Authors (including presenting author) :
CHEUNG KY(1),TSE LC(1),CHUI BF(1),HO CM(1), TO KM(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Occupational Therapy Department, Tai Po Hospital
Introduction :
Current mental health system reflects an inadequate patients’ exposure to the community support, which led to poor coping, high rate of relapse and re-hospitalization. Active Community Engagement (ACE) Program is a collaborative project between hospital and community setting (New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association) in holding experiential booths using a mobile van once a quarter. Through early involvement of community partner in in-patient setting, it aims at expediting patients’ access to social support and smoother transition to their living environment.
Objectives :
This paper aims at exploring the influences of ACE program in promoting community integration of psychiatric patients.
Methodology :
In this study, qualitative research method was adopted. Targeted participants including psychiatric day hospital patients and carers, would receive semi-structural interviews on their experience and the level of satisfaction after attendiing the event.
Result & Outcome :
Due to the outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the periodic visit of mobile van was suspended. A single event was conducted on 8/1/2020. A total of 50 participants, consisting of patients, caregivers and the general public had attended the event. Feedback is summarized as follow: i) Increased exposure to community resources: Respondents showed deeper understandings on the mental health services, including different community centers, available for them in their neighborhood. ii) Encouraged daytime engagement: Patients were reluctant to approach mental health services owing to their perceived barriers to psychiatric services. They reported that this event had created an easier access to these services and facilitated their help seeking behavior. iii) Caregiver empowerment and stress management: Individual psychological support was given through the means of experiential booths. iv) Enhanced awareness towards mental wellbeing: Public understanding towards mental illness and self-awareness on mental wellness was advocated. This also acts as primary education to help eliminate stigmatization problem. In view of the influence by COVID-19, the format of ACE program has been modified to the use of PowerPoint and videos. Collaboration was further expanded to various organizations. Conclusion: This program acts as a preliminary measure to evocate the importance of community bridging for patients with mental illness. It implies that early involvement of community partner in hospital setting could be a routine practice in promoting patients’ community integration. Continuous expansion of services was recommended in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
