ABSTRACT
The managed care initiatives sweeping the nation are having a profound effect on the way that social workers deliver services to people with severe mental illness. Social work, with its client-focused value base and relevant conceptual frameworks, has an opportunity to provide leadership in this area. To do so, however, social workers must keep abreast of developments in managed care; use efficacy information more systematically; and promote consumer involvement in the design, implementation, and monitoring of managed care programs for people with severe mental illness.
Subject(s)
Delivery of Health Care/organization & administration , Managed Care Programs/organization & administration , Social Work, Psychiatric/organization & administration , Humans , Job Description , Marketing of Health Services , Organizational Innovation , Patient Advocacy , Patient Participation , United StatesABSTRACT
The effect of an intervention to change graduate MSW students' attitudes towards the severely mentally ill was investigated. Positive changes in attitude were observed for the students who participated in the intervention. Attitude scores of students in the comparison group remained the same. The encouraging findings of this study suggest that the negative attitudes of social work students towards this population can be improved. Implications for future research and training of professionals working with the severely mentally ill are discussed.
Subject(s)
Attitude of Health Personnel , Education, Graduate , Mental Disorders/psychology , Social Work/education , Adult , Curriculum , Female , Humans , Male , Ontario , Personality Assessment , Program EvaluationABSTRACT
Research concerning the care and treatment of people with severe mental illness has not been consonant with the well-established emphasis on consumer empowerment in social work and the psychiatric rehabilitation field. This article provides a set of research strategies that would help bridge the gap. We argue that research should amplify "the voice of the consumer" by attending to the context of research, the vantage point, the process of formulating research questions, the selection of interventions to be tested, the selection of outcomes and measures, and the dissemination of research results.
