Considerations regarding access to Community Psychosocial Centers in Brazil

Abstract

The scope of this article is to analyze the implementation of community mental health services in the regional context in Brazil. The article describes the issue of access to community psychosocial centers (CAPS II) in the State of Rio de Janeiro in this decade. By means of a cross-sectional survey, different categories of users of community services were identified. The theoretical models of organizational isomorphism and innovation and diffusion of policies were applied to discuss the adoption and development of community mental health services in different municipal contexts. The article highlights the fact that, irrespective of the local context, there is a considerable discrepancy between the scale of commitment of community mental health to new patient services, especially for those coming out of long-stay hospitalizations or who are still hospitalized. It concludes that the analysis of different categories of users makes it possible to study the problem of barriers of access to community services. The identification of barriers to access CAPS II can contribute to a critical reflection on the current Brazilian mental health policy.

Key words
Psychiatric reform; Community psychosocial centers; Accessibility; Public policy evaluation; Mental health policy; Policy innovation