The ability to detect mental disorders varies greatly among general practitioners in primary health care. The aim of this study was to determine the factors underlying the differences between general practitioners in the ability to recognize mental disorders in Finnish patient populations. The group studied consisted of 1000 randomly selected adult patients of primary care facilities in the city of Turku. The Symptom Checklist (SCL-25) was used as the reference method in the identification of psychiatric cases. According to the SCL-25, one fourth of the sample had mental disorders. A good recognition ability was associated with postgraduate psychiatric training and qualification as a specialist in general practice. Surprisingly, Balint group training, which is a method intended to improve the ability of general practitioners to manage their patients' mental health problems, was associated rather with poor than good detection ability.
The knowledge of the impact of coercion on psychiatric treatment outcome is limited. Multiple measures of coercion have been recommended. The aim of the study was to examine the impact of accumulated coercive incidents on short-term outcome of inpatient psychiatric care
233 involuntarily and voluntarily admitted patients were interviewed within five days of admission and at discharge or after maximum three weeks of care. Coercion was measured as number of coercive incidents, i.e. subjectively reported and in the medical files recorded coercive incidents, including legal status and perceived coercion at admission, and recorded and reported coercive measures during treatment. Outcome was measured both as subjective improvement of mental health and as improvement in professionally assessed functioning according to GAF. Logistic regression analyses were performed with patient characteristics and coercive incidents as independent and the two outcome measures as dependent variables
Number of coercive incidents did not predict subjective or assessed improvement. Patients having other diagnoses than psychoses or mood disorders were less likely to be subjectively improved, while a low GAF at admission predicted an improvement in GAF scores
The results indicate that subjectively and professionally assessed mental health short-term outcome of acute psychiatric hospitalisation are not predicted by the amount of subjectively and recorded coercive incidents. Further studies are needed to examine the short- and long-term effects of coercive interventions in psychiatric care.
Notes
Cites: Int J Law Psychiatry. 1997 Spring;20(2):227-419178064
Cites: Int J Law Psychiatry. 1996 Spring;19(2):201-178725657
This article describes the results of a one year follow-up investigation of patients suffering from psychiatric and mental diseases and psycho-social problems who were seen in general practice or by private practising psychiatrists and the psychiatric outpatient hospital clinic in a Danish county. 40-50% of the patients concluded treatment within the first year. The general practitioner and the private practising psychiatrist saw 10% of the patients more than 13 times. In the outpatient hospital clinic, 10% of the patients were seen more than 29 times. A psychotherapeutic approach to treatment was employed for 54-90% of the cases. Psychopharmacological medication was administered to 54-60% of the patients. Where patients in general practice and in the outpatient clinic were concerned, treatment in an emergency open unit and treatment in sheltered environments was required and supervision was necessary for 1/4 of the cases. The investigation demonstrates the role of the general practitioner in treatment and referral. After one year 25% of the patients were referred for other treatment. The general practitioner, private practicing psychiatrist and outpatient clinic treat different groups of psychiatric patients and work somewhat independently of one another.
Are the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales a valid and practical instrument to measure outcomes in North America? A three-site evaluation across Nova Scotia.
We tested the usability, sensitivity and validity of the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) in routine clinical practice in North America. Three pilot sites provided ratings on all inpatient and outpatient referrals over 4 months using versions covering children and adolescents (HoNOSCA), working-age adults and the over-65s. Data were entered using the routine administrative data system. Sixty-one percent of eligible patients had at least one HoNOS rating (n = 485). Following the initial rating, subsequent completion rates reached 80%. Ratings were sensitive to time and setting, with significantly higher scores in inpatients than outpatients. Individual diagnoses had different patterns of scores, further supporting validity.
This paper presents, as part of a national Swedish research project, a study of associations between staff feelings toward patients and treatment outcome at 23 small psychiatric inpatient units. The outcome was measured with a composite scale based on structured interviews. Staff feelings were reported on a feeling checklist. Few and scattered correlations were found between staff feelings and treatment outcome when the whole group of patients was analyzed together. More meaningful patterns were found when data for psychotic and borderline patients were analyzed separately. For psychotic patients, positive outcome was associated with low levels of negative feelings throughout treatment. For borderline patients, positive outcome was associated with negative feelings at the beginning of treatment, followed by strong positive feelings in the later part. Staff feelings were more strongly associated with outcome for borderline patients than for psychotic patients. Patients with different structural diagnoses need different kinds of staff "feeling milieus."
A total of 142 consecutive patients cared for by child and adolescent psychiatry were followed up to the age of 33-37 years; 49% were treated in adult psychiatry between the ages of 20-25 years, and 20% of these were hospitalized. The frequency of hospitalization was 4-5 times that of a control group. Between the ages of 20-34 years, 32% were admitted some time for inpatient psychiatric care. Psychiatric diagnoses of the patients: schizophrenia 4%, manic-depressive 5%, neurosis and reactive insufficiency 11%, personality disorders and/or abuse diagnosis 12%. Patients with a schizophrenia diagnosis in adulthood needed the most hospitalization. The symptom picture was stable from child and adolescent psychiatric care through to adulthood, but abuse increased with age. The frequency of sick leave was 2.5 times higher among the child and adolescent psychiatric care patients than among the control group. At the age of 34-36 years, 13% of the former patients received disability benefits as compared with 1% for the same age groups in the entire population of Sweden. Twenty-one percent received sentences for criminal offenses from the age of 20-34 years. The number of crimes decreased with increasing age. Nearly 50% were in contact with the social welfare services, 3 times as many as in the control group. A third of the men completed their national military service. A total of 6 men and 1 woman died, indicating an increased mortality rate for men. All deaths except one were related to the mental disorder.
Young people with psychological or psychiatric problems are managed largely by primary care practitioners, many of whom feel inadequately trained, ill equipped, and uncomfortable with this responsibility. Accessing specialist pediatric and psychological services, often located in and near large urban centers, is a particular challenge for rural and remote communities. Live interactive videoconferencing technology (telepsychiatry) presents innovative opportunities to bridge these service gaps. The TeleLink Mental Health Program at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto offers a comprehensive, collaborative model of enhancing local community systems of care in rural and remote Ontario using videoconferencing. With a focus on clinical consultation, collaborative care, education and training, evaluation, and research, ready access to pediatric psychiatrists and other specialist mental health service providers can effectively extend the boundaries of the medical home. Medical trainees in urban teaching centers are also expanding their knowledge of and comfort level with rural mental health issues, various complementary service models, and the potentials of videoconferencing in providing psychiatric and psychological services. Committed and enthusiastic champions, a positive attitude, creativity, and flexibility are a few of the necessary attributes ensuring viability and integration of telemental health programs.
At least five per cent of the general population of children suffer from severe neuropsychiatric impairment. Autism spectrum disorders, ADHD/DAMP, Tourette's syndrome, and a variety of cognitive impairment/neurological syndromes with severe behavioral/emotional symptoms are included among the child neuropsychiatric disorders, the majority of which will lead to ongoing social and academic problems in adult life. Substantial numbers of those affected commit crimes in early adult life, and the incidence of the above-mentioned disorders is higher among young criminal offenders. Early diagnosis, educational, psychological, and, occasionally, medical therapies can affect outcome in a positive way. Child neuropsychiatric disorders should therefore be recognized at an early age so that attitudes can be changed from rejection to understanding, and a gloomy psychosocial outcome avoided.
Limitations of general psychiatric services have led to the development of specialised psychiatric programmes for patients with intellectual disability (ID) and mental health needs. Few studies have examined treatment outcomes of specialised inpatient units, and no studies have explored how the effects of intervention may differ for individuals at varying levels of cognitive ability. The present study examined clinical outcomes of inpatients with mild ID in contrast to inpatients with moderate to severe ID within the same service.
Thirty-three patients (17 with mild ID and 16 with moderate to severe ID) discharged between 2006 and 2008 from a specialised inpatient unit in Canada for adults with ID and mental illness were studied. In addition to examining change in scores on clinical measures, outcomes with regard to length of stay, diagnostic change, residential change and re-admission to hospital were explored.
Both groups demonstrated clinical improvement from admission to discharge. However, only patients with mild ID demonstrated improvements on the Global Assessment of Functioning.
This study is one of the first to consider outcomes of higher and lower functioning individuals with ID on a specialised inpatient unit. Results suggest that outcomes may be different for these groups, and some clinical measures may be more sensitive to changes in patients with more severe disabilities.
In ongoing studies of the quality of the mental health services in two Swedish counties, two thirds of the committed versus about one third of the voluntarily admitted patients reported coercive measures during the index period of care. Committed patients reported an equal degree of coercive treatment and restraint, whereas restraint dominated among the voluntarily admitted. The majority of the patients described the coercive measures as implemented by fait accompli; force was reported in 23% of the examples given by the committed patients but never by the voluntarily admitted. The committed patients justified 19% and the voluntarily admitted 38% of the coercive measures reported; the committed patients justified coercive treatment and restraint to about the same extent; the voluntarily admitted patients justified 65% of the examples of restraint but only 20% of the examples of coercive treatment. There was a 70% concordance between the reports of the committed patients and psychiatric personnel as to the occurrence of coercion, but the head nurses tended to state that treatment had been implemented by persuasion in cases where the patients stated that implementation was by coercion.
