CMHTs for older people: team managers’ views surveyed
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify features of community mental health teams (CMHTs) for older people valued by their managers, and those they would most like to change.
Design/methodology/approach
Content analysis was used to analyse “free text” responses to open questions from a national survey about CMHTs’ organisational structures and processes. Responses were sorted into statements which were categorised into content areas and higher level dimensions.
Findings
Free text information was provided by 376 teams (an 88 per cent response rate). Eight higher level dimensions were identified. One related specifically to integration with social care services, whilst several more included material about other aspects of intra-team integration (e.g. documentation and location). The largest proportion of statements related to staffing and teamwork. Statements about inter-personal and inter-professional issues were largely positive, whilst statements about resources, bureaucracy and integration with social care services typically detailed desired changes.
Practical implications
Four key issues emerged comprising a high level of support from managers to develop integrated practices; a need to define the focus of CMHTs for older people and to be fully resourced; and the importance of a nurturing and supportive team environment.
Originality/value
The methodology provides a bridge between qualitative and quantitative research, exploring the volume of statements on particular topics and their meaning.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the CMHT managers who completed the questionnaire on which this paper is based. The paper presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Programme Grants for Applied Research scheme (RP-PG-0606-1109). The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.
Funding information: This work was supported by the National Institute for Health Research under Grant RP-PG-0606-1109.
Citation
Abendstern, M., Brand, C., Harrington, V., Jasper, R., Tucker, S., Wilberforce, M. and Challis, D. (2014), "CMHTs for older people: team managers’ views surveyed", Journal of Integrated Care, Vol. 22 No. 5/6, pp. 208-219. https://doi.org/10.1108/JICA-07-2014-0029
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited