Implementing WHO-Quality Rights Project in Tunisia: Results of an Intervention at Razi Hospital

BACKGROUND: The aims were: 1) to measure the attitudes of learners (and future trainers) before and after a course on WHO-Quality Rights (QR); 2) to evaluate a psychiatric ward, by previously trained staff on QR, comparing it with a previous evaluation and discussing an improvement plan. METHODS: 1) Training sample: 19 subjects (8 males), 41.4±10.6 years, including jurists/lawyers, health professionals, and experts. The QR team developed the 26-item tool to assess the knowledge and attitudes of participants. 2) Evaluation of quality of care and respect for human rights in the ward was carried out on 20 staff representatives, 20 family members and 20 users with QRToolkit. RESULTS: 1) Learning in QR has partially changed the knowledge and attitudes of trained people. 2) The evaluation shows significant delays in the implementation of the rights advocated by the United Nations Convention on the Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). In Themes 1, 3, 4 and 5, the evaluation shows no differences compared to 2014, but in Theme 2, the level was lower than four years before. CONCLUSION: The scarcity of resources due to the economic crisis that Tunisia is going through, cannot be considered the only cause of the delays highlighted. However, it is likely that in a context of uncertainty for the future, scarcity of resources and a decrease in staff (i.e., professionals dedicated to psychosocial intervention) may have demotivated the team towards recovery. The improvement in knowledge and attitudes of many staff members after the training may open future positive scenarios.