The subjective experiences of people who regularly receive depot neuroleptic medication in the community

Little has been written on the subjective experiences of people who receive depot injections in the community. The authors of this paper have identified distinct gaps in the literature in terms of the views of service users regarding this particular intervention. Existing studies tend to focus upon the side effects of depot neuroleptic medication and the attitudes of Community Mental Health Nurses (CMHNs) towards administering depot medication and issues of compliance and non-compliance. Mental health nurses are frequently perceived as adhering solely to a biomedical approach to patient care in their practice and the therapeutic aspects of their role is frequently unacknowledged. This paper explores how, within the process of giving a depot injection, CMHNs are able to carry out an assessment of their client's needs as well as being someone who is consistent, reliable and supportive. This means that the process of giving a depot injection may be considered as a therapeutic intervention. Qualitative data were obtained through the administration of a semi-structured interview schedule that was constructed and consisted of a range of questions that elicited service users views and opinions related to their experiences of receiving depot neuroleptic medication in the community. The relationship between patient and nurse, as this study reveals, was one that was not only therapeutic, but also provided a forum where psychosocial and clinical issues could be discussed and explored. Crucially, the service users felt they did have a role and an influence in the delivery of their care

Reshaping mental health services Implications for Britain of US experience

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:7762.3983(KFI-RR--16) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

The Conservative Party Leadership Election of 1997: An Analysis of the Voting Motivations of Conservative Parliamentarians

This paper examines the voting motivations of Conservative parliamentarians in the final ballot of the Conservative Party leadership election of 1997. Conservative parliamentarians had a clear choice between the political characteristics and the ideological disposition of the candidates. Should they endorse a senior, experienced and electorally attractive candidate, Kenneth Clarke, or a junior, inexperienced and less electorally attractive candidate, William Hague? and should they endorse the socially liberal, economic damp, and Europhile Clarke or the socially conservative, economic and Eurosceptic Hague? By constructing a data set of the voting behaviour of Conservative parliamentarians in the final party leadership ballot, this paper seeks, through the use of bivariate analysis, to test a series of hypotheses relating to the political characteristics and ideological disposition of the candidates vis-à-vis their electorate. The paper demonstrates that attitudes to the European ideological divide alone do not fully explain the rejection of Clarke and the endorsement of Hague. The paper concludes that ideological disposition was a key determinant of voting behaviour across all three of the ideological determinants of post-Thatcherite Conservatism (i.e. the social, sexual and morality policy divide, the economic policy divide and the European policy divide). Moreover, it confirms that ideology was not the sole determinant of voting behaviour; the political characteristics of age and parliamentary experience were significant in explaining how a youthful, inexperienced, Thatcherite Eurosceptic secured the party leadership

Catching Life: The contribution of arts initiatives to ‘recovery’ approaches in mental health

This paper draws on a qualitative study that was undertaken as part of a national research study to assess the impact of participatory arts provision for people with mental health needs. It explores how arts and mental health projects may facilitate some of the key elements of what has been termed a ‘recovery approach’ in mental health. It is argued that it is precisely these elements – the fostering of hope, creating a sense of meaning and purpose, developing new coping mechanisms and rebuilding identities – which are hard to standardize and measure, yet may be the most profound and significant outcomes of participation in such projects. Therefore, in the context of a growing emphasis on recovery-orientated mental health services, while not necessarily being appropriate for all service users, arts and mental health initiatives could make an essential contribution to the future of mental health and social care provision

Catching Life: The contribution of arts initiatives to ‘recovery’ approaches in mental health

This paper draws on a qualitative study that was undertaken as part of a national research study to assess the impact of participatory arts provision for people with mental health needs. It explores how arts and mental health projects may facilitate some of the key elements of what has been termed a ‘recovery approach’ in mental health. It is argued that it is precisely these elements – the fostering of hope, creating a sense of meaning and purpose, developing new coping mechanisms and rebuilding identities – which are hard to standardize and measure, yet may be the most profound and significant outcomes of participation in such projects. Therefore, in the context of a growing emphasis on recovery-orientated mental health services, while not necessarily being appropriate for all service users, arts and mental health initiatives could make an essential contribution to the future of mental health and social care provision