Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T04:57:19.275Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Psychiatric services in the community? The German public's opinion in 1990 and 2011

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2012

M. C. Angermeyer ,
H. Matschinger ,
A. Holzinger ,
M. G. Carta  and
G. Schomerus
M. C. Angermeyer*
Affiliation:
Center for Public Mental Health, Gösing am Wagram, Austria Department of Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
H. Matschinger
Affiliation:
Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany Institute of Medical Sociology and Health Economics, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
A. Holzinger
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria
M. G. Carta
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
G. Schomerus
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Greifswald, Germany HELIOS Hanseklinikum, Stralsund, Germany
*
*Address for correspondence: Professor Matthias C. Angermeyer, Center for Public Mental Health, Untere Zeile 13, A-3482 Gösing am Wagram, Austria. (Email: angermeyer@aon.at)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background.

During the last two decades, the change from custodial care provided by large institutions to community-focused services made considerable progress in Germany. However, nothing is known about how this is reflected in the public's acceptance of community psychiatry services.

Methods.

The study is based on data from two population surveys among German citizens aged 18 years and over, living in the ‘old’ German States. The first was conducted in 1990 (n = 3067), the second in 2011 (n = 2416). With the help of identical questions, respondents’ attitudes towards psychiatric units at general hospitals and group homes for mentally ill people were assessed.

Results.

While the proportion of the public that explicitly welcomed establishing psychiatric units at general hospitals and opening group homes for mentally ill people decreased, the proportion of those who reacted with indifference increased. The proportion of the German population that explicitly rejected the implementation of these services remained unchanged.

Conclusions.

While community psychiatry services expanded considerably over the last few years, the public's attitude towards them has not changed substantially.

Keywords

Attitudespopulation surveypsychiatric services
Type
Original Articles
Information
Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , December 2013 , pp. 339 - 344
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Angermeyer, MC, Matschinger, H (1991). Einstellung der Bevölkerung der BRD zu psychiatrischen Patienten und zu psychiatrischen Einrichtungen [Public attitudes in the Federal Republic of Germany towards psychiatric patients and psychiatric services]. Forum Gesundheitswissenschaften 1, 9–24.Google Scholar
Angermeyer, MC, Matschinger, H (2005). Causal beliefs and attitudes to people with schizophrenia. A trend analysis based on data from two population surveys in Germany. British Journal of Psychiatry 186, 331–333.Google Scholar
Angermeyer, MC, Dietrich, S (2006). Public beliefs about and attitudes towards people with mental illness: a review of population studies. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 113, 163–179.Google Scholar
Arbeitsgruppe Psychiatrie der Obersten Landesgesundheits-Behörden (2003). Bestandsaufnahme zu den Entwicklungen der Psychiatrie in den letzten 25 Jahren [Assessment of developments in psychiatry over the last 25 years]. Gesundheitsministerkonferenz der Länder 2003: Chemnitz.Google Scholar
Arbeitsgruppe Psychiatrie der Obersten Landesgesundheits-Behörden (2007). Psychiatrie in Deutschland. Strukturen – Leistungen – Perspektiven [Psychiatry in Germany. Structures – services – perspectives].Google Scholar
Bauer, M, Kunze, H, Von Cranach, M, Fritze, J, Becker, T (2001). Psychiatric reform in Germany. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 104 (Suppl. 410), 27–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deutscher, Bundestag (1975). Bericht über die Lage der Psychiatrie in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland – Zur psychiatrischen und psychotherapeutischen/psychosomatischen Versorgung der Bevölkerung [Report on the state of psychiatry in the Federal Republic of Germany – Psychiatric and psychotherapeutic/psychosomatic care for the population]. Dr. Hans Herger: Bonn.Google Scholar
Grausgruber, A, Schöny, W, Grausgruber-Berner, R, Koren, G, Frajo-Apor, B, Wancata, J, Meise, J (2009). ‘Schizophrenie hat viele Gesichter’ – Evaluierung der österreichischen Antistigma-Kampagne 2000–2002 [‘Schizophrenia has many faces’ – Evaluation of the Austrian anti-stigma campaign 2000–2002]. Psychiatrische Praxis 36, 327–333.Google Scholar
Holzinger, A, Matschinger, H, Angermeyer, MC (2011). What to do about depression? Help-seeking and treatment recommendations of the public. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences 20, 163–169.Google Scholar
Holzinger, A, Floris, F, Schomerus, G, Carta, MG, Angermeyer, MC (2012). Gender differences in public beliefs and attitudes about mental disorder in western countries: a systematic review of population studies. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Services 21, 73–85.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Long, SJ, Freese, J (2006). Regression Models for Categorical Dependent Variable Using STATA, 2nd edn.Stata Press: College Station, TX.Google Scholar
Piat, M (2000). The NIMBY phenomenon: community residents’ concerns about housing deinstitutionalized people. Health and Social Work 25, 127–138.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Priebe, S (2012) Wo ist der Fortschritt? [Where is the progress?]. Psychiatrische Praxis 39, 1–2.Google Scholar
Schomerus, G, Schwahn, C, Holzinger, A, Corrigan, PW, Grabe, HJ, Carta, MG, Angermeyer, MC (2012). Evolution of public attitudes about mental illness. A systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 125, 440–452.Google Scholar
Statacorp (2011). Stata Statistical Software. Release 12. Stata Press: College Station, TX.Google Scholar
Xu, J, Long, JS (2005). Confidence intervals for predicted outcomes in regression models for categorical outcomes. Stata Journal 5, 537–559.Google Scholar
Zippay, AL (2007). Psychiatric residencies: notification, NIMBY, and neighborhood relations. Psychiatric Services 2007, 109–113.Google Scholar