Predictors of family-focused practices among mental health workers in Quebec

ContextEngaging family members in the ongoing care of individuals with mental illness is a practice known to bolster the client’s recovery journey and enhance the overall wellbeing of both children and families involved. Despite its potential benefits, there remains a dearth of understanding surrounding the implementation of family-focused practices (FFP) by mental health professionals serving adults, as well as the factors that could either promote or hinder such practices. This knowledge gap is particularly pronounced within North American settings.GoalThe goal of this study was to identify potential hindering and enabling factors of FFP used in adult mental health services.MethodsA sample of 512 professionals working with adult mental health clients, from all regions of Quebec, Canada, with a variety of disciplinary backgrounds and working in different work settings, completed the Family Focused Mental Health Practice Questionnaire (FFMHPQ). Multinominal logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the impact of several factors – organizational, professional, and personal – on the degree of family-based practices of mental health workers.Results and discussionFindings of this study show that the strongest predictors for the adoption of higher FFP levels among adult mental health professionals in Quebec, are being employed on a full-time basis, perceiving a higher level of skills, knowledge, and confidence toward FFP, and having a supportive workplace environment. Results underscore the need to address both organizational and worker-related aspects to effectively promote better FFP in mental health services

Predictors of family-focused practices among mental health workers in Quebec

International audienceContext Engaging family members in the ongoing care of individuals with mental illness is a practice known to bolster the client’s recovery journey and enhance the overall wellbeing of both children and families involved. Despite its potential benefits, there remains a dearth of understanding surrounding the implementation of family-focused practices (FFP) by mental health professionals serving adults, as well as the factors that could either promote or hinder such practices. This knowledge gap is particularly pronounced within North American settings. Goal The goal of this study was to identify potential hindering and enabling factors of FFP used in adult mental health services. Methods A sample of 512 professionals working with adult mental health clients, from all regions of Quebec, Canada, with a variety of disciplinary backgrounds and working in different work settings, completed the Family Focused Mental Health Practice Questionnaire (FFMHPQ). Multinominal logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the impact of several factors – organizational, professional, and personal – on the degree of family-based practices of mental health workers. Results and discussion Findings of this study show that the strongest predictors for the adoption of higher FFP levels among adult mental health professionals in Quebec, are being employed on a full-time basis, perceiving a higher level of skills, knowledge, and confidence toward FFP, and having a supportive workplace environment. Results underscore the need to address both organizational and worker-related aspects to effectively promote better FFP in mental health services

Enquête sur les pratiques centrées sur la famille des professionnels travaillant en santé mentale adulte

Une enquête provinciale en ligne a été réalisée entre mars 2021 et janvier 2022 auprès de 512 professionnels travaillant en santé mentale adulte. Cette étude visait à documenter leurs pratiques de soutien à l’égard des adultes-usagers ayant un trouble mental et leurs familles. Ce feuillet présente une synthèse des résultats recueillis auprès de l’ensemble des participants

Pratiques centrées sur la famille chez les professionnels en santé mentale adulte : un portrait de la situation au Québec

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Pratiques centrées sur la famille chez les professionnels en santé mentale adulte : un portrait de la situation au Québec

Contexte Les enfants et jeunes vivant avec un parent ayant un trouble mental font partie d’un groupe de population vulnérable, plus à risque de divers problèmes psychosociaux et de santé mentale. Ils sont également surreprésentés dans les services de santé mentale pour les jeunes et les services de protection de la jeunesse. Les services en santé mentale pour adultes qui traitent les parents ont la possibilité d’identifier et de soutenir les enfants de ces familles. Cependant, il y a à ce jour encore peu de connaissances sur l’étendue des pratiques centrées sur la famille, proposées par les professionnels de différents champs disciplinaires, en contexte québécois.Objectifs L’objectif général de cette étude est de documenter les pratiques des professionnels en santé mentale adulte centrées sur la famille, et ce, en fonction de différents groupes de professionnels (psychologie, travail social, sciences infirmières, psychoéducation et éducation spécialisée).Méthode Au total, 524 participants, issus de l’ensemble des régions du Québec et travaillant auprès d’une clientèle en santé mentale adulte, ont répondu à une enquête provinciale en ligne. Un sous-échantillon de 380 participants, membres d’un ordre ou d’une association professionnelle et provenant de l’échantillon plus large, a été retenu pour la présente étude. Ceux-ci sont issus de 5 disciplines, soit le travail social (n = 127), les sciences infirmières (n = 99), la psychoéducation (n = 57), la psychologie (n = 56) et l’éducation spécialisée (n = 41). Une analyse MANCOVA a été réalisée afin de comparer les groupes professionnels en fonction des 5 sous-échelles de la version française du questionnaire Family Focused Mental Health Practice Questionnaire (FFMHPQ-FR, Piché et al., sous presse), en contrôlant pour le genre, le nombre d’années d’expérience de travail et la proportion estimée de clientèle ayant un rôle parental.Résultats D’importantes différences ont été constatées entre les travailleurs sociaux et les psychologues, concernant les pratiques de soutien rapportées. Les participants signalent également des niveaux très différents de facteurs facilitants tels que le soutien du milieu de travail, l’ouverture à la formation, les connaissances et compétences perçues et les croyances et attitudes à l’égard de ces pratiques.Discussion Cette étude permet d’approfondir les connaissances sur l’utilisation de pratiques centrées sur la famille par les professionnels de différents champs disciplinaires, en contexte de santé mentale adulte au Québec. Les résultats permettront de mieux soutenir l’adoption de telles pratiques dans les services en santé mentale.Context Children living with a mentally ill parent are a vulnerable population, at higher risk of various psychosocial and mental health problems. They are overrepresented in youth mental health and child protection services. Adult mental health services that treat parents have the opportunity to identify and support children in these families. However, to date, there is still little knowledge on the extent of family-centered practices offered by professionals from different disciplinary fields in Quebec.Objective This study aims to document the family-focused practices of adult mental health professionals according to different disciplines (social work, nursing, psychoeducation, psychology, and special education).Method A total of 524 participants, from all regions of Quebec and working with adult mental health clients, responded to an online provincial survey. A subsample of 380 participants, members of a professional order or association, was retained for the present study. These come from five discipline: social work (n=127), nursing (n=99), psychoeducation (n=57), psychology (n=56) and special education (n=41) A MANCOVA analysis was performed to compare groups on the five subscales of the French version of the Family Focused Mental Health Practice (FFMHPQ-FR, Piché et al., in press), controlling for gender, years of experience working in mental health services and estimated proportion of clients with a parental role.Results Significant differences were found between social workers and psychologists in reported family-focused practices. Participants also reported very different levels of facilitating factors such as workplace support, openness to training, perceived knowledge and skills, and attitudes towards these practices.Discussion This study helps to increase knowledge on the use of family-focused practices by professionals from different disciplinary fields, in the context of adult mental health services in Quebec. The results allow to better support the adoption of such practices in mental health services

Psychometric proprieties of the French Version of the Family-Focused Mental Health Practice Questionnaire (FFMHPQ)

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