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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

SO155

Supporting next-of-kin involvement in psychiatric care: insights from a participatory study in Germany

PROMOTING NEXT OF KIN PARTICIPATION IN PSYCHIATRIC CARE: INSIGHTS FROM A PARTICIPATORY STUDY IN GERMANY

Although all parties hold positive attitudes toward next-of-kin involvement, actual practice falls short of these attitudes, and unmet needs are most pronounced among patients’ next of kin.

The participatory, multimethod PazAng project aimed to examine barriers to and needs for next-of-kin involvement in psychiatric care, as well as the conditions for effective involvement. In the quantitative component, 355 participants from two psychiatric clinics and self-advocacy groups (138 next of kin, 104 people receiving treatment, and 113 clinical staff members) completed a cross-sectional online survey. The attitudinal climate toward collaboration was measured using the ACAP-6, and the experienced and desired focus of three-way consultations (relational, informational, and treatment-oriented) was compared across groups. In the qualitative component, interviews and focus groups were conducted with 30 participants selected through maximum variation sampling, and the data were examined using participatory, multidisciplinary reflexive thematic analysis. The ACAP-6 demonstrated excellent internal consistency and a single-factor structure. Although attitudes toward collaboration were positive across all groups, a discrepancy emerged between endorsement and practice. Only 24% of next of kin and 32% of people receiving treatment reported experiencing collaboration, whereas 81% of clinical staff reported involvement. Satisfaction and perceived helpfulness increased along a gradient from next of kin to people receiving treatment to clinical staff. The gap between desired and actual collaboration was greatest among next of kin, who particularly emphasized unmet needs for relational continuity, while clinical staff focused on psychoeducation and treatment. The qualitative analysis identified three themes: the need for a “network-aware” clinical culture that includes next of kin; the different focuses of involvement (support for the patient, relationships, and support for next of kin themselves); and changes in needs over time (the shock phase, the prolonged endurance phase, and the transition from inpatient to outpatient care). The findings therefore support embedding network-oriented practices into the structure of psychiatric services, offering support with multiple focuses, and adopting a longitudinal perspective.

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