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Nursing homes and chronic mental patients: a second opinion
Schizophrenia Bulletin
|January 1, 1981
Summary
This review critically examines the use of nursing homes for chronic mental illness care, questioning their suitability as a foundation for community services due to historical institutional inadequacies.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Gerontology
- Public Health Policy
Background:
- Nursing homes have historically been used for long-term care of chronically mentally ill patients.
- Previous research, such as Shadish and Bootzin (1981), proposed utilizing nursing homes within mental health systems.
- The current mental health system faces challenges in providing adequate community-based care for this population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically review the proposal of using nursing homes as a foundation for community services for the chronically mentally ill.
- To contextualize the national problem of mental health care within nursing homes.
- To highlight historical inadequacies of institutional mental health care.
Main Methods:
- Critical literature review of "Nursing Homes and Chronic Mental Patients" by Shadish and Bootzin (1981).
- Analysis of the historical role of institutions in mental health care.
- Examination of subgroups within the nursing home resident population.
Main Results:
- Nursing homes house diverse subgroups of residents, not a monolithic population.
- Historical use of institutions reveals significant inadequacies in mental health system design.
- The proposal to base community services on nursing homes warrants critical re-evaluation.
Conclusions:
- Nursing homes present significant challenges as a primary foundation for community mental health services.
- Historical institutional failures underscore the need for alternative approaches.
- Serious questions arise regarding the feasibility and ethical implications of Shadish and Bootzin's proposal.
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