Patients have rosier view of mental health services than professionals

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One in three Finns do not want a recovering mental patient as a neighbour.
      According to a "mental health barometer" released on Tuesday by the Finnish Central Association for Mental Health, the most negative attitudes are among those working in high positions: 40 percent of people in managerial positions and 44 percent of high-ranking white-collar workers said that they would not want to live near someone who is recovering from a mental disorder.
      Students, pensioners, and the unemployed were more open to having those suffering from mental disorders as neighbours.
      Men tend to be more prejudiced than women, while those aged 25 to 34 are more likely to shun a neighbour who is being treated for a mental disorder.
     
"The result does not support the view that a higher education would guarantee a more tolerant attitude", says the association’s chairman, Pekka Sauri.
      The survey, conducted by Suomen Gallup, also examined how recovering patients themselves, their family members, the population at large, and mental health professionals view the position of those recovering from mental disorders.
      Pekka Sauri says that the most unexpected result was that 80 percent of those undergoing treatment feel that the services that they get are adequate, while only five percent of psychiatrists and psychologists felt the same way. Half of patients’ family members were satisfied.
      For the survey, Suomen Gallup interviewed 300 members of the Finnish Central Association for Mental Health - recovering patients and their family members - as well as 1,390 other Finns. Views of professionals in the field - 282 psychiatrists and psychologists - were taken in an on-line survey.
     
There were also sharp differences between patients and those caring for them with respect to medication. Three out of four recovering patients were satisfied with the medication that they were provided, while only one in three professionals shared the view.
      "In previous studies we have noticed, that psychiatric patients are grateful for even a small amount of help that they might get. Professionals, on the other hand, know about the various possible treatments, with which they could help patients", says Professor Hasse Karlsson at the Psychiatric Clinic of the Helsinki University Central Hospital.
      The information officer of the association, author Leena Vähäkylä, who suffers from bipolar disorder, is surprised at the degree of satisfaction among patients.
      "It is my experience that it is very difficult a patient in Helsinki recovering from a mental ailment to get an appointment with a doctor", Vähäkylä says.


Links:
  Finnish Central Association for Mental Health

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