Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate apartment-based care for a group of long-term mentally ill in the community, established in an apartment house and with professional support from psychiatric practical nurses. The study was especially focused on the clients' experiences of effects on capacity and social network but also the staffs' perceptions of apartment-based nursing care. The data were collected by several interviews and observations. These were processed manually and the analysis was based on the entire material and focused on each client as an individual. The findings show that apartment-based care is important. The clients' strongest experience was that of independence. Their capacities and social networks changed only slightly during the evaluation. Some clients did develop better capacities in the personal care and the duties in their own apartments, as well as in contacts with the service centre. The social network remained limited. The client's friends were others in the group. Professional support was the most important social contact for the clients.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.