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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry

Sec. Public Mental Health

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1670470

This article is part of the Research TopicRoots of Resilience: Exploring Community-Focused Mental Health Through PlaceView all articles

Exploring lived experiences in home-based psychiatric care: A qualitative study of service users, families, and professionals in Spain

Provisionally accepted
Ana Maria  Besoain-CornejoAna Maria Besoain-Cornejo1,2,3Montserrat  Gil-GirbauMontserrat Gil-Girbau2,4,5Mariam  Alouali-MoussakhkharMariam Alouali-Moussakhkhar5Luisa  Baladón HiguerasLuisa Baladón Higueras2,5Josefina  SáezJosefina Sáez6Maria  Rubio-ValeraMaria Rubio-Valera1,5,7,8*
  • 1Health Technology Assessment in Primary Care and Mental Health (PRISMA) Research Group, Teaching, Research & Innovation Unit, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
  • 2Research Network on Chronicity, Primary Health Care and Health Promotion (RICAPPS), Barcelona, Spain
  • 3School of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
  • 4Health Technology Assessment in Primary Care and Mental Health (PRISMA) Research Group, Teaching, Research & Innovation Unit, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat,, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain
  • 5Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Deu, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
  • 6Patient Research Partner, Sant Pere de Ribes, Barcelona, Spain
  • 7Center for Biomedical Research Network in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
  • 8Medicine and life sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Introduction. Psychiatric home care provides a wide range of multidisciplinary, user-centered, high-intensity psychiatric interventions to manage mental health crises. Previous studies have found high satisfaction with care, but only assessed user and nurse perspectives. This study aimed to understand the experience of a psychiatric home hospitalization program in Spain from the perspective of all involved (users, families and healthcare professionals). Materials and Methods. A qualitative study with a phenomenological approach was conducted to assess "Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment" (CRHT), a psychiatric home care program. Semi-structured individual and group interviews were held between 2021 and 2022. The final sample size was determined by saturation and data were analyzed thematically. Analyses were performed by a multidisciplinary team and externally reviewed by a mental health user and an experienced CRHT manager. Results. Four main themes summarizing CRHT experiences emerged: (1) Organizing and operating CRHT programs; (2) Receiving care at home; (3) Caregiver and family involvement and (4) Consequences of the home-based care model. CRHT allows individualized and contextualized treatment. Users and families valued home care and felt safe, although unprepared for the post-discharge situation, especially as care intensity decreases. While home care strengthens family bonds, some caregivers may need additional support to manage a crisis. Along with personalized care, CRHT allows for the development of a comprehensive lifelong treatment plan, although the care burden (for oneself and others) must be considered. Conclusion. CRHT was rated positively as a flexible intervention, facilitating person-centered care and strengthening trust between users, their families, and the CRHT team. It offers personalized treatment and connects individuals to further support, enabling better treatment experiences and strengthening family relationships.

Keywords: crisis management, Health Services Research, Mental Health, Patient-Centered Care, qualitative research

Received: 21 Jul 2025; Accepted: 02 Sep 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Besoain-Cornejo, Gil-Girbau, Alouali-Moussakhkhar, Baladón Higueras, Sáez and Rubio-Valera. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Maria Rubio-Valera, Health Technology Assessment in Primary Care and Mental Health (PRISMA) Research Group, Teaching, Research & Innovation Unit, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain

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