Quality Of Life And Mental Health Services

This book is about the lives of patients, about the health and social care services provided to help them, and about ways of examining the impact these services make on them. Based on the authors' experience of using and developing a particular operational measure, the Lancashire Quality of Life Profile, which has been used successfully in many different studies and countries, it provides managers and practitioners in mental health with valuable normative data, insights and ideas about the role of QOL in service evaluation.

Looks at the application of the concept of quality of life to the area of mental health, detailing the use of the author's Lancashire Quality of Life Profile, which provides normative data and insights into the role of quality of life in service evaluation. Examines issues such as quality of care and life in independent-sector residential homes, activity-based services, long-stay patients and quality of life, and community-based support. Of interest to those in mental health. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This book is about the lives of patients, about the health and social care services provided to help them, and about ways of examining the impact these services make on them. Based on the authors' experience of using and developing a particular operational measure, the Lancashire Quality of Life Profile, which has been used successfully in many different studies and countries, it provides managers and practitioners in mental health with valuable normative data, insights and ideas about the role of QOL in service evaluation.

This book fills a significant research gap in how to integrate quality of life data into relevant clinical care plans, and to broaden its applicability to pharmacoeconomic studies of antipsychotic medications and health policy decision-making. It also presents an argument for reformulating the concept of health-related quality of life in schizophrenia as a bio-psycho-social construct, which provides an opportunity to better explore the many factors underpinning the concept itself. Internationally renowned experts from different scientific backgrounds and scopes of expertise each make arguments for the need to invigorate quality of life as a concept in schizophrenia, by broadening its usefulness for clinical and research efforts. The book represents an important addition to the extensive contributions of its editors, Dr. A. George Awad and Dr. Lakshmi N.P. Voruganti, to the field of quality of life.

In this volume the contributors examine the relationship between quality of life and disabilities with psychosocial concepts like well-being, life satisfaction, difficulties and events and social adjustments in patients with mental disorders.

The third, thoroughly revised and enhanced edition of this bestselling book analyses and discusses the most up-to-date research on the psychology of quality of life. The book is divided into six parts. The introductory part lays the philosophical and academic foundation of much of the research on wellbeing and positive mental health, showing the beneficial effects of happy people at work, health, and to society at large. Part 2 (effects of objective reality) describes how sociocultural factors, income factors, other demographic factors, and biological and health conditions affect wellbeing and positive mental health. Part 3 focuses on subjective reality and discusses how individuals process information from their objective environment, and how they manipulate this information that affects wellbeing and positive mental health. Part 4 focuses on the psychology of quality of life specific to life domains, while Part 5 reviews the research on special populations: children, women, the elderly, but also the disabled, drug addicts, prostitutes, emergency personnel, immigrants, teachers, and caregivers. The final part of the book focuses on theories and models of wellbeing and positive mental health that integrate and unify disparate concepts and programs of research. The book addresses the importance of the psychology of quality of life in the context of public policy and calls for a broadening of the approach in happiness research to incorporate other aspects of quality of life at the group, community, and societal levels. It is of topical interest to academics, students and researchers of quality of life, well-being research, happiness studies, psychotherapy, and social policy.

The most comprehensive and current volume on the subject, the Handbook contains a unique and practical model of quality of life that human service professionals can use to develop services and evaluate outcomes of programs. Two international experts simplify quality of life into 8 factors that can be applied to programs in education; physical health; mental and behavioral health; mental retardation and intellectual disabilities; aging; and family services. The Handbook is based on a review of international literature from 1985-2000 and contains over 50 pages of references.

Quality determines whether services increase the likelihood of achieving desired mental health outcomes and whether they meet the current requirements of evidence-based practice. Quality is important in all mental health systems because good quality ensures that people with mental disorders receive the care they require and that their symptoms and quality of life improve. This module sets out practical steps for the improvement of the quality of mental health care.