Physical Healthcare for People with a Severe Mental Illness in Belgium by Long-Term Community Mental Health Outreach Teams: A Qualitative Descriptive Study on Physicians’, Community Mental Health Workers’ and Patients’ Perspectives

Nicolaas Martens (), Eline De Haeck, Evelyn Van De Vondel, Marianne Destoop, Kirsten Catthoor, Geert Dom and Kris Van Den Broeck
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Nicolaas Martens: Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute (CAPRI), University of Antwerp, B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium
Eline De Haeck: Multiversum Psychiatric Hospital, B-2530 Boechout, Belgium
Evelyn Van De Vondel: Multiversum Psychiatric Hospital, B-2530 Boechout, Belgium
Marianne Destoop: Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute (CAPRI), University of Antwerp, B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium
Kirsten Catthoor: Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute (CAPRI), University of Antwerp, B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium
Geert Dom: Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute (CAPRI), University of Antwerp, B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium
Kris Van Den Broeck: Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute (CAPRI), University of Antwerp, B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Background: People with a severe mental illness (pSMI) often have comorbid physical health problems, resulting in a lower life expectancy compared to the global population. In Belgium, it remains unclear how to approach health disparities in pSMI in a community setting. This study explores the perspectives of both care professionals and patients on physical healthcare in Belgian community mental services, aiming to identify good practices, barriers and points of improvement. Methods: An exploratory qualitative design that used a semi-structured focus group interview with physicians combined with individual face-to-face interviews with physicians, mental health professionals and patients. Results: We identified care professional-, patient-related and organizational factors, as well as points of improvement. The identified themes linked to care professionals were communication, task distribution, knowledge, time and stigmatization. The co-location of services was the main theme on an organizational level. Conclusions: As community-based mental health services in Belgium emerged in the past decade, addressing physical health in pSMI is still challenging. Our findings suggest that there is a need for improvement in the current healthcare provision. Multidisciplinary guidelines, shared patient records, enlarging nurses’ tasks, providing financial incentives and a structural integration of primary and psychiatric care were perceived as major points of improvement to the current Belgian healthcare organization.

Keywords: community mental healthcare; mental health nursing; integrated care; organization of healthcare; physical healthcare; severe mental illness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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