Social Inclusion of People with Mental Illness

IntroductionNegative attitudes towards psychiatric patients still exist in our society. Persons suffering from mental illness frequently encounter public stigma and may internalize it leading to self-stigma. Discrimination occurs across many aspects of economic and social existence. It may represent a barrier for patients to receive appropriate care. Many anti-stigma campaigns have been taken to decrease people's prejudice, but its effects are not well documented.ObjectivesTo characterize anti-stigma initiatives and its effects on diminishing negative consequences of stigma.MethodsBibliographical research using PubMed using the keywords “stigma” and “mental illness”.ResultsDespite several approaches to eradicate stigma, it shows a surprising consistency in population levels. It was expected that focus on education would decrease stigma levels. The same was expected following concentration on the genetic causation of pathology. Most studies have revealed that education has little value and endorsing genetic attributions has led to a greater pessimism on the efficacy of mental health services, sense of permanence and guilty feelings within the family.ConclusionPublic stigma has had a major impact on many people with mental illness, especially when leading to self-stigma, interfering with various aspects in life, including work, housing, health care, social life and self-esteem. As Goffman elucidated, stigma is fundamentally a social phenomenon rooted in social relationships and shaped by the culture and structure of society. Social inclusion has been pointed as a potential direction of change.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Social inclusion of people with mental illness.

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica ◽

10.1111/j.1600-0447.2006.00921.x ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 114 (5) ◽

pp. 379-379

Author(s):

Christoph Lauber

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

Social Inclusion ◽

People With Mental Illness

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Applying SCOPE to Measure Social Inclusion Among People with Mental Illness in Poland

Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health ◽

10.1007/s40737-018-0113-5 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 89-100

Author(s):

Łukasz Balwicki ◽

Kara Chan ◽

Peter J. Huxley ◽

Marcus Yu-Lung Chiu

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

Social Inclusion ◽

People With Mental Illness

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Knowledge and Uptake of Voting Rights By Psychiatric Inpatients in Westminster, London During the 2015 Uk General Election

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.1650 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S454-S454

Author(s):

J. Townell ◽

T. MacLaren ◽

L. de Ridder ◽

S. Shanmugham ◽

V. Argent ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

Social Inclusion ◽

Voting Rights ◽

Information Provision ◽

General Election ◽

Multidisciplinary Teams ◽

Staff Support ◽

People With Mental Illness ◽

Competing Interest ◽

The Uk

IntroductionBeing able to vote empowers people with mental illness to have a political voice and promotes social inclusion. Evidence shows that patients with mental illness are less likely to vote compared to the general population.ObjectiveThis study explores the knowledge and uptake of the voting rights of adult patients in a psychiatric hospital in the 2015 UK general election.AimsTo understand patients’ eligibility and intentions to vote during the 2015 UK general election. To establish what assistance patients may require in order to vote.MethodsA staff-assisted survey was undertaken in all mental health wards in the Gordon Hospital, Westminster prior to the general election in May 2015.ResultsA total of 51 surveys were returned. Seventy-five percent thought they were eligible to vote, and 47% had already registered. Of those that had not yet registered, 37% wanted staff support to do so. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents intended to vote and of those 9 out of 10 intended to vote in person. Twenty-six percent of those intending to vote identified needing assistance in this process.ConclusionsThe majority of inpatients were aware of their eligibility to vote. Over half of the respondents planned to vote, which is lower than the UK average. As 1 in 4 patients intending to vote requested support, this suggests potential barriers impacting on their ability to exercise their right.Multidisciplinary teams can provide valuable assistance to patients in the voting process in many ways, including information provision, organisation of leave and providing staff escort.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Perceptions and stereotypes about mental illness in a sample of Portuguese employers

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/s0924-9338(11)73145-5 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 26 (S2) ◽

pp. 1440-1440

Author(s):

A.J. Marques ◽

L. Lopes ◽

C. Queiros

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

Mentally Ill ◽

Social Inclusion ◽

Physical Disabilities ◽

Attitude Scale ◽

Equal Opportunities ◽

Equal Rights ◽

People With Mental Illness ◽

Integration Policies ◽

People With Physical Disabilities

IntroductionDespite society argues that all citizens have equal rights and equal opportunities, mentally ill individuals face discrimination, especially in the employment context. Research reported benefits of working and have a job, witch help play social roles and feel useful, key components in social inclusion and recovery of mentally ill individuals.Employers have an important role in the access of mentally ill individuals into work. They take decisions that affect life opportunities, but, due to their powerful position, their attitudes can influence all enterprise and maintain stereotypes and stigma.AimsKnow perceptions and stereotypes about mental illness in Portuguese employers.MethodsData were collected using a translation of Attitude Scale for Mental Illness (Hahn, 2002), evaluating dimensions such as separatism, stereotyping, restrictiveness, benevolence, pessimistic prediction and stigmatization. The scale was fulfil using online anonym way, by 50 employers from small (under 250 employees) metallurgic or textile enterprises (60% male, 40% female; mean age 45.9 years).ResultsNone of the enterprises have employees with mental illness, neither integration policies. Employers prefer to give a job to people with physical disabilities than to people with mental illness, choosing people with schizophrenia as the last possibility. They have little contact with mentally ill individuals, 96% don’t know governmental policies for job inclusion and only 54% accepts to participate in meetings to understand those policies. Stereotyping, benevolence and pessimistic prediction present highest values.ConclusionsEmployers must be informed about governmental policies using work as a form of social inclusion from mentally ill people.

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Understanding what it means to be socially included for people with a lived experience of mental illness

International Journal of Social Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0020764019852657 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 65 (5) ◽

pp. 413-424 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kate Filia ◽

Henry Jackson ◽

Sue Cotton ◽

Eoin Killackey

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Lived Experience ◽

Community Involvement ◽

Social Inclusion ◽

Well Being ◽

Community Members ◽

People With Mental Illness ◽

Stable Housing ◽

General Community

Aims: Social inclusion is increasingly understood to have positive and beneficial implications for the mental health outcomes of people with severe mental illness. The concept is plagued by definitional inconsistencies and a lack of consensus regarding what it means to be socially included, in particular for groups most vulnerable to social exclusion, such as people with mental illness. The aim of this study was to obtain a consensus regarding the key contributors to social inclusion from the perspective of people with and without a lived experience of mental illness (consumers of mental health services, carers, and general community members). Methods: Delphi methodology was employed to reach consensus agreement. The Delphi questionnaire was based on a previous review of the literature and consisted of 147 items categorized into 13 domains. It was presented to participants over three rounds. Participants ( N = 104) were recruited into three groups (32 consumers, 32 carers of people with a mental illness, and 40 members of the general community – neither consumers nor carers). Retention of participants from Round 1 to Round 3 was 79.8%. Results: Similarities and differences were observed between the groups. A number of items were very strongly endorsed as key contributors to social inclusion, relating to social participation, social supports, housing, neighbourhood, community involvement, employment and education, health and well-being and service utilization. Conclusion: Findings supported previous work, indicating the importance of having a strong sense of connection with others as well as the importance of safe and stable housing, support services and personal motivation and hope. We obtained a well-rounded perspective among groups regarding the key contributors to social inclusion, with a particular relevance to people living with mental illness. This perspective has significant clinical and research utility.

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