Monitoring human rights in mental health: the ITHACA toolkit

Background/Objectives: The Institutional Treatment, Human Rights and Care Assessment (ITHACA) Toolkit has recently been developed by a consortium from across 15 EU countries, funded by the European Commission. The ITHACA Toolkit provides a clear and practical way to monitor human rights and general health care in mental health facilities. Methods: In developing the ITHACA Toolkit service users were consulted and employed at all stages. Over 100 service users’ participated in the focus groups which were conducted in each country. A key component of this consultation was to build service user capacity and involvem…