The Effect of Perceived Human Rights-Friendly Service Environment on the Recovery of Individuals with Psychosocial Disabilities: Verifying the Mediating Effect of Activity and Participation

Abstract

Since a human rights-friendly service environment should be created based on the self-determination of individuals with psychosocial disabilities (IPDs), efforts are being made to establish such environments in inpatient hospitals and community mental health facilities. Recovery memoirs of IPDs indicate that human rights-friendly service environments perceived in hospitals and facilities significantly enhance community engagement and participation, ultimately facilitating recovery. However, the relationship between perceived human rights-friendly service environments, activities and participation, and recovery has not been systematically verified. This study examines the relationship among these factors—perceived human rights-friendly service environments, activities and participation, and recovery—using Donabedian's structure-process-outcome theory. To this end, structural equation modeling, including indirect effect analysis, was conducted using data from 348 IPDs who participated in a 2022 survey on the establishment of human rights-friendly treatment environments. Key findings are as follows: Human rights-friendly service environments in both inpatient hospitals and community mental health facilities (support for independence and respect for human dignity) have a positive total effect on recovery. In the case of the mediating effect of activity and participation, all of them showed complete or partial mediating effects except for the human-respect environment of community mental health facilities. Based on these findings, practical and policy implications for developing human rights-friendly service environments and promoting the recovery of IPDs are discussed.