HOSPITAL OR COMMUNITY LIVING - EXAMINING CONSUMER PERSPECTIVES ON DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION

While mental health consumers have begun to assess the effectiveness o f services they receive, they have yet to be included in the formulati on of policies that determine the services and service systems to be d eveloped in the future, This report examines consumer perspectives on the major policy direction of the past 40 years deinstitutionalization , finding that a vast majority of consumers express a preference for c ommunity over hospital living, This examination identifies a number of complexities involved in the integration of consumer input into polic y decisions. The authors suggest strategies to resolve these issues an d highlight remaining questions concerning the role of consumer perspe ctives in the formulation of mental health policy.