For my article I chose a study on the effect of community integration on those recovering from mental health issues. The study took evaluated apx. 150 mental health patients in large cities in South Korea. The participants were asked to rank how they felt certain thing within the community, such as healthy friendships and volunteering, affected their healing. Those with cognitive disorders were excluded to be sure that those participating had a full understanding in what they were ranking. The study showed a correlation between community integration and improved mental health. This is valuable to us as mental health nurses so that we can try to help further integration of our patients back into the community. As I work for the VA many of our patients come from smaller more rural communities and I am often unaware of what each town may have to offer. We also work directly with a social work team but as the veterans are not scheduled with them post-discharge it would be of great benefit for us to have a higher knowledge of how to help our patients navigate this.
Resources:
Jun, W. H., & Choi, E. J. (2020). The relationship between community integration and mental health recovery in people with mental health issues living in the community: A quantitative study. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 27(3), 296-307. doi:10.1111/jpm.12578
I think it is very important for nurses to be able to assist these patients get back into the community. If the nurses are going to be the contact for the first few weeks instead of the social workers, then the nurses need to be able to provide them the assistant they need. I can see how community integration would be important for these patients. Being able to be involved and to do things will keep their minds busy.
I agree! I think having a better base knowledge would be beneficial I also think that since they are scheduled for weekly appointments it would be of great benefit to schedule at least one appointment with one of our social workers so that the patients can address any other social work issues that they may have outside of community integration.
Reading more about the research topic shows that community integration programs help mental health clients to develop personal, social and vocational competency to live as independently as possible in their communities. Community integration programs provide services like skills development, education and employment that will help mental health clients become independent. Community integration programs will bring meaning and purpose to the lives of mental health clients by giving them highest level of autonomy and independence (Community Integration and Mental Health, 2017).
References
Community integration and mental health. (2017, December 18). Association For Community Integration Programs. Retrieved July 7, 2020, from https://communityintegration.com/community-integration-mental-health/#:~:text=Community%20integration%20programs%20are%20an,choice%2C%20and%20self%2Ddetermination.
I agree the more community programs we have available the more we have to offer our patients. Where I struggle is having access to the small rural areas many of my patients live in.
It is very important that mental health patients, even people in general, have resources within the community and society to succeed. Patients that remain isolated and who do not integrate within their community tend to struggle more and succeed less often than patients that are engaged within their community. Knowledge and delivery of resources to help these patients is paramount to their success.
I agree the increased isolation is detrimental to our patients and to us all as we have all experienced so much more of this than normal. We are currently developing list of virtual community ways to integrate for those who are trapped at home which we hope will be beneficial to our patients.
This was an interesting study, I am sure that working with the VA you see a struggle with this continuously. Integrating back into a community after hospitalization for a mentally ill condition can be very traumatic for anyone, especially the severely mentally ill such as those with schizophrenia or other more severe illnesses. I think that no matter how large of a community you live in it would be a struggle, for those who live in small communities people are very judgemental and not always very accepting and those in larger communities may have problems finding support. I came across an article that talked about therapeutic communities, this is communities that mentally ill people live for usually 6-9 months and then slowly reintegrate into the community such as work, school and other activities. These patients move through a continuum of community homes working with support staff at each level prior to exiting the therapeutic community (Frances, 2015).
Reference:
Frances, A. J. (2015, February 2). Welcoming the mentally ill back into our community. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/dsm5-in-distress/201502/welcoming-the-mentally-ill-back-our-community