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Engagement with health and social care services: perceptions of homeless young people with mental health problems
Author(s) -
Darbyshire Philip,
MuirCochrane Eimear,
Fereday Jennifer,
Jureidini Jon,
Drummond Andrew
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
health and social care in the community
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.984
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1365-2524
pISSN - 0966-0410
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2524.2006.00643.x
Subject(s) - mental health , general partnership , perception , accommodation , qualitative research , psychology , nursing , social work , medicine , gerontology , psychiatry , sociology , political science , social science , neuroscience , law
The present qualitative study describes and discusses the perspectives and experiences of young homeless people with mental health problems in relation to their interactions with health and social care services. Working in partnership with Streetlink, a supported accommodation assistance programme in Adelaide, Australia, the authors interviewed 10 homeless young people, aged from 16 to 24 years of age, who had experienced mental health problems. In‐depth interviews elicited accounts of the best and worst of the participants’ experiences of health and social care services. Access to services was not identified as being a significant problem in comparison with the participants’ concerns regarding the quality of the services encountered. The central findings stress the importance of a respectful and supportive climate in relation to the qualities of service provision that the young people identified as valuable for their continuing treatment or consultation.