Mental health care reform in Sweden, 1995

Objective: To describe the content of the Community Mental Health Care reform in Sweden, in effect from 1995 and directed to severely mentally ill people (SMI). Method: Evaluating changes, at local and national level, in living conditions among SMI and resources of services directed to them, by using registers, questionnaires, interviews and case studies. Results: A survey, covering 93% of the population, identified 43 000 SMI (prevalence of 0.63%), 4000 long-stay patients and 400 rehabilitation programmes were transferred from psychiatric services to social services (15% of the budget of psychiatric services). Employment and rehabilitation projects, family support and user programmes and educational projects for social services staff, were launched (funded by state subsidies). Conclusion: SMI still have difficulties in obtaining adequate support on the basis of disability laws and there continue to be barriers between social services and psychiatric services.