Experiences of healthcare staff providing community-based mental healthcare as a multidisciplinary community mental health team in Central and Eastern Europe findings from the RECOVER-E project: an observational intervention study

BACKGROUND: Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs) deliver healthcare that supports the recovery of people with mental illness. The aim of this paper was to explore to what extent team members of five CMHTs newly implemented in five countries perceived that they had introduced aspects of the recovery-oriented, strength-based approach into care after a training week on recovery-oriented practice. In addition, it evaluated what the team members’ perceptions on their care roles and their level of confidence with this role were. METHOD: An observational intervention study using a quantitative survey that was administered among 52 health professionals (21 Nurses, 13 Psychiatrists, 9 Psychologists, 8 Social Workers) and 14 peer workers including the Recovery Self-Assessment Tool Provider Version (RSA-P), the Team Member Self-Assessment Tool (TMSA), and demographic questions was conducted. The measures were self-reported. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate the means and standard deviations for continuous variables and frequencies and percentages for categorical variables (TMSA tool and demographic data). The standard technique to calculate scale scores for each subscale of the RSA-P was used. Bivariate linear regression analyses were applied to explore the impact of predictors on the subscales of the RSA-P. Predictors with significant effects were included in multiple regression models. RESULT: The RSA-P showed that all teams had the perception that they provide recovery–oriented practice to a moderately high degree after a training week on recovery-oriented care (mean scores between 3.85–4.46). Health professionals with fewer years of professional experience perceived more frequently that they operated in a recovery-oriented way (p = 0.036, B = − 0.268). Nurses and peer workers did not feel confident or responsible to fulfil specific roles. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that a one-week training session on community-based practices and collaborative teamwork may enhance recovery-oriented practice, but the role of nurses and peer workers needs further attention. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Each trial was registered before participant enrolment in the clinicaltrials.gov database: Croatia, Zagreb (Trial Reg. No. NCT03862209); Montenegro, Kotor (Trial Reg. No. NCT03837340); Romania, Suceava (Trial Reg. No. NCT03884933); Macedonia, Skopje (Trial Reg. No. NCT03892473); Bulgaria, Sofia (Trial Reg. No. NCT03922425). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12888-021-03542-2.