ABSTRACT
This chapter examines, compares and contrasts the experiences of mental health service users with enduring problems in regional areas of Ireland, Canada and Australia, focusing on the factors that influenced their experience of participation and social inclusion in their respective communities. This was a two-phase, mixed-methodology study utilising the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a framework for enquiry for practice and research. In the first phase, a questionnaire was developed from the ICF components of Activities and Participation to examine enduring mental health users' experiences. The overall consensus among all three countries' participants was that issues relating to entry into education, housing, transport, services and systems were not problematic and acted as facilitators to participation and inclusion. This research provides evidence and informs multidisciplinary professionals on best practice in promoting participation and social inclusion, and the need for graded/supported participation in the mainstream community.
