Abstract
Over the last three decades significant efforts have been made in many European countries to move away from a mental health system dominated by institutional care towards one whereby the main emphasis is on providing care and support within the community. Although the time of starting the reforms, their pace, the political context, and the exact objectives varies substantially across Europe, practically all countries have been undergoing such major reforms aimed at establishing services in the community to replace institutional based care. Each country makes its own decisions about the necessary mental health services taking into account a range of factors including population needs, level of resources, flexibility and coordination of organizational structures, as well as local culture. These factors become an integral element of a national mental health policy and action plan, closely linked with national public health strategies.Greece has been modernizing an outdated mental health system, which was based on institutional care, over the last 20 years, by developing community-based mental health care. This article describes the methodology used for the evaluation of the Psychargos programme of the mental health reforms in Greece. Various forms of community-based mental health services have been developed including supported living facilities, community mental health centres and employment opportunities.
Highlights
Over the last three decades significant efforts have been made in many European countries to move away from a mental health system dominated by institutional care towards one whereby the main emphasis is on providing care and support within the community [1] (WHO, 2011)
This paper presents the methodology used for the evaluation
The outcome of this initial meeting was that the evaluation should not be limited to the “Psychargos” programme but should involve the broader system of mental health services as the mental health reforms in Greece extended over a longer period than that covered by the Psychargos programme
Summary
Over the last three decades significant efforts have been made in many European countries to move away from a mental health system dominated by institutional care towards one whereby the main emphasis is on providing care and support within the community [1] (WHO, 2011). The intervention strategy, including the rationale behind the Psychargos programme and why certain priorities were selected in relation to geographical areas, population needs, Data collection The methods and the process that were employed for gathering the data were the following: Planning meeting During the preparatory stage of the project, members of the evaluation team carried out an introductory meeting with the stakeholders of the Psychargos programme, including Governmental officials from the responsible Ministries and other relevant organizations The outcome of this initial meeting was that the evaluation should not be limited to the “Psychargos” programme but should involve the broader system of mental health services as the mental health reforms in Greece extended over a longer period than that covered by the Psychargos programme. Site visits took place in a range of different mental health units in order to form a direct view and opinion relating to their physical and operational infrastructure During these visits additional data were collected with individual interviews with members of front line staff and service users and review of local policies and documents increasing and strengthening the representativeness of the collected data. There were several studies published in Greek that were reviewed
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