Quality in Community Mental Health Care. From the Perspectives of Patients, Next-of-kin, and Healthcare Professionals

Describe and compare patients', next-of-kin's and healthcare professionals' perceptions of the quality of care in community mental healthcare services. Patients value family involvement in mental healthcare, but next-of-kin feel unprepared and lack the necessary skills to be supportive. Since healthcare professionals predominantly focus on patients, they may fail to understand the complex needs of families. Thus, the quality of community mental healthcare may vary across patients, next-of-kin, and healthcare professionals. Cross-sectional study with patients, next-of-kin and healthcare professionals in community mental healthcare services in Norway. 140 participants, of whom 43 are patients, 43 next-of-kin, and 56 healthcare professionals. Participants filled in the translated version of the Quality in Psychiatric Care - Community Out-Patient (QPC-COP), Community Out-Patient Next of Kin (QPC-COPNK), and Quality in Psychiatric Care- Community Outpatient Staff (QPC-COPS). Next-of-kin and healthcare professionals scored the overall quality of community mental healthcare lower than patients. All three perspectives reported the Encounter to be of high quality. Patients rated Discharge, next-of-kin rated Next-of-kin, and healthcare professionals rated Environmentas havingthelowest quality of care. Patients were generally more positive than the next-of-kin and healthcare professionals about the quality of community mental healthcare. Patients, next-of-kin, and healthcare professionals rated interpersonal relationship between patients and healthcare professionals as having the highest quality of care. However, lowest quality scores were given by next-of-kin regarding being respected and invited to take part, and by healthcare professionals regarding the patients' trust in the healthcare professionals, and feeling secure in their home environment. This is important knowledge for health authorities, leaders, and mental healthcare clinicians in developing and providing quality care.