Patient, Client or Consumer? A Survey of Preferred Terms

Abstract

Objective: To ascertain how recipients of a mental health service like to be referred, given recent debate about this topic. Method: A survey was conducted in an Australian regional mental health service. Results: The 125 respondents were participating in a variety of inpatient and outpatient programmes. “Client” was the preferred term by 34% of respondents, with 28% preferring “consumer”, 23% preferring “patient” and 15% preferring to be known as something other than these terms. Analysis of the data suggested that the term preferred depends to a large extent on the treatment setting and that age and gender of the person have little or no influence on term preference. Conclusions: The reform of mental health services has emphasised collaborative partnerships and carer and consumer involvement in all aspects of service delivery. It is increasingly important that service providers listen to the voice of recipients in a number of areas, including how recipients are described and addressed.