User involvement and collaboration in supported housing

Abstract

A central feature of contemporary mental health care policy is a desire to work collaboratively with users in the development and delivery of services. This study sought to describe the nature of collaboration between residents of supported houses and their carers, and to explore the relationship between social functioning and involvement in care. A measure of global social functioning was collated for each resident of 3 supported houses in South London. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to staff which sought their views on resident involvement in care. Mean social functioning scores varied between the houses and there was evidence to suggest that the levels of resident involvement were positively associated with social functioning although this was not consistent. Other factors which may mediate resident staff collaboration are explored and recommendations are made to enhance this aspect of care.