences of healthcare staff providing community-based mental healthcare as a multidisciplinary community mental health team in Central and Eastern Europe findings from the RECOVER-E project: an observational intervention study. BMC psychiatry, 21 , 525. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-021-03542-2
Townsend, M. C., & Morgan, K. I. (2017). Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing: Concepts of Care in Evidence-Based Practice . F. A. Davis. Community-Based Care Provider in Mental Health
