Residents' View of Quality in Ordinary Housing with Housing Support for People with Psychiatric Disabilities

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the quality of housing support provided in housing services for people with psychiatric disabilities living in ordinary housing with housing support from the residents' perspective, by using the QPC-H instrument. A sample of 174 residents in ordinary housing, receiving housing support from 22 housing support services in nine Swedish municipalities, participated in this study. The results show that the quality of psychiatric care in housing services was mainly rated highly as measured with the QPC-H instrument. The dimensions Encounter and Secluded Environment were the aspects that were rated as the two with the highest quality of housing service. The dimensions Participation and Secure Environment were rated as those with the lowest quality. There were more residents who totally disagreed with the statements in the dimensions Participation and Housing Specific than in the other dimensions. The perceived lower quality in Encounter, Participation, Support and the Housing Specific dimensions was associated with a low frequency of psychiatric outpatient clinic contacts. A conclusion is that the support staff could be more observant regarding the residents' need for support and also talk more with them about what could be done to assist them. It also seems important that the support staff discuss with the residents regarding how they can help them to feel more secure in their accommodation.

Declaration of Interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

FUNDING

We thank NSPH (National Partnership for Mental Health) for their administrative support.