Factors that Impact Attendance and Engagement of Young Consumers Referred to in Early Psychosis Service: A Challenge for Social Work.

Abstract

A major challenge for service providers is maintaining the attendance and engagement of young people in mental health services as without engagement recovery from mental illness is unlikely (Casey et al., 2016). This makes a focus on service engagement and recovery essential on many levels as the social and personal impacts of early psychosis can be considerable and far reaching (McGorry, 2015). Gaining a better understanding of youth early psychosis, the experiences of young people attending early psychosis community services, and the influences that work to keep them engaged is important for clinical and personal recovery, and a global challenge for social work practice. This study used a mixed methods methodology to identify the factors that contributed to consumers’ decision-making processes of whether or not to attend and engage with a community public early psychosis service. In doing so the role of social work in promoting autonomy and self-determination, while addressing the social and demographic factors that often impact on service engagement and recovery was also considered. The two phases in the study were underpinned by self-determination and ecological theory. The first phase involved an analysis of five years of data extracted from the Queensland Health Consumer Integrated Mental Health Application (CIMHA) pertaining to young people referred to the Early Psychosis Service on the Gold Coast. The second phase consisted of two consumer focus groups which aimed to explore themes that had been identified in the first phase as well as to investigate the key findings in more depth. Results suggested that social support, substance use, the therapeutic relationship and the transition period from hospital to community service were all influential in impacting on service engagement decisions. The findings inform future social work practice in the area of early psychosis, allowing interventions to be developed and established to encourage future service attendance and engagement in young people with lived experience.