Acceptability and feasibility of the Home Support Needs Assessment in a forensic mental health service: An initial study

IF 2.1 4区医学 Q2 REHABILITATION

Australian Occupational Therapy Journal Pub Date : 2026-09-02 DOI:10.1111/1440-1630.70120

Aleksandra Westcott, Lorrae Mynard, Gabrielle Pitt, Susan Darzins

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction

Identifying and addressing the support needs of forensic mental health patients in daily life occupations is critical yet complex due to the health comorbidities and environmental restrictions impacting their participation. Occupational therapists support forensic patient recovery by facilitating their performance in daily life occupations required at home and in the community. Standardised assessments of daily living are important for guiding interventions. The Home Support Needs Assessment (HSNA) is a standardised measure identifying unmet support needs in daily life occupations. The aim of this study was to evaluate its initial acceptability and feasibility for occupational therapists' use in a forensic mental health setting.

Methods

An exploratory convergent, parallel mixed-methods design was used. Semi-structured interviews with five forensic occupational therapists explored their perspectives about using the HSNA in practice. Interview transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. HSNA data were extracted from 13 patient medical records and summarised using descriptive statistics.

Consumer and Community Involvement

There was no consumer and community involvement in this research as the focus of the study was on occupational therapists.

Findings

Three overarching themes were generated: value of the assessment, informed care planning, and applicability to the environment. The HSNA was found to structure observations, facilitate discussions about daily life occupations, and clarify ongoing support needs. An over-support of some needs emerged as a unique factor of the forensic mental health environment. Some items were viewed as not applicable to the setting.

Conclusion

The HSNA highlighted that the safety focus of the secure environment inadvertently limited opportunities for patients' involvement in daily life occupations. Acceptability was associated with enabling holistic occupational assessment. Further tailored training may increase overall implementability.

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家庭支持需求评估在法医精神卫生服务中的可接受性和可行性：初步研究

由于影响其参与的健康合并症和环境限制，确定和解决法医精神卫生患者在日常生活职业中的支持需求至关重要，但也很复杂。职业治疗师通过促进法医患者在家庭和社区所需的日常生活职业中的表现来支持他们的康复。日常生活的标准化评估对于指导干预措施很重要。家庭支持需求评估（HSNA）是一项标准化的措施，确定在日常生活职业中未满足的支持需求。本研究的目的是评估其最初的可接受性和可行性的职业治疗师在法医心理健康设置使用。方法采用探索性收敛并行混合方法设计。与五位法医职业治疗师的半结构化访谈探讨了他们在实践中使用HSNA的观点。访谈记录使用反身性主题分析进行分析。从13例患者病历中提取HSNA数据，并使用描述性统计进行汇总。消费者和社区参与本研究没有涉及消费者和社区参与，因为研究的重点是职业治疗师。产生了三个主要主题：评估的价值、知情的护理计划和对环境的适用性。研究发现，HSNA可以组织观察，促进对日常生活职业的讨论，并阐明持续的支持需求。对某些需求的过度支持成为法医心理健康环境的一个独特因素。有些项目被认为不适用于设定。HSNA强调，安全环境的安全焦点无意中限制了患者参与日常生活职业的机会。可接受性与实现整体职业评估有关。进一步量身定制的培训可能会提高整体的可实施性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Australian Occupational Therapy Journal 医学-康复医学

CiteScore

2.80

自引率

16.70%

发文量

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： The Australian Occupational Therapy Journal is a leading international peer reviewed publication presenting influential, high quality innovative scholarship and research relevant to occupational therapy. The aim of the journal is to be a leader in the dissemination of scholarship and evidence to substantiate, influence and shape policy and occupational therapy practice locally and globally. The journal publishes empirical studies, theoretical papers, and reviews. Preference will be given to manuscripts that have a sound theoretical basis, methodological rigour with sufficient scope and scale to make important new contributions to the occupational therapy body of knowledge. AOTJ does not publish protocols for any study design The journal will consider multidisciplinary or interprofessional studies that include occupational therapy, occupational therapists or occupational therapy students, so long as ‘key points’ highlight the specific implications for occupational therapy, occupational therapists and/or occupational therapy students and/or consumers.