2 results
The Postcard Project: Improving Healthcare Staff's Knowledge of Good Quality Medical Care for Older Adults in Mental Health services
- Lauren Franklin, Rebecca Chubb, Rachel Mulroy, Louisa Mander, Nigel Katandawa, Camilla Howe
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- Journal:
- BJPsych Open / Volume 9 / Issue S1 / July 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 07 July 2023, p. S22
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Aims
Older adults in mental health services often have complex physical health needs, due to multimorbidity and frailty. Staff working in these services may not feel well-equipped to manage these needs, leading to symptoms being missed or unnecessary investigations. The authors designed written educational resources for healthcare professionals working across older adult services, both in hospital and the community. The Postcard Project aimed to improve staff knowledge of the physical health needs of older adults and encourage good quality, evidence-based care.
MethodsTwelve postcards were created focusing on twelve concepts of caring for the physical health needs of older adults within psychiatry services. These topics were highlighted as potential areas of staff weakness, the staff themselves, and a survey conducted prior to the project. The postcards contained key evidence-based information about the chosen topic, summarised in less than 7 bullet points, and provided links to relevant, digestible resources, such as up-to-date guideline summaries and podcasts. The postcards were released monthly and distributed via email and physical copies. A survey was carried out before the project via a Microsoft Form, where respondents ranked their confidence in their knowledge on different topics relating to the care of physical health in older patients, with 1 being not confident at all and 5 being very confident.
Results57 people responded to this survey, including nurses, doctors, and other members of the multidisciplinary team. This survey showed a large discrepancy between different topics and staff's confidence. Staff were confident in identifying the symptoms of a UTI (83% confident) and fall prevention (79%). However, they were less confident with their understanding of CRP blood results (46%) and their ability to identify an Acute Kidney Injury (23%). Data are still being collected as to whether this project improved staff knowledge of these key concepts.
ConclusionStaff in older adult mental health and community services were not confident with certain key aspects of good quality medical care of elderly patients before this project. The level of confidence varied between topic and profession. This project aimed to improve staff knowledge on the weaker topics, however, without the post-project survey data, it is not yet clear as to whether this project improved the knowledge of staff.
Randomised clinical trial of community-based peer-led and psychologist-led group treatment for hoarding disorder
- Carol A. Mathews, Robert Scott Mackin, Chia-Ying Chou, Soo Y. Uhm, Larry David Bain, Sandra J. Stark, Michael Gause, Ofilio R. Vigil, John Franklin, Mark Salazar, Julian Plumadore, Lauren C. Smith, Kiya Komaiko, Gillian Howell, Eduardo Vega, Joanne Chan, Monika B. Eckfield, Janice Y. Tsoh, Kevin Delucchi
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- Journal:
- BJPsych Open / Volume 4 / Issue 4 / July 2018
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 20 July 2018, pp. 285-293
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Background
Treatment for hoarding disorder is typically performed by mental health professionals, potentially limiting access to care in underserved areas.
AimsWe aimed to conduct a non-inferiority trial of group peer-facilitated therapy (G-PFT) and group psychologist-led cognitive–behavioural therapy (G-CBT).
MethodWe randomised 323 adults with hording disorder 15 weeks of G-PFT or 16 weeks of G-CBT and assessed at baseline, post-treatment and longitudinally (≥3 months post-treatment: mean 14.4 months, range 3–25). Predictors of treatment response were examined.
ResultsG-PFT (effect size 1.20) was as effective as G-CBT (effect size 1.21; between-group difference 1.82 points, t = −1.71, d.f. = 245, P = 0.04). More homework completion and ongoing help from family and friends resulted in lower severity scores at longitudinal follow-up (t = 2.79, d.f. = 175, P = 0.006; t = 2.89, d.f. = 175, P = 0.004).
ConclusionsPeer-led groups were as effective as psychologist-led groups, providing a novel treatment avenue for individuals without access to mental health professionals.
Declaration of interestC.A.M. has received grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and travel reimbursement and speakers’ honoraria from the Tourette Association of America (TAA), as well as honoraria and travel reimbursement from the NIH for serving as an NIH Study Section reviewer. K.D. receives research support from the NIH and honoraria and travel reimbursement from the NIH for serving as an NIH Study Section reviewer. R.S.M. receives research support from the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Aging, the Hillblom Foundation, Janssen Pharmaceuticals (research grant) and the Alzheimer's Association. R.S.M. has also received travel support from the National Institute of Mental Health for Workshop participation. J.Y.T. receives research support from the NIH, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and the California Tobacco Related Research Program, and honoraria and travel reimbursement from the NIH for serving as an NIH Study Section reviewer. All other authors report no conflicts of interest.
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