Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
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Death by a thousand pin pricks
- Author:
- FORREST Emma
- Journal article citation:
- Health Service Journal, 20.04.06, 2006, pp.22-24.
- Publisher:
- Emap Healthcare
Users of mental health services still often fall victim to prejudices that threaten their careers, social lives and general well-being. The author investigates what can be done to tackle it. The article includes details of Shift, a national anti-stigma campaign operating in England.
Comedian walks into a jail
- Author:
- MICKEL Andrew
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 3.3.11, 2011,
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
The charity, Bringing the Outside In, has enlisted a stand-up comic to challenge mental health stigma among prisoners. Reports on the success of the scheme which uses humour to help prisoners with mental health problems.
Evidence for effective interventions to reduce mental health-related stigma and discrimination in the medium and long term: systematic review
- Authors:
- MEHTA N., et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 207(5), 2015, pp.377-384.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Background: Most research on interventions to counter stigma and discrimination has focused on short-term outcomes and has been conducted in high-income settings. Aims: To synthesise what is known globally about effective interventions to reduce mental illness-based stigma and discrimination, in relation first to effectiveness in the medium and long term (minimum 4 weeks), and second to interventions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Method: Searches were conducted on six databases from 1980 to 2013 and a multi-language Google search was carried out for quantitative studies addressing the research questions. Effect sizes were calculated from eligible studies where possible, and narrative syntheses conducted. Subgroup analysis compared interventions with and without social contact. Results: Eighty studies (n = 422 653) were included in the review. For studies with medium or long-term follow-up (72, of which 21 had calculable effect sizes) median standardised mean differences were 0.54 for knowledge and −0.26 for stigmatising attitudes. Those containing social contact (direct or indirect) were not more effective than those without. The 11 LMIC studies were all from middle-income countries. Effect sizes were rarely calculable for behavioural outcomes or in LMIC studies. Conclusions: There is modest evidence for the effectiveness of anti-stigma interventions beyond 4 weeks follow-up in terms of increasing knowledge and reducing stigmatising attitudes. Evidence does not support the view that social contact is the more effective type of intervention for improving attitudes in the medium to long term. Methodologically strong research is needed on which to base decisions on investment in stigma-reducing interventions. (Edited publisher abstract)
Time to change, time to evaluate. Invited commentary on...Evaluation of England’s Time to Change programme
- Author:
- SARTORIUS Norman
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 202(s55), April 2013, pp.s108-s109.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Time to Change is the largest national programme to counter stigma ever undertaken. It demonstrates that stigmatisation and its consequences are gradually becoming recognised as the most important obstacle to the development of mental health programmes. It also demonstrates that they can be prevented or reduced.This invited commentary looks at the importance of the indicators used to assess the success of the campaign; assessing the relevance of the goals set; measuring long term effects of a campaign and assessing patients' views. (Edited publisher abstract)
Changing stigmatizing perceptions and recollections about mental illness: the effects of NAMI’s In Our Own Voice
- Authors:
- CORRIGAN Patrick W., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Community Mental Health Journal, 46(5), October 2010, pp.517-522.
- Publisher:
- Springer
In Our Own Voice (IOOV) is a 90-min anti-stigma video that comprises face-to-face stories of challenges of mental illness and hopes and dreams commensurate with recovery. The video was reduced to a 30-min version, using information from two focus groups. This study contrasts the effects of 90- versus 30-min IOOV program against 30 min of education. Two hundred research participants were randomly assigned to one of these three conditions and completed a measure of stigmatizing perceptions and recollections. People in the education group remembered more negatives than the two IOOV groups. To control for overall response rate, a difference ratio was determined (difference in positive and negative recollection divided by overall recollections). Results showed the two IOOV conditions had significantly better ratios than education. These findings suggest the 30 min version of IOOV is as effective as the 90 min standard.
Tackling stigma: findings from a national project
- Authors:
- WARNER-GALE Fiona, HARKER Kate
- Journal article citation:
- Young Minds Magazine, 108, October 2010, pp.32-33.
- Publisher:
- YoungMinds
The Tackling Stigma Framework, which sets out eight priority domains for action, was developed from the findings of a research study with children and their families examining the stigma associated with mental health. The national Tackling Stigma Project to implement the framework commenced in 2009 in six pilot sites in England. This article describes the development of the framework and the associated Tackling Stigma Toolkit, the ways in which the pilot sites are tackling stigma, and the evaluation of the project. The evaluation findings suggest that the Tackling Stigma Framework has provided benefits to services and is a useful model for raising the profile of stigma among children and young people.
Filling the gap....
- Author:
- BAWDEN Matthew
- Journal article citation:
- Connect, 39, Spring 2010, pp.14-15.
- Publisher:
- Homeless Link
This article describes the service provided by Look Ahead’s Bayswater Hostel in Westminster for rough sleepers with low levels of mental health problems. Traditionally, these people are excluded from specialist mental health services due to lack of formal diagnosis, difficulties engaging with statutory mental health teams, or drug and alcohol use. Formally a medium support hostel for rough sleepers aged 18-30, Bayswater underwent a major transformation in 2008. The new service offers a safe and tranquil environment for those rough sleepers who don’t typically thrive in general hostel environments due to their increased vulnerability. Bayswater Hostel has adopted an approach called Positive Pathways which shifts emphasis from a customer’s support needs to consider the many different aspects that make up their lives. The support work rests upon 4 key pillars: positive identity; stable relationships; healthy, wealthy and wise; and home and community. The staff work with small groups of 4 or 5 customers to enable them to provide a high level of support, and links have been developed with mental health services. The article also describes how the hostel provides a comfortable environment to avoid abandonment by the customers, and the attempts made by the hostel to tackle stigma and discrimination.
Does the scientific evidence support the recovery model?
- Author:
- WARNER Richard
- Journal article citation:
- Psychiatrist (The), 34(1), January 2010, pp.3-5.
- Publisher:
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
This brief editorial asks whether some of the basic tenets of the ‘recovery model’ – optimism about outcome, the value of work, the importance of empowerment of patients and the utility of user-run programmes – are supported by scientific research. Looking at the recovery model – a social movement that is influencing mental health service development around the world – this article questions if such methods are supported by scientific evidence by exploring its impact on schizophrenia. The author concludes that this model creates positive, recovery-oriented services, and optimism about the outcome from schizophrenia is supported by research data. A growing body of evidence supports the concept that empowerment is an important component of treatment, and that user-driven services are and a focus on reducing internal stigma are powerful tools to aid in recovery. More controlled studies of empowerment-oriented interventions are required to demonstrate convincingly that a focus on this factor will yield better outcomes in this field.
The use of puppets with elementary school children in reducing stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness
- Authors:
- PITRE Nancy, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Mental Health, 16(3), June 2007, pp.415-429.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- London
Mental health reform has resulted in individuals with mental illness, who previously resided in psychiatric institutions, being moved into the community. These individuals potentially face multi-faceted discrimination, which may impair their recovery. Most anti-stigma campaigns have been directed at adults or adolescents. The authors targeted children in order to evaluate the effectiveness of a puppet program to reduce stigmatizing attitudes in grades 3 - 6 students in Canada. Children received a pre and post-test of their attitudes as measured by the re-factored Opinions About Mental Illness Scale. The experimental group watched a series of three plays in which hand puppets portrayed individuals with schizophrenia, depression/anxiety, and dementia. The plays were designed to challenge stereotypes and erroneous beliefs regarding mental illness, while appealing to children. Scores for the children exposed to the puppet plays improved significantly on three of the six factors of the OMI, including, Separatism, Restrictiveness and Stigmatization. Anti-stigma programs using puppetry show some effectiveness and should be further studied.
Workplace interventions can reduce stigma
- Authors:
- KNIFTON Lee, WALKER Alice, QUINN Neil
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Public Mental Health, 7(4), December 2009, pp.40-50.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Stigma and discrimination towards people with mental health problems is a global issue, imposing a considerable public health burden in terms of social isolation, limited life chances, delayed help-seeking behaviour and stress. While numerous initiatives have been undertaken to address these issues, an evidence base for what works is still emerging. This paper explores the impact of 15 population-level awareness workshops delivered over a five-month period to 137 participants. These were employees drawn from workplaces identified as being important in the day-to-day lives of people with mental health problems. Evaluation approaches maximised specificity, sensitivity and anonymity and they assessed participant knowledge, attitude and behaviour. The workshops significantly improved participant knowledge. Attitude change was more complex with an overall significant improvement in attitudes, particularly in relation to unpredictability and recovery, but not dangerousness, which had more positive baseline attitudes. Social distance, a proxy for behavioural intent, had significant improvements in relation to ‘moderate’ social contact only. Qualitative feedback indicated that complex, unanticipated and positive messages had been absorbed by participants and influenced beliefs and behavioural intent. Service user narratives focusing on recovery were identified as the most valuable component of the intervention.