Rehabilitation and Quality of Life in Residential Units for People With Longer Term Mental Health Problems

The study design is that of a cluster randomised controlled trial The aims of the study were: 1) to assess the quality of care of the residential units for people with long-term mental disorders; 2) to design a training intervention for the staff of the units in the intervention group; 3) to assess the effectiveness of the intervention 4 and 8 months after it ended. The main outcome variable was level of activity of the users. Secondary outcome variables were the QuIRC dimensions. The selection of the sample was by residential units for people with long-term mental disorders. The inclusion criteria were all the middle and high-support residential units in Portugal. Units that had only one type of service users (e.g., mental retardation, dementia) were excluded. The quality of care of the units was assessed with the QuIRC filled on line by the managers of the units and validated with Service Users Interview Schedule, a face-to-face interview with the users (users that could not give informed consent or collaborate in the interview were excluded).

The development of community services for treating and rehabilitating people with longer term mental disease, including residential units, is a priority throughout Europe. Recent outcome studies have demonstrated encouraging results in rehabilitation program for most people with schizophrenia, event those with high needs. Recent legislation in Portugal and the approval of the first Mental Health Plan provided a thrust for developing community services for severe mental patients, specially those directed to patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders. The recent National Program for Ongoing Care in Mental Health is a unique opportunity to develop even more residential units and highlights the urgent need to evaluate these facilities. There are no published studies on the quality of these services, nor the impact that teatment and rehabilitation programs may have on the abilities and negative symptoms of their inpatients because, until recently, their were no reliable instruments for this. The DEMoB.inc (Development of a European Measure of Best Practice for People with Long Term Mental Illness in Institutional Care) study, a multicentric study financed by the European Comission, between 2007-2010, changed this situation. Its primary goal was the development of a a new instrument for evaluating the quality of the care provided and the quality of life in psychiatric residential units and the social sector. Our team was the portuguese partner for the study. The final version of the instrument now called QuIRC (Quality Indiciator in Rehabilitative Care) is available in portuguese on www.quirc.com. Several articles on this study have been published. This set of circumstances opens a unique opportunity: * The creation of more residential units for longer term mental patients. * The existence of an instrument designed and developed for assessing these facilities. The urgent need for assessing the quality of care provided in the facilities and the efectivity of their interventions is the primary goal of this study.