title: What does dependency on community mental health services mean? A conceptual review with a systematic search.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although community mental health services aim to support patients' autonomy and independence, they have repeatedly been criticised for making patients dependent. Yet, it remains often unclear what exactly is meant with dependency in this context. This review aimed to identify the meaning of the term dependency on community services in the literature.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic search and conceptual review of papers where dependency is used in the context of community mental health services. Narrative synthesis was used to identify thematic concepts linked to dependency in these settings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifteen papers met the inclusion criteria. The analysis identified five different concepts of dependency on community mental health services: dislocation from the outside world; inflexibility and lack of freedom; obligation as resentment or appreciation; living with or without meaningful activities; and security.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest that, distinct from the exclusively negative connotation of the term dependency in a conventional medical context, dependency on community mental health services contains both negative and positive aspects. The different aspects might guide the future evaluation of the care provided in such services.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatric Clinic, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy. tommasobonavigo@gmail.com.|Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Services Development, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK. tommasobonavigo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Tommaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bonavigo
authors.affiliation: Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Services Development, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Sima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sandhu
authors.affiliation: Psychiatric Clinic, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pascolo-Fabrici
authors.affiliation: Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Services Development, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Priebe
mesh_terms: D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D006801:Humans
keywords: Community mental health services; Deinstitutionalisation; Dependency; Mental disorder; Review
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