Health professionals’ perceptions of user involvement in a mental health centre: A critical discourse analysis

Kim Jørgensen*, Mathias Søren Hansen, Morten Hansen, Bengt Karlsson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the engagement between healthcare professionals and users of mental healthcare at the individual level in a mental health hospital. A qualitative research design with purposive sampling was adopted. Five audio-recorded focus group interviews were conducted with nurses and other health professionals at a mental health hospital in Copenhagen and were explored using Fairclough's discourse analysis framework. This study shows how users can be subject to paternalistic control despite the official aim that user involvement be an integral part of the care and treatment offered. As evidenced in discussions by health professionals, the users were involved in plans based on conditions determined by the health professionals who were predominantly focused on treating diseases and enabling the users to live a life independent of professional help. Our results can contribute to dealing with the challenges of incorporating user involvement as an ideology in mental health hospitals
Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal of Mental Health Nursing
Volume33
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)937-948
Number of pages12
ISSN1445-8330
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2024

Keywords

  • clinical-research approaches
  • discourse analysis
  • mental health hospitals
  • patient participation
  • user involvement

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