Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare users’ and mental health workers’ (MHW) perception of respect of human rights and job/care satisfaction in mental health services in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of users and MHW of Sardinia, Italy, fulfilled the “Well-Being at work and respect for human rights questionnaire” (WWRR). The study included 240 MHW and 200 users. Users showed a higher level of satisfaction of care than MHW of work, and a higher perception of the satisfaction of users and human rights respected for health workers. Both user and MHW responses were about 85% of the maximum score, except for satisfaction with resources. Responses were higher for users, but users and MHW both showed high levels of satisfaction. In previous surveys, MHW of Sardinia showed higher scores in all items of WWRR, except for satisfaction with resources, compared with workers from other health sectors of the same region, and with MHW from other countries. The low score for satisfaction with resources (in users and staff) is consistent with a progressive impoverishment of resources for mental health care in Italy. The study, although confirming the validity of the Italian model, fully oriented towards community, sets off an alarm bell on the risks resulting from the decrease in resources.
Highlights
The right of people with psychosocial disabilities to fully participate in the political and public life is constantly challenged by stigma and discrimination; human rights violations committed against people with mental health issues have been declared a “global emergency” and an “unresolved global crisis” [1,2]
It is known that users of mental health services, even those in Sardinia, have a low level of education (Carta et al, 2013), while health workers in Italy frequently graduate from universities
The study found that the users of mental health services of an Italian region show a higher level of satisfaction with the care received than health workers of the same region with their work
Summary
The right of people with psychosocial disabilities to fully participate in the political and public life is constantly challenged by stigma and discrimination; human rights violations committed against people with mental health issues have been declared a “global emergency” and an “unresolved global crisis” [1,2]. How care is delivered in mental health and how people in need of care perceive the quality of care provided and the respect of their rights in health care facilities is a key issue in addressing stigma and discrimination in mental health [3,4]. The climate of respect for the people in care systems affects the well-being of users and that of the professionals. The concept according to which the perception of the respect of the human rights of users by staff is a main component of organizational well-being in mental health care services is increasingly affirming [6,7,8]. The non-respect of the rights of a system component (the users) creates discomfort in the users, conflict between users and MHW, and alack of esteem of the professionals by the users; this ends up reverberating in the well-being of the MHW
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