Practitioner orientations toward the chronically disabled: Prospects for policy implementation

Abstract

This article examines how community mental health practitioners are likely to implement services for improving community-based care of the chronically mentally disabled. A scale is described for use by administrators to assess practitioner orientations and thereby anticipate compliance problems. Research findings comparing scale scores of state hospital and community-based practitioners are reported, indicating potential problems. Suggestions are made to help administrators alleviate these problems.