Suchergebnisse

Purpose: Community integration is a key component of recovery for individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMIs). The goal of the current study is to explore the nature and impact of safety concerns for experiences of communities for individuals with SMIs. Method: Using constructivist grounded theory, 30 semistructured interviews were analyzed to explore the depth and breadth of individuals' safety concerns, how individuals manage these concerns, and how these concerns shape their community experiences. Findings: Participants described various unsafe encounters related to neighborhood disorder, homelessness, traumatic experiences, substance use, stigma, and loss of relationships and multiple strategies to manage their safety. Many saw mental health services as a sanctuary from the dangers of their environment, providing support, resources, and coping skills. For many, future communities were envisioned within the context of safety. Conclusions: Service providers should consider safety as a critical issue that impacts how individuals experience their current and future communities.

Purpose: The field of social work is evolving toward community-engaged, stakeholder-driven research in the context of evidence-based practice (EBP) and practice-based evidence (PBE). Methods: We propose that practice-based research networks (PBRNs) are an approach to conducting stakeholder-driven research that can be uniquely valuable for the field of social work. Results: We define the concept of a PBRN and demonstrate how it can address the development of complementary agendas for service improvement, social work science, policy development and advocacy, as well as highlight the challenges and benefits of participating in a PBRN. We provide details of our experiences with a mental health–based PBRN in Los Angeles County, the Recovery-Oriented Care Collaborative, to illustrate the processes outlined and inform our recommendations. Conclusions: PBRNs are an important form of community-based participatory research, which can help the field of social work with reconciling EBPs and PBE to improve service delivery.