Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
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'Drone strikes
- Author:
- DALY Max
- Journal article citation:
- Druglink, 27(6), November 2012, pp.8-11.
- Publisher:
- Drugscope
- Place of publication:
- London
In this article, the author reports on the results of the Druglink Street Drug Trends 2012 survey. The survey, undertaken between September and November 2012, was based on information from police forces, drug action teams, frontline treatment services and user groups in 20 towns and cities, and from interviews and questionnaires involving drug experts, national drug services and drug workers across the UK. The article focuses in particular on the survey findings concerning use of mephedrone. It reports that despite a ban in 2010 mephedrone is becoming a significant problematic drug, and that more people are requesting help with physical and psychological problems associated with their mephedrone use. It notes mephedrone's relatively low cost, easy availability and reliable potency, and that it is being taken by a more diverse population. It discusses trends in use of the drug and possible reasons for this, and includes a brief user case example and a Barnsley case study report for Addaction on mephedrone injecting. It also reports on other major trends revealed in the 2012 survey.
This time, it's personal
- Author:
- TEMPLETON Robert
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Today, June 2011, pp.12-13.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
Briefly reports on a study which investigated the positive effect personal budgets were having on service users with mental health problems. The study from the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) looked at the experiences of five study sites where new clients were being offered personal budgets. The article highlights factors that helped service users in their choices, including contact with a worker who knows their circumstances and better quality information on the personal budget options available. Views from service users are also presented.
The lived experiences of tobacco use, dependence, and cessation: insights and perspectives of people with mental illness
- Author:
- SOLWAY Erica Singer
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Work, 36(1), February 2011, pp.19-32.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Although smoking rates among the overall population in the United States have declined since the 1960s, smoking rates among people with mental illness remain high. A study based on focus group interviews with 26 individuals receiving outpatient mental health services who were current smokers, former smokers, or who had never smoked, attempted to develop a theory to understand the high prevalence of smoking from the perspectives of people with mental illness. This article discusses the findings in 4 categories: the lived experiences of never smoking, smoking, and the process of quitting; the role of tobacco use for people with mental illness; other forces that promote or discourage tobacco use, including institutional smoking policies; and tensions and complexities in addressing smoking with this group. It includes examples and brief extracts from the interviews. The author concludes that although living with mental illness may present unique challenges to giving up smoking, most people with mental illness have a strong wish to stop smoking, and that social workers can play an important role in addressing tobacco use among people with mental illness through implementing policy changes.
What are the barriers and support systems for service user-led research? Implications for practice
- Authors:
- SMITH Lyndsey, BAILEY Di
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Mental Health Training Education and Practice, 5(1), March 2010, pp.35-44.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
While the involvement of service users in mental health research has increased, a review of the literature suggests that this does not necessarily coincide with service users having a ‘louder voice’ or greater control over service delivery. The purpose of this investigative study was to explore the barriers and support systems for service user-led research within a local NHS trust. The study focused on an original research project that set out to be service user-led by designing and piloting an evaluation tool to measure satisfaction with care planning across the trust. The paper describes a qualitative methodology that captured stakeholders’ experiences of why the original project did not reach its intended conclusion. Interviews were conducted with a range of professionals and service users, alongside participant observations of steering group meetings. Data was analysed using a grounded theory approach that led to the identification of key lessons for those intending to involve service users in research in the future. The findings suggest that there are many support systems that can assist service user-led research, but there are still too many barriers to implementing it effectively; in particular, processes surrounding ethical approval and the stigma attributed to such research by some professional staff. The lessons learned are presented to assist in the education and training of mental health service user researchers or professionals who are conducting research collaboratively with service user colleagues.
What does social inclusion mean?
- Author:
- BERTRAM Mark
- Journal article citation:
- A Life in the Day, 12(2), May 2008, pp.24-27.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Reports on findings from a survey of over 150 service users, through one-to-one interviews and discussion groups, which asked what the term 'social inclusion' meant to them. It also gathered their thoughts on whether mental health services could help people in the area of social inclusion.
A guide to user-focused monitoring: setting up and running a project
- Authors:
- KOTECHA Nutan, et al
- Publisher:
- Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 96p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
Provides a step-by-step guide to managing a user-focused monitoring (UFM) project. It is based on over ten years’ experience of local monitoring projects across the country. It shows how the unique perspective of people who use services can create research that breaks boundaries and gives service providers a new insight into the impact they have on people’s lives.
Claiming disability living allowance: an information pack for adults up to age 65 using mental health services, their carers and advocates
- Authors:
- DAVIS Alex, DAVIS Ann, O'KANE Martin
- Publisher:
- University of Birmingham. Centre of Excellence in Interdisciplinary Mental Health; Suresearch
- Publication year:
- 2006
- Pagination:
- 39p.
- Place of publication:
- Birmingham
This Information Pack addresses, in a practical way, the issue of poverty amongst people who use mental health services. Whilst increasing numbers of people with mental health problems are claiming Disability Living Allowance (DLA) the evidence suggests that many who could benefit from it are still not making claims. In 2005 £200 million of DLA and Attendance Allowance was unclaimed. The authors of this guide have had success in increasing income levels amongst service users by assisting them to claim DLA and would like to share what they have learnt with others.
Benefits and work for people with mental health problems: a briefing for mental health workers
- Authors:
- SEEBOHM Patience, SCOTT Judy
- Publisher:
- Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 8p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
Mental health service users often want to return to work, but after six months of sickness absence, only half ever succeed. Many are unsure or misinformed about how to make the journey into employment without feeling financially or emotionally insecure. It is important for mental health support workers in every field to have some knowledge of the benefits system – this briefing enables them to offer accurate guidance which will help service users make the move into employment with reduced risk to their wellbeing or their income. The briefing identifies seven major disincentives to work which must be tackled by policy makers before returning to employment can become a clear, easy process for service users. Under the present system, people may experience no financial gain, or even a drop in income from working, they may be unable to get financial support for practical needs at work, and they may be forced to undergo an untimely medical review.
Prison link workers
- Author:
- KING'S FUND
- Publisher:
- King's Fund
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 2p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Many people in the criminal justice system have mental health problems, but often do not get the support they need. This summary reports on a project run by London-based charity Revolving Doors, evaluated with a King's Fund grant. The scheme offers practical support to people with mental health and multiple needs who come into contact with the criminal justice system. It helps link individuals to mainstream services and aims to work in the longer term with people with complex needs. This summary provides details of the scheme and offers learning points on issues such as involving service users.
New thinking about mental health and employment
- Authors:
- GROVE Bob, SECKER Jenny, SEEBOHM Patience, (eds)
- Publisher:
- Radcliffe
- Publication year:
- 2005
- Pagination:
- 162p.
- Place of publication:
- Abingdon
Until recently it has been assumed that people who experience severe and enduring mental health problems are unable to work, unless or until they recover. That assumption is now being challenged by international research demonstrating that, with the right support, people can succeed in finding and keeping a job even when they continue to need support from mental health services. This book draws together the research undertaken to date and combines it with mental health service users’ perspectives on the workplace to validate key points.