Cooperation Between Children's Psychiatric Units With Children's Mental Health Care and Welfare Services in Municipalities
Abstract
Background
The number of patients in child psychiatric special care has been increasing. The study describes the various practices of cooperation utilized by the Child Psychiatric Units of each Hospital District to support children's basic mental health care services and child welfare services in municipalities.
Methods
Chief Physicians from each Hospital District (20) responded in a semi-structured interview to questions about cooperation on patient issues with municipal employees and the expert assistance provided to them. The content of the responses was encoded by a content analytical method and reorganized by themes.
Results
Ambulatory networking related to the treatment of child psychiatric patients was performed in all Child Psychiatric Units. The emphasis and ways of cooperation in other subjects varied. In some Hospital Districts, child psychiatry and child welfare worked together as a team, for example making assessments or organizing family rehabilitation. Sometimes the psychiatric care of a child and her family was carried out together with family counseling clinics. The most common form of cooperation with health center physicians was consultancy.
Conclusions
The ways of cooperation with municipalities between Hospital Districts were most uniform in the care of their own patients. Cooperation in other subjects was usually scarce. The development of child mental health care services should be based on national plans.
Authors
Eeva Huikko, Päivi Santalahti, Minna Torniainen-Holm, Miika Vuori, Leena Kovanen, Riikka Lämsä ja Annamari Tuulio-Henriksson
Lisätietoja julkaisusta
- Peer-Reviewed: yes.
- Open Access: yes.
- Cite as: Huikko, E., Santalahti, P., Torniainen-Holm, M., Vuori, M., Kovanen, L., Lämsä, R., & Tuulio-Henriksson, A. (2018). Lastenpsykiatrisen erikoissairaanhoidon yhteistyö kuntien mielenterveyspalvelujen ja lastensuojelun kanssa. Duodecim, 134(18), 1827-36. https://www.duodecimlehti.fi/lehti/2018/18/duo14504