Collaborative management of medication in mental health cases

History of collaborative medication management

Collaborative management of medication in mental health is an initiative developed in the early 1990s in Quebec by research teams in collaboration with civil society and, especially, with users of mental health services and human rights activist groups. In this region of Canada collaborative medication management is considered best practice and has been Promoted by the Ministry of Health and Social Services. In recent years, it has received a boost with the translation of this experience in Brazil under the framework of an alliance between more than fifteen universities worldwide, and the establishment of an international observatory.

The practice is based on an approach to promote the participation of the person who consumes psychotropic drugs, especially anti-psychotic medication. The purpose of it is to allow users, generally at risk of exclusion, to have access to all the necessary information about medicines and their alternatives.

At a Spanish level, research on the collaborative management of medication enjoyed a first phase from 2017 to 2020, co-led by professors Angel Martínez-Hernáez (Universitat Rovira i Virgili) and Asun Pié Balaguer (Universitat Oberta de Catalonia), financed through the RecerCaixa programme. As a result of this initial work, a guide and a workbook, tools that seek to facilitate a space for reflection and dialogue on the role that psychiatric medication has in people's lives, which come to complement existing guides in English and French developed by the Quebec team.

Since its inception, the project has involved not only the work of academic researchers, but also the participation of people with experience as users of mental health services, as well as family members, caregivers, and health professionals. Initially, research in Spain focused on the following factors studied:

The experiences in the Canadian and Brazilian teams involved in collaborative medication management, through exchanges, shared acts and a review of published scientific literature.
The potential for implementation in two adult mental health centers integrated into the public network of mental health care in Catalonia (CSMA Badalona and CSMA Nou Barris), analyzing the existing obstacles in the collaborative management of medication, the co-production of shared solutions between users, professionals and caregivers, as well as ways of approaching self-care in treatment processes.
The dissemination of the results in scientific circuits, but also in the field of users, professionals and families through some channels such as the Radio Nikosia Sociocultural Association, which will actively participate in this project.
The work dynamics within the project itself through qualitative techniques such as self-observation, self-ethnography, participant observation and groups discussion with the participation of researchers, users, caregivers and health professionals.

The present study

Currently the action-research project is focusing on the study on the implementation of collaborative medication management in mental health throughout the Spanish territory, and is being co-directed in the context of the doctoral thesis of Enric Garcia Torrents by professors Angel Martínez-Hernáez (Rovira i Virgili University) and Berta Vall Castelló (Ramón Llull University, Blanquerna). Until the year 2026, the actions listed below will be carried out:

Review evidence

Review of the scientific literature and medical evidence on the effectiveness of collaborative medication management in mental health, and the feasibility of implementation in Spain.

Consult leaders

Draw networks of power and influence by identifying what percentage of medical leadership and institutions support collaborative medication management, and what sectors among user and patient organizations demand its implementation.

Explore Incentives

Map and review the national context regarding ethical, financial, and professional incentives that are affecting research on, and implementation of, new clinical practices.

Present and teach

Discuss and discuss the skills, techniques, and tools necessary for collaborative medication management through digital classrooms, face-to-face classes in medical centers, and research focus groups with patients and professionals to explore opportunities and difficulties for implementation , offering the necessary training and supervision.

Sharing Tools

Promote the development and integration of decision support tools and technologies applied to the collaborative management of medication, guaranteeing their quality through new best practice protocols, ensuring their integration into the clinical history email and services following rigorous certification systems.

Monitor Implementation

Establish valid measures to assess the extent to which patients feel informed and involved in decisions about their treatment and recovery, collecting feedback to help clinicians and administrators monitor progress.

Publications and events

List of courses, presentations, scientific articles, book chapters and other publications related to the project:

All
Training
Events
Articles
Books

Postgraduate Diploma in Collective Mental Health

The Collective Mental Health Postgraduate Program is a participatory and interactive learning proposal that constantly merges theory and practice; master classes, group analysis sessions and direct body experience workshops.

Health Sociology: Health, malaise and society from a critical perspective

Pié, A. and Alegre, E. (2022). Current situation and emerging models in mental health: a socio-anthropological perspective in Grau, A. i Faus-Bertomeu, A. (Coords). Tirant-lo blanc.

The social in mental health. Social work in psychiatry (II)

Serrano-Miguel, M (2021) The Guide for the collaborative management of medication. Proposals for a non-coercive care model in mental health In: Miranda Aranda, M. & Galán Calvo, F.J. (eds.) The social in mental health. Social work in psychiatry (II). Ed. Presses of the University of Zaragoza

Day "For mental health in accordance with rights. From rhetoric to practice”

The Care Ethics Committee of the CCSM Foundation, convenes this day to reflect and debate on the current practices and assistance in progress, with their shortcomings and successes, focusing on the specific changes that must be made the new paradigm that privileges the rights of patients and the care of beneficiaries as people.

Unravelling reactionary care: the experience of mother-caregivers of adults with severe mental disorders

Alegre-Agís, E., García-Santesmases, A., Pié-Balaguer, A., Martínez-Hernáez, Á., Bekele, D., Morales-Sáez, N. & Serrano-Miguel, M. ( 2022). Unraveling reactionary care: the experience of mother-caregivers of adults with severe mental disorders. Catalonia. Cult Med Psychiatry

The GAM model as a generator of autonomy in mental health
Avarca, C; Serrano-Miguel, M.; Vicentin, C. & Martínez-Hernáez, A. (2022) The GAM model as a generator of autonomy in mental health. Magazine. Interface. Communication, Health, Education, 26: e210506

From the monologue biomedical dialogue in Collective Mental Health: the Autonomous Medication Management Guide (GAM Guide) as a training strategy for professionals

Miguel, M. S., & Silveira, M. (2018, February). From the biomedical monologue to the dialogue in Collective Mental Health: the Autonomous Medication Management Guide (GAM Guide) as a training strategy for professionals. In the 13th United Network International Congress.

1st Conference "GCM in mental health: for a new care culture" December 13, 2019

Ferreira, L. M. 1st Conference "GCM in mental health: for a new care culture" December 13, 2019.

Points to a new culture of care in mental health

Serrano-Miguel, M. (2020). Notes for a new culture of mental health care. Polis e Psique Magazine, 10(2), 247-266.

The collaborative management of antipsychotic medication and its obstacles: A qualitative study

Martínez-Hernáez, Á., Pié-Balaguer, A., Serrano-Miguel, M., Morales-Sáez, N., García-Santesmases, A., Bekele, D., & Alegre-Agís, E. (2020). The collaborative management of antipsychotic medication and its obstacles: A qualitative study. Social Science & Medicine, 247, 112811.

The echo of the world: The castaway, the Garabandal apparitions, and the crisis of presence

Martínez‐Hernáez, Á. (2022). The echo of the world: The castaway, the Garabandal apparitions, and the crisis of presence. American Anthropologist, 124(4), 734-750.

Contact

Location:

Rovira i Virgili University
Tarragona, Spain

Email:

enric.garcia@urv.cat

Phone:

+34 610 010 792

Office hours

Monday-Saturday: 9AM - 19PM

Collaborative management.