Care quality from the perspective of human rights as perceived by mental health professionals in Gran Canaria: a qualitative study

Abstract

Background: Mental health facilities and other medium and long-stay hospital wards have been associated with poor quality care and human rights violations. This idea has led us to do this qualitative research. Objective: To explore how the health care professionals working at the medium and long-term hospitalisation services of the Network of Mental Health Facilities of Gran Canaria (Red de Salud Mental de Gran Canaria) perceive, from the human rights standpoint, the quality of the care that they provide, identifying the different attitudes, values and knowledge of the professionals involved. Methods: An exploratory, descriptive qualitative research conducted through 17 semi-structured interviews and 4 focal groups. The areas discussed are based on the QualityRights assessment toolkit. After collecting the data, the contents of the narratives were analysed. Results: The respondents identified the lack of health care resources and social support, the predominant paternalism in the care provided and the prevailing biomedical approach as the main causes that erode the respect for human rights. In this context, an improvement in the professionals’ training seems to be one of the potential solutions to address this issue. Conclusions: Analysing and doing research about the provision of human-rights-based care to individuals with mental health conditions in the institutional setting leads professionals to think about the care they provide. It is believed that the involvement of professionals in this research can serve as a catalyst for reflection and, potentially, for changing attitudes.