Mental Health Planners Research Articles

Psychiatrists and Community Mental Health: Normative Versus Utilitarian Incentives

The inability to attract adequate numbers of psychiatrists has been a concern of community mental health (CMH) planners for some time. This paper considers whether normative or utilitarian (i.e., economic) inducements have more of an impact on their participation. Data are drawn from a survey of 946 New York area psychiatrists. These data suggest the likelihood of incremental growth among community psychiatrists because organizational involvement, high quality residency training, and "younger generation" status all are linked to normative commitments to CMH values. Moreover, since political orientation is the strongest single determinant of these values, commitments also can be deliberately stimulated through normative appeals. Yet, our principal finding is that severe utilitarian disincentives tend to undercut the effects of normative inducements and commitments. The paper concludes by examining the social policy implications for community mental health staffing of the primacy of utilitarian considerations among psychiatrists.

Anticipating the impact of Public Law 93-641 on mental health services.

Implementation of the new federal law setting up Health Systems Agencies (HSAs) on a regional basis offers many opportunities for participation by psychiatry. On the basis of interviews with mental health service providers, planners, and citizen representatives, the author formulated an inventory of the law's potential impacts, grouped around six general themes. He discusses the positive aspects of each, along with possible problems and hazards.

Planning for mental health

This report is based on a study of comprehensive mental health state plans submitted to the National Institute of Mental Health in 1965, interviews with mental health planners in selected states, discussions with professionals and citizens involved in the planning, and a review of the pertinent literature. This study was made to bring together observations about the outcome of this massive planning effort, to comment on the current status of mental health planning, and to develop some directions for facilitating planning at the state level.

COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN NORTHERN EUROPE: GREAT BRITAIN, NETHERLANDS, DENMARK, AND SWEDEN

COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN NORTHERN EUROPE: GREAT BRITAIN, NETHERLANDS, DENMARK, AND SWEDEN Philip Wexler CopyRight https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.57.3.563-a Published Online: August 29, 2011