Vol. 4 No. 1 (1998)
Research Article

Public Attitudes Regarding the Community Canadian Mental Health Association Crisis Stabilization Unit in Swan River, Manitoba

PDF
  • Ivan L. Rapchuk, B.Sc.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26443/mjm.v4i1.675

Published 2020-12-01

Keywords

  • deinstitutionalization,
  • acceptance,
  • mental health

How to Cite

1.
Rapchuk I. Public Attitudes Regarding the Community Canadian Mental Health Association Crisis Stabilization Unit in Swan River, Manitoba. McGill J Med [Internet]. 2020 Dec. 1 [cited 2025 Oct. 8];4(1). Available from: https://mjm.mcgill.ca/article/view/675
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

Abstract

A door-to-door survey was conducted on households within a one square block of a Canadian Mental Health Association Crisis Stabilization Unit (Swan River, Manitoba, Canada). This was undertaken to examine the opinions and attitudes of the members of the surveyed households regarding the neighboring community mental health residence, as well as their general attitudes toward mentally ill individuals. The survey utilized preliminary questions to obtain personal characteristics of the respondents, which were followed by 11 short questions regarding attitudes towards mental illness and the neighborhood facility. The findings of this study agree with previous research suggesting a general receptiveness on the part of community residents to deinstitutionalization and to having community mental health residents as neighbors. The personal characteristic with the greatest positive influence on attitudes was previous personal contact with mentally ill individuals. However, it was found that a segment of the population holds negative attitudes towards the CSU. The author suggests that education of the community regarding the mental health facility and mentally ill persons may improve acceptance to a greater extent.

PDF

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

  1. Glasson, J. The public image of the mentally ill and community care. British Journal of Nursing 5: 615-617; 1996.
  2. Rekfeldt J, Tebes JK, Steiner J, et al. Normalizing acute care: a day hospital/crisis residence alternative to inpatient hospitalization. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders 185: 46-52; 1997.
  3. Wahl OF. Community impact of group homes for mentally ill adults. Community Mental Health Journal 29: 247-259; 1993.
  4. Canadian Mental Health Association, Swan Valley Branch Services. Brochure Number 1; 1996.
  5. Wollf G, Pathare S, Craig T, et al. Community attitudes to mental illness. British Journal of Psychiatry 168: 183-190; 1996.
  6. Wollf G, Pathare S, Craig T, et al. Community knowledge of mental illness and reaction to mentally ill people. British Journal of Psychiatry 168: 191-198; 1996.
  7. Borinstein AB. Public attitudes toward persons with mental illness. Health Affairs (Millwood) 11: 186-196; 1992.
  8. Aubry TD, Tefft B, Currie RF. Public attitudes and intentions regarding tenants of community mental health residences who are neighbors. Community Mental Health Journal 31: 39-52; 1995.
  9. Huxley P. Location and stigma: a survey of community attitudes to mental illness. Part II: community mental health facilities - anonymity of invisibility. Journal of Mental Health. 2: 157-164; 1993.
  10. Swan River Chamber of Commerce. Swan River Valley Community Profile 1995/1996; 1995.
  11. Arens DA. What do neighbors think now? Community residences on Long Island, New York. Community Mental Health Journal 29: 235-245; 1993.
  12. Kelly LS, McKenna HP. Victimization of people with enduring mental illness in the community. Journal of Psychiatry and Mental Health Nursing 4: 185-191; 1997.
  13. Reda S. Public perceptions of former psychiatric patients in England. Psychiatric Services 47: 1253-1255; 1996.
  14. Taylor SM. Community reactions to deinstitutionalization. In: Smith CJ and Giggs JA, eds. Location and Stigma: Contemporary Perspectives on Mental Health Care. London: Unwin Hyman; 1988.
  15. Berlin FS, Malin HM. Media distortion of the public’s perception of recidivism and psychiatric rehabilitation. American Journal of Psychiatry 148: 1572-1576; 1991.
  16. Goering P, Wasylenki D, Grisonich S. Deinstitutionalizaiton: its process, history, impact and implications in Canada. In: Persad E, Kazarian SS and Joseph LW, eds. The Mental Hospital in the 21st Century. Toronto, Canada: Wall and Emerson, Inc.; 1992.