Perspectives on mental health recovery from Egyptian mental health professionals: A qualitative study

• Published in: Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing 2022-06, Vol.29 (3), p.484-492
• Main Authors: Ibrahim, Nashwa, Ghallab, Eman, Ng, Fiona, Eweida, Rasha, Slade, Mike
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: barriers to recovery; enablers of recovery; Medical personnel; Mental disorders; Mental health; mental health nurses; mental health professionals; mental health recovery; mental health service planning; Patient care planning; Psychiatric-mental health nursing; Qualitative research; Recovery (Medical); recovery meaning
• ISSN: 1351-0126; 1365-2850
• DOI: 10.1111/jpm.12754

Accessible Summary What is known on the subject? Personal recovery concept is dominant in mental health systems when service user involvement is emphasized; however, service user involvement in mental health research and practice does not exist in Egypt. Definitions of recovery from high‐income and English‐speaking countries should be carefully adapted to other settings. Nurses providing mental health care in Egypt generally do not have specialized mental health nursing qualifications. What the paper adds to existing knowledge? Both cultural and contextual uniqueness of Egypt as a Middle Eastern, low‐middle‐income country were clear in the findings of this paper. There are differences in the definition of family and service user engagement in the current study and in high‐income countries. Seeking faith healers as a barrier to mental health recovery is culturally unique. Functional recovery prevails as a model in Egypt as there is limited service user involvement. Nursing values and code of ethics are consistent with enablers of mental health recovery. What are the implications for practice? Changing the pre‐registration nursing education to prepare specialized graduates in mental health nursing. Training of mental health professionals on recovery approaches which involve service users is needed in Egypt. Mental health nurses in Egypt can use the current findings to implement national campaigns to raise public awareness of mental health problems. Introduction Recovery‐oriented mental health practice is an emerging approach that aims to empower individuals to define their goals and take responsibility for their own recovery. However, mental health practice in Egypt is still custodial. Aim To explore perspectives of Egyptian mental health professionals on recovery. Method Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 15 mental health professionals identified through snowball sampling. Results The current study identified that functional recovery outweighed other definitions. Four facilitators of mental health recovery were identified: therapeutic relationship; family engagement; cultural sensitivity; and professionals’ self‐awareness. Six barriers to recovery were found, comprising mental health stigma and lack of awareness, seeking traditional healers, shortage of psychiatrists, cost of treatment, lack of training and effective rehabilitation programs. Discussion The concept of functional recovery predominates among nurses and other mental health professio