[Reorganising a department of psychiatry according to recovery principles: A pilot study with mixed-method design]

Considering the impact of mental disorders, control and evaluation of treatment programs are important topics. Here, we report on a pilot study composed of a qualitative and a quantitative part to monitor the recovery-oriented reorganisation of a psychiatric department. For this purpose 13 and 15, respectively, stakeholders of the change management were interviewed between 2012 (T1) and 2014 (T2). Moreover, patients and staff were asked to complete a German version of the Recovery Self Assessment (RSA) questionnaire. The main result of the first investigation (T1) was that nursing staff fostered the projected transformation, while physicians and psychologists focused on risk management and worried about losing their role. The patients' and staff's questionnaire ratings of the recovery orientation of the department were surprisingly positive. However, most of the staff members were not correctly informed about patients' rights to see their files. In the second investigation (T2), many of the interviewees were under the impression that either their participation had decreased and/or that the reorganisation, from their point of view, had already been completed. Nevertheless, staff assessed the recovery orientation of their work as significantly improved, while the patients' evaluation of the recovery orientation of the department was unchanged. Concerning single items of the RSA questionnaire, the support of occupational rehabilitation and aspects of participation were rated worst. Methodological problems and possible implications of the results are discussed.