MHN 601 Lecture Notes 2 PDF

Biaka University Institute, Buea. MHN 601 LECTURE NOTES 2 Community mental health services and role of the nurse in extended care Introduction Community mental health is the integrated approach to mental health that uses social resources to ensure that people with mental healt...

Biaka University Institute, Buea. MHN 601 LECTURE NOTES 2 Community mental health services and role of the nurse in extended care Introduction Community mental health is the integrated approach to mental health that uses social resources to ensure that people with mental health problems have the right to accessible care and is supported in their own environment to work on their recovery. Mental health nurses can engage in community outreach in the following contexts: 1. Schools 2. Homes 3. Churches 4. The larger community Community mental health services can take on the following actions: 1. Promotive care 2. Preventive care 3. Curative care 4. Palliative care Promotive care in community mental health services Mental health promotion attempts to encourage and increase protective factors and healthy behaviors that can help prevent the onset of a diagnosable mental disorder and reduce risk factors that can lead to the development of a mental disorder. It also involves creating living conditions and environments that support mental health and allow people to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles or a ―a climate that respects and protects basic civil, political, socio-economic and cultural rights is fundamental to mental health promotion. Without the security and freedom provided by these rights, it is very difficult to maintain a high level of mental health. Specifically, mental health can be promoted in the community through: 1. Early childhood interventions (e.g., home visits for pregnant women, pre- school psychosocial activities); 2. Providing support for children (e.g., skills building programs, child and youth development programs); 1 Biaka University Institute, Buea. 3. Programs targeted at vulnerable groups, including minorities, indigenous people, migrants, and people affected by conflicts and disasters (e.g., psychosocial interventions after disasters); 4. Incorporating mental health promotional activities in schools (e.g., programs supporting ecological changes in schools and child-friendly schools); violence prevention programs; and, among others, community development programs. Preventive care in community mental health services Preventive health care consists of measures taken for the purpose of disease prevention. Preventive care encourages and increases protective factors and healthy behaviors that can help prevent the onset of a diagnosable mental health disease. Prevention efforts can vary based on the, audience they are addressing, level of intensity they are providing, and the development phase they target. Figure 1 depicts the different types of prevention as defined by the Institute of Medicine. As prevention efforts move from universal prevention interventions to treatment they increase in intensity and become more individualized. 2 Biaka University Institute, Buea. Figure 1: Levels of Prevention Intervention 3 Biaka University Institute, Buea. Figure 2: Interventions by Developmental Phase Curative care in Community mental health service Curative care refers to treatment and therapies provided to a patient with the main intent of fully resolving an illness and the goal of bringing the patient—ideally—to their status of health before the illness presented itself. Palliative care in community mental health services The term curative care is often used in contrast with "palliative care," which is a treatment or therapy that does not directly aim to cure the patient. Rather, palliative care aims to provide comfort for the patient in the moment. Palliative care is a specialized form of health care that aims to improve the overall quality of life of 4 Biaka University Institute, Buea. patients and the families of patients who are faced with life-threatening illness and medical issues. The role of nursing in community mental health care The role of the nurse is necessarily tailored to meet the needs of the user and integrate all available experts in order to support the user’s journey to improve their quality of life. The role of the nurse can take on six perspectives: 1. Ethics – Nurses role in the promotion of ethical principles in mental health services. 2. Public health – nurses role in the protection and promotion of the mental health of the population at the local and regional levels 3. Recovery – Support recovery, offer hope for recovery 4. Effective treatment – Implement a combination of complementary pharmacological, psychological, somatic and social interventions. 5. Community Network – Build information network, referral network 6. Peer Expertise – Multidisciplinary care team 5