Social needs of schizophrenic patients in Navarra

Abstract

The increase in the need for aid constitutes a priority problem of social policy in the developed countries. The need for aid is framed within the intersection of social and health services, and requires a new conception of the problems and new models of intervention. In 1986, with the Mental Health Plan of Navarra, a new form of care was put forward, centred on care in the community. At present, important differences can be appreciated, such as the insufficiency of alternative health and social programs in the community, as well as the difficulty of co-ordinating them. Facing this situation, the social workers of the Mental Health Network carried out a study that evaluated the social needs of the patients who were attended to by the Mental Health Network, with attention paid to socio-demographic aspects, the clinic and the type of social resources that they needed. Following this study, and on the basis of the discussion that it gave rise to, new forms of intervention have been proposed in the care of the mentally ill, developing the concept of socio-health care.