Family and caregivers ’ experience of mental illness in migrants with intellectual disability – reflections on practice

Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities,Volume 13, Issue 2, Page 76-88, March 2019. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the families ’ and professional caregivers’ experience of mental health services for patients in the migrant population with intellectual disability (ID). Design/methodology/approach To highlight this rarely studied topic, the authors chose a qualitative approach, using a semi-structured interview guide. T he authors performed a search for relevant articles. Three families of former patients of a specialized psychiatric inpatient unit and 12 professional caregivers were interviewed. The interviews were taped, transcribed and analyzed using a thematic analysis. Findings In total, 17 themes from the f amilies’ answers and 14 themes from the caregivers’ answers were grouped into four main themes each. Two main themes were identical for both groups: perspectives on mental illness and “the Norwegian system.” Additionally, the families were concerned about the impact on the patient and family and coping strategies. The caregivers highlighted patient–caregiver interaction and family–caregiver interaction. Research limitations/implications Further research should include the patients’ opinions based on the findings of this study. Also, studies including larger samples from both sp ecialist services and community services are needed to develop evidence-based services for these patients. Practical implications Pro...

Source: Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities - May 22, 2019 Category: Disability Source Type: research