Characterizing mental healthcare service teams

Abstract

Objective Describing profiles for professional psychiatric service categories inRibeirão Preto.Method This was an exploratory study of 8 services (3 hospitals and 5 extra-hospitalfacilities). Data was collected using questionnaires and semi-structured interviewswith professionals who worked for all these services.Results 74 % of the professionals working for the eight services investigated tookpart in the study. Doctors and nurses predominated in the hospitals andmultidisciplinary teams in extra-hospital facilities. Ages ranged from 24 to 68, femalespredominating (73 %). 127 (88 %) of the 144 subjects in this study hadreceived specific education after graduating in their respective areas but only 48.5 %had studied mental health. Doctors (42/44) and nurses (36/42) predominated in theteams; 121 (83 %) earned over R$ 1,000 per month as their salary.Discussion The teams mainly consisted of doctors and nurses, although it wasconsidered that other professionals were important in constituting such teams. Oneof the main problems hampering reform in the psychiatric field is how services areprovided for the population. No country has been able to make the necessary reformsfor overcoming all the barriers. The service network studied met the minimumprerequisites for providing psychiatric care for the community.

Objective Describing profiles for professional psychiatric service categories inRibeirão Preto.Method This was an exploratory study of 8 services (3 hospitals and 5 extra-hospitalfacilities). Data was collected using questionnaires and semi-structured interviewswith professionals who worked for all these services.Results 74 % of the professionals working for the eight services investigated tookpart in the study. Doctors and nurses predominated in the hospitals andmultidisciplinary teams in extra-hospital facilities. Ages ranged from 24 to 68, femalespredominating (73 %). 127 (88 %) of the 144 subjects in this study hadreceived specific education after graduating in their respective areas but only 48.5 %had studied mental health. Doctors (42/44) and nurses (36/42) predominated in theteams; 121 (83 %) earned over R$ 1,000 per month as their salary.Discussion The teams mainly consisted of doctors and nurses, although it wasconsidered that other professionals were important in constituting such teams. Oneof the main problems hampering reform in the psychiatric field is how services areprovided for the population. No country has been able to make the necessary reformsfor overcoming all the barriers. The service network studied met the minimumprerequisites for providing psychiatric care for the community.