Schizophrenia bulletin
-
Schizophrenia bulletin · Jan 1981
Long-term community care: mental health policy in the face of reality.
Nursing homes play an important role in the care of chronic mental patients, and they could be used as one base on which to build a better system of care. Carling, in his article "Nursing Homes and Chronic Mental Patients: A Second Opinion," appears to question aspects of this contention. His efforts in this regard are interesting but unconvincing, though his thoughtful comments usefully elaborate the problems inherent in trying to incorporate nursing homes into the mainstream of mental health care. ⋯ Meanwhile, mental health policy must face the reality that nursing homes are providing useful services to many chronic mental patients who have been inadequately served by current community care programs. This is not likely to change in the foreseeable future. Policy advocates need to attend to practical alternatives, not just to idealized possibilities.
-
Through a critical review of Shadish and Bootzin's (1981) work in "Nursing Homes and Chronic Mental Patients," the author defines the larger context in which this national problem occurs, presents important distinctions among various subgroups of nursing home residents, and summarizes some of the most glaring historical inadequacies of using institutions as the core of a mental health system. Through this approach, the presentation raises serious questions about Shadish and Bootzin's proposal to use nursing homes as a foundation on which to reconstruct an improved community services system for chronically mentally ill persons.