S17-02 - Quality of Life and Quality of Care: Are they the Two Faces of the Same Coin?

Abstract

Good health is an important component of a good quality of life. The availability and the easy access to high quality of care contribute to a good mental health. WHO & WPA have defined the criteria to consider as good the quality of care delivered by services for old people with mental disorders. Services should be:

1. - comprehensive and take into account all aspects of the patient's physical, psychological and social needs and wishes;

2. - accessible, user-friendly and readily available, minimizing the geographical, cultural, financial, political and linguistic obstacles to obtaining care;

3. - responsive, that means to be ready to listen to and understand the problems brought to its attention and acts promptly and appropriately;

4. - individualized and should focus on each person with a mental health problem in her/his family and community context;

5. - transdisciplinary and should go beyond traditional professional boundaries to optimize the contributions of people with a range of personal and professional skills.

6. - accountable and should accept the responsibility for assuring the quality of the service it delivers and monitors this in partnership with patients and their families.

7. - systemic and should integrate all available services to ensure continuity of care and coordinates all levels of service providers including local, provincial and national governments and community organizations.

The challenge today is to extend these criteria to help the Primary Care team to develop strategies in order to promote mental health, to prevent mental disorders and to make their detection as early as possible.