Core Competencies for Psychiatric Hospital at Home (HaH) Treatment: A Qualitative Exploration

Abstract

Hospital at home (HaH) applied in psychiatric settings is becoming an important component of mental health care, yet the core competencies required by health professionals for successful implementations remain understudied. This exploratory qualitative study aims to identify the core competencies health professionals perceive as essential for effective home treatment and proposes considerations for future training frameworks. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five health professionals leading or developing psychiatric HaH treatment services. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, focusing on recurrent themes related to skills and challenges. Seven categories of skills and competencies were identified: clinical and diagnostic competencies, home and family-oriented skills, treatment planning and process management skills, communication and interprofessional collaboration skills, teamwork and leadership, professional attitudes and adaptive skills, data-driven practice and evaluation. Future work should concretize these core competencies to make the next step towards educational programs for successful realisation of HaH care services.

Keywords: Competencies; Home treatment; Hospital at home; Psychiatric care; Skills.