Health professionals' perceptions of user involvement in a mental health centre: A critical discourse analysis

• Published in: International journal of mental health nursing Vol. 33; no. 4; pp. 937 - 948
• Main Authors: Jørgensen, Kim, Hansen, Mathias Søren, Hansen, Morten, Karlsson, Bengt
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.08.2024
• Subjects: clinical‐research approaches; Discourse analysis; Focus groups; Health facilities; Hospitals; Medical personnel; Mental health; mental health hospitals; Mental institutions; Nurses; Patient participation; Professionals; Qualitative research; User involvement; mental health hospitals; discourse analysis; patient participation; clinical-research approaches; user involvement
• ISSN: 1445-8330; 1447-0349; 1447-0349
• DOI: 10.1111/inm.13296

The objective of this study was to investigate the engagement between healthcare professionals and users of mental healthcare at the individual level in a mental health hospital. A qualitative research design with purposive sampling was adopted. Five audio‐recorded focus group interviews were conducted with nurses and other health professionals at a mental health hospital in Copenhagen and were explored using Fairclough's discourse analysis framework. This study shows how users can be subject to paternalistic control despite the official aim that user involvement be an integral part of the care and treatment offered. As evidenced in discussions by health professionals, the users were involved in plans based on conditions determined by the health professionals who were predominantly focused on treating diseases and enabling the users to live a life independent of professional help. Our results can contribute to dealing with the challenges of incorporating user involvement as an ideology in mental health hospitals.