Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
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Media representation of people with mental health problems
- Author:
- HARRIS Rachel
- Journal article citation:
- Nursing Times, 24.8.04, 2004, pp.33-35.
- Publisher:
- Nursing Times
Reviews the literature concerning the media portrayal of mental illness issues. Looks at what is being done in this country to try and combat the stigma associated with mental health problems. Findings indicated that despite organisations and campaigns working to reduce stigma, there is still a long way to do.
Where's the harm in it?
- Author:
- GEORGE Mike
- Journal article citation:
- Care and Health Magazine, 57, 2004, pp.42-43.
- Publisher:
- Care and Health
Reviews the facts behind self harm.
Mental health tragedies: investigating beyond human error
- Author:
- MUNRO Eileen
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (The), 15(3), September 2004, pp.475-493.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The Department of Health is introducing a mandatory reporting system to replace the statutory inquiries held when a mentally ill person commits homicide, as part of a radical transformation in the way errors and adverse outcomes are investigated and in the types of solutions that will be sought. Inquiries typically investigated whether there was a causally significant error or omission by professionals involved in the perpetrator's care. If human error is identified the inquiry tends to see it as sufficient explanation and the investigation ends. Experience in other fields has found that such limited investigations do not produce effective lessons for preventing future tragedies. It is necessary to regard human error as a symptom not a cause and ask why that person performed that action in those circumstances. In particular, one can examine the systemic factors acting on the professional and consider whether they made a mistake more likely. Shows how radically different this change is and contrasts it with the current inquiry procedure. It is argued that the new approach holds the promise of more effective learning but it requires major developments in research design and a fundamental cultural change in the NHS to a more open organisation where errors or mistakes (the raw data) can be reported without fear of retribution. Obstacles to achieving this are discussed.
Partnership in mental health and child welfare: social work responses to children living with parental mental illness
- Author:
- SHEEHAN Rosemary
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work in Health Care, 39(3/4), 2004, pp.309-323.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Mental illness is an issue for a number of families reported to child protection agencies. Parents with mental health problems are more vulnerable, as are their children, to having parenting and child welfare concerns. A recent study undertaken in the Melbourne Children's Court (Victoria, Australia) found that the children of parents with mental health problems comprised just under thirty percent of all new child protection applications brought to the Court and referred to alternative dispute resolution, during the first half of 1998. This paper reports on the study findings, which are drawn from a descriptive survey of 228 Pre-Hearing Conferences. A data collection schedule was completed for each case, gathering information about the child welfare concerns, the parents' problems, including mental health problems, and the contribution by mental health professionals to resolving child welfare concerns. The study found that the lack of involvement by mental health social workers in the child protection system meant the Children's Court was given little appreciation of either a child's emotional or a parent's mental health functioning. The lack of effective cooperation between the adult mental health and child protection services also meant decisions made about these children were made without full information about the needs and the likely outcomes for these children and their parents. This lack of interagency cooperation between mental health social work and child welfare also emerged in the findings of the Icarus project, a cross-national project, led by Brunel University, in England. This project compared the views and responses of mental health and child welfare social workers to the dependent children of mentally ill parents, when there were child protection concerns. It is proposed that adult mental health social workers involve themselves in the assessment of, and interventions in, child welfare cases when appropriate, and share essential information about their adult, parent clients. Children at risk of abuse and neglect are the responsibility of all members of the community, and relevant professional groups must accept this responsibility. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580)
Managing risk for tenants with mental health problems and offending histories
- Authors:
- TAYLOR Beth, JEFFREY Gillian
- Journal article citation:
- Housing Care and Support, 7(3), September 2004, pp.9-12.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Investigation of the move-on needs of patients from Ravenswood Medium Secure Unit in Hampshire has shown that more independent community-based accommodation is required. Such schemes are now part of the Supporting People programme and need to incorporate effective risk management systems for this client group, with an agenda for inclusion and low-level support. Considers risk factors and describes an innovative out-of-hours support service funded through Supporting People which takes a preventative approach.
Better prevention
- Author:
- BHADURI Reba
- Journal article citation:
- Care and Health Magazine, 14.9.04, 2004, pp.26-27.
- Publisher:
- Care and Health
Looks at how to improve risk assessment in mental health.
Neurosis and mortality in persons aged 65 and over living in the community: a systematic review of the literature
- Authors:
- DEWEY Michael E., CHEN Chih-Mei
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19(6), June 2004, pp.554-557.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
No previous attempt has been made to synthesise information on mortality and neurosis in older people. Our objective was to estimate the influence on mortality of various types of neurosis in the older population. Data sources were: Medline; Embase; and personal files. Studies were considered if they included a majority of persons aged 65 and over at baseline either drawn from a total community sample or drawn from a random sample from the community. Studies which sampled from a larger age range were also included if it was possible to retrieve results about those aged 65 and over. Samples from health care facilities were excluded. Effect sizes were extracted from the papers and if they were not included in the published papers effect sizes were calculated if possible. No attempt was made to contact authors for missing data. We found seven reports (six of which used a neurosis diagnosis and one which used a symptom scale). Using Fisher's method we found an increase in mortality which was not significant (p = 0.08). There have been few studies, and the evidence is weakly in favour of an increased mortality risk.
Research into practice
- Author:
- LANGAN Joan
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 29.4.04, 2004, p.48.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
Briefly reports on a research project into the involvement of mental health service users in risk assessment and risk management. A mental health trust interviewed 17 service users, 16 relatives and 56 professionals to find out how involved they felt in the process of risk management. Discusses the findings.
Psychiatric complications in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) during the acute treatment phase: a series of 10 cases
- Authors:
- CHENG S. K. W., et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 184(4), April 2004, pp.359-360.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
In February 2003, Hong Kong was hit by a community-wide outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). During the period of the outbreak, 10 patients with SARS with psychiatric complications were referred to our Consultation and Liaison Psychiatry Team for assessment and management. The authors found that both the direct and indirect effects of SARS such as symptom severity, total isolation during treatment and administration of steroid were probable causes of psychiatric complications. In this paper, they report on the nature of their psychiatric problems, challenges to management and psychiatric treatment strategies used during the acute phase.
Children of adults with severe mental illness: mental health, help seeking and service use
- Authors:
- COWLING Vicki, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Psychiatric Bulletin, 28(2), February 2004, pp.43-46.
- Publisher:
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
Reports on an Australian study to determine the prevalence of childhood mental health problems in children of parents registered with an area mental health service, and to study the parents’ help-seeking and service use for their children. Parents were recruited through their case managers, and asked to complete the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Service Utilisation Questionnaire and the Help-seeking Questionnaire. Results found a quarter of the children were in the clinical range of the SDQ total scores, with high sub-scale scores. However, 63 percent of the parents reported reluctance to seek help, and 19 percent reported not using services. Concludes that children of parents with mental illness are at higher risk of childhood psychiatric disorders. Assessment of the child at the time of referral of the parent is an opportunity for problem identification, parental education, and early intervention.