Patient engagement, autonomy, access to mental care services – the case for integrated care in Crete
Access to comprehensive primary care (PC) services is imperative to address the complex biopsychosocial needs of patients with mental illness and their families, while it holds the potential to safeguard mental health and enhance resilience in communities. Integration of mental health and social care services in primary care has not yet been achieved, while access to such services for the mentally ill is still hindered by patient-, provider- and system-oriented barriers. Improving service integration, quality and access requires active engagement of patients and families in the design and planning of services.
Interprofessional collaboration, interdisciplinary approaches and sound deliberative processes are only the start of initiating discussions to establish the needs of local communities. Mapping care paths, involving stakeholders and engaging in practice-based research are impeded by the organisation and design of care provision, including siloed processes and semantic ambiguity in establishing common ground. Academic centres ought to act as hubs for bringing together all actors, creating living labs and addressing the needs of people in urban and rural areas. The case study from Crete will focus on the following questions:
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What actions are needed to improve access of people with mental health disorders to PC services and how could PC mediate effective communication with mental health services?
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To what extent people with mental health disorders experience violence, abuse or discriminatory behaviour in PC?
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To what extent PC services recognize and facilitate autonomy, self-determination and inclusion of people with mental health disorders?
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To what extent stakeholders and PC services engage people with mental health disorders in decision making process and local governance?
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To what extent educational interventions for PC practitioners could result in the reduction of discriminatory behaviour and safeguard the dignity among people with mental health disorders?