A Delphi Study of Problems in Providing Community Care to Patients With Nonpsychotic Chronic Mental Illness

Abstract

Objective: The study identified problems that professionals perceive in community care of patients with nonpsychotic chronic mental illness. Methods: Eight national experts from the Netherlands participated in a four-phase modified Delphi procedure to identify and rate the urgency of problems in patient care and the extent to which problems were amenable to change. Results: A total of 39 problems were identified in five categories: patients, professionals, their interactions, the family and social system, and the mental health system. Participants noted the many social problems of these patients and their unusual help-seeking behavior. They often perceived these patients as able but unwilling to get better. They also noted that their diagnoses tend to be unclear and shifting and that more precise classifications would help in development of treatments. Conclusions: Elucidating the distinction between the psychiatric symptoms of these patients and their unusual help-seeking behavior may improve diagnosis and patient care. (Psychiatric Services 60:693—697, 2009)