The project examines the factors that either block or promote satisfactory relationships between Community Support Program (CSP) workers, formerly known as case managers, and family caregivers of adult persons with serious mental illness. Caregiver dissatisfaction with these relationships has been shown to predict higher levels of caregiver burden and depressive symptomatology; as burden increases, consumers' informal systems of care can become impaired and as a result, consumer outcomes can be negatively impacted.
This study breaks new ground by measuring the actual frequency of CSP interaction with and attitudes about collaborating with family caregivers, by identifying perceived barriers to interaction, and by eliciting CSP beliefs about mental illness etiology. Significant relationships between CSP characteristics, background, and beliefs were identified.
Findings indicate that: 1) while almost all CSP believe that collaboration with family caregivers helps consumers, few regularly include caregivers in planning; 2) less than half of the CSP workers were trained to work with families; and 3) many CSP workers (45%) attribute the cause of severe mental illness to family dysfunction.
Results of the study indicate that continuing education for case managers around interacting with families improves their attitudes toward collaboration with and support of as well as the frequency of their interactions with family caregivers; etiology belief was not a good predictor of these outcomes. This would suggest that resources be focused on the enhancement of such ongoing training.
See www.cwru.edu/affil/cccmhri/Learning Objectives: By the end of the presentation, participants will have gained knowledge about: 1)the frequency of collaborative and supportive interactions between case managers and family caregivers in one mental health system; 2)case managers' attitudes about interacting with family caregivers; 3)the barriers and facilitators that case managers perceive in terms of their interactions with family caregivers; 4)what case managers believe to be the causes of serious mental illness and whether or not these beliefs are outdated; 5)the relationships among all of the above.
Keywords: Caregivers, Case Management
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.