RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To describe: a) a self-report questionnaire of 34 item, developed by a Family Association of Psychiatric Patients in collaboration with two psychiatrists to evaluate by key-relative in a clinical practice the perceived quality of mental health services, the needs and family burden; b) the methodology of validation. METHODS: It has been studied (a) the Face Validity by two focus groups of 10 relatives for each group, (b) the concurrent validity of family burden items comparing the ABC with QPF, a widely used questionnaire, in 6 Italian mental health centres on a sample of key-relatives, (c) the discriminant validity comparing three different samples of key-relatives of patients with psychiatric illness, Alzheimer or cancer. The internal consistency of items for assessing relatives' opinions on the quality of care has been evaluated by Chronbach' s alpha. The test-retest has been evaluated on a sample of 20 key-relatives. RESULTS: The results indicate a fairly good performance of the questionnaire in this preliminary but almost complete phase of validation. The time to fill in it has been estimated in a 7 minutes average. CONCLUSION: It is possible by this self-report questionnaire to evaluate in a clinical routine setting and in a very short time three important problems for relatives and professionals: opinions and needs of relatives, and objective and subjective family burden of severe mental illness.
RESUMEN
Although various surveys on job satisfaction have been performed in mental health care settings, no studies have investigated in-depth the level of satisfaction with the various aspects of work in Italian mental health services. In the present study, all clinical mental health staff working in a large psychiatric catchment area in Rome were invited to anonymously complete a previously validated questionnaire designed to measure job satisfaction among mental health professionals. Of the total 236 health professionals, 196 (83%) agreed to participate. Most participants were not completely satisfied with many aspects of their job, and many were not even moderately satisfied. The level of satisfaction increased with age, and it was significantly lower among hospital-ward staff compared to the staff of outpatient clinics or residential facilities, even after adjusting for age, gender, profession, work setting, and time in current job, using a multiple logistic regression model. Our findings suggest that interventions aimed at increasing job satisfaction among Italian mental health professionals might be warranted, particularly among hospital-ward staff.
Asunto(s)
Personal de Salud/psicología , Satisfacción en el Trabajo , Servicios de Salud Mental , Adulto , Femenino , Hospitales Psiquiátricos , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Servicio Ambulatorio en Hospital , Personal de Hospital/psicología , Servicio de Psiquiatría en Hospital , Ciudad de Roma , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Población Urbana , Recursos HumanosRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To assess the satisfaction of patients and their relatives with psychiatric care and to identify variables associated with any dissatisfaction. METHODS: The study was performed in a defined psychiatric catchment area in south Rome, Italy. All eligible patients and relatives who had contacts with services during a predefined period were asked to participate. Satisfaction with psychiatric services was measured with a previously validated questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 890 patients were asked to participate in the study and 855 (96%) accepted. Also, 270 relatives were asked to participate and 265 (98%) agreed. The satisfaction with services expressed by outpatients and their relatives was fairly good, with the exception of poor satisfaction with information about treatment and involvement in the treatment programme. The satisfaction of inpatients and their relatives was significantly lower, with the issue of information-giving by staff appearing particularly critical. Among patients, variables associated with dissatisfaction were being an inpatient, having a diagnosis of psychosis, being in contact with services for more than 6 years, and being single. Among relatives, being female and being the relative of an inpatient were associated with dissatisfaction. For both patients and relatives, receiving inpatient care was the strongest predictor of dissatisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that inpatient care, especially for psychotic patients, needs to be improved and that special attention should be devoted to inform adequately and to engage in treatment both patients and their relatives. Lack of information appears to be a crucial determinant of dissatisfaction with psychiatric care among both patients and their relatives.