Mental health simulation training in psychiatric skills for police and ambulance service personnel

IntroductionUK healthcare policy has highlighted a shift in mental health services from hospital to community, stressing the importance of training for professions not traditionally associated with healthcare. Recommendations have been made to introduce training for the police force designed with experts. Similarly, the value of further training for ambulance clinicians in assessing mental health, capacity, and understanding legislation has been highlighted.AimsTo investigate the effect of simulation training on the confidence, knowledge, and human factors skills of police and ambulance service personnel in working with people experiencing mental health conditions.MethodsOn completion of data collection from 14 training courses, approximately 90 police and 90 ambulance personnel (n = 180) will have completed the human factors skills for healthcare instrument, confidence and knowledge self-report measures, and post-course qualitative evaluation forms. A version of the hfshi for non-clinical professions will hopefully be validated following data collection. Results will also be compared by profession.ResultsAnalyses have not been fully completed, although preliminary statistical analyses demonstrate promising findings, with increases post-course for human factors skills, confidence and knowledge. Furthermore, qualitative feedback initially illustrates valuable learning outcomes and interesting findings from comparisons by professions.ConclusionsMental health simulation training appears to have a promising impact on the confidence, knowledge, and human factors skills of police and ambulance personnel for working with people experiencing mental health conditions.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Mental health simulation training in psychiatric skills for Police and Ambulance Service personnel

10.26226/morressier.5885d713d462b8028d8925ed ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Chris Attoe

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Simulation Training ◽

Ambulance Service ◽

Service Personnel ◽

Health Simulation

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Comparing Learning Outcomes for Mental Health Simulation Training Delivered to Entire Clinical Teams Versus Professionals Not Working Together Clinically

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.02.188 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. S301-S301

Author(s):

L. Valdearenas ◽

C. Attoe ◽

S. Cross

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Human Factors ◽

Physical Health ◽

Learning Outcomes ◽

Simulation Training ◽

Course Evaluation ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Health Simulation ◽

Mental And Physical Health ◽

Health Comorbidities

IntroductionWorking effectively with colleagues using a multidisciplinary and interprofessional approach is vital in healthcare, particularly mental health, where the interface between physical and mental health is often missed due to involvement with different specialties. Collaborative clinical practice is essential to provide the best clinical care to people experiencing mental and physical health comorbidities. Simulation training encourages experiential learning for human factors (or non-technical) skills, such as teamwork and interprofessional collaboration. This study explored the differences in learning outcomes between team and non-team training for physical and mental health comorbidities.Aims and objectivesThis project aimed to establish differences in human factors learning, confidence and knowledge, following training for teams that work together versus interprofessional groups from various teams. The project hoped to continue improving mental health simulation training and promote and enhance human factor skills that are basic pillars of multi-disciplinary and interprofessional care.MethodsThe human factors skills for healthcare instrument (HFSHI), alongside confidence and knowledge measures were administered to all participants pre and post simulation training on interacting mental and physical health. A post-course evaluation survey with open questions was used to collect qualitative feedback on the impact of the training course.ResultsWith data collection ongoing, preliminary results indicate differences between team and non-team simulation training, with particularly interesting qualitative findings.ConclusionsLearning outcomes may differ for team versus non-team simulation training, evidencing the different value of these two training set-ups.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Journey of Data Collection: My Experience Narrative of Working with Destitute Children Residing at Children’s Home

Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond ◽

10.1177/23493003211067578 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 234930032110675

Author(s):

Neethu Prakashan

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Child Care ◽

Data Collection ◽

Population Data ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Mental Health Conditions ◽

Care Institution ◽

Data Collection Process ◽

Children's Home ◽

Narrative Description

This article represents a narrative description of my data collection journey and the experience of working with children residing at Child Care Institution (CCI) like children’s home. It outlines my experience in a creative language and also draws attention to the challenges I faced, be it seeking permission from the concerned authorities or visiting the children’s home to actually working with the children. The procedures to access these children are quite lengthy and strenuous. Overall, this article highlights my experiences as a researcher, working with the children, the lessons I learnt and dealing with challenges imposed by COVID-19. In conclusion, through this experience article, I intend to make my fellow researchers aware of the procedures and challenges involved in dealing with this population, data collection process, which could benefit them to prepare accordingly, and to recommend to the caretakers and stakeholders the need for research in this area and promote activities to enhance mental health conditions.

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Risk Factors for Incident Postdeployment Mental Health Conditions Among U.S. Air Force Medical Service Personnel

Military Medicine ◽

10.7205/milmed-d-16-00052 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 182 (S1) ◽

pp. 251-257 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Genny M. Maupin ◽

Anthony P. Tvaryanas ◽

Edward D. White ◽

Heather J. Lysfjord

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Air Force ◽

Medical Service ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Service Personnel ◽

Mental Health Conditions ◽

Air Force Medical Service

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Changes in demand for emergency ambulances during a nationwide lockdown that resulted in elimination of COVID-19: an observational study from New Zealand

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044726 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. e044726

Author(s):

Bridget Dicker ◽

Andrew Swain ◽

Verity Frances Todd ◽

Bronwyn Tunnage ◽

Emma McConachy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

New Zealand ◽

Observational Study ◽

Ambulance Service ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Quality Data ◽

Service Utilisation ◽

Mental Health Conditions ◽

Clinical Records ◽

The Impact

ObjectiveTo examine the impact of a 5-week national lockdown on ambulance service demand during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand.DesignA descriptive cross-sectional, observational study.SettingHigh-quality data from ambulance electronic clinical records, New Zealand.ParticipantsAmbulance records were obtained from 588 690 attendances during pre-lockdown (prior to 17 February 2020) and from 36 238 records during the lockdown period (23 March to 26 April 2020).Main outcome measuresAmbulance service utilisation during lockdown was compared with pre-lockdown: (a) descriptive analyses of ambulance events and proportions of event types for each period, (b) absolute rates of ambulance attendance (event types/week) for each period.ResultsDuring lockdown, ambulance patients were more likely to be attended at home and less likely to be aged between 16 and 25 years. There was a significant increase in the proportion of lower acuity patients (Status 3 and Status 4) attended (p<0.001) and a corresponding increase in patients not transported from scene (p<0.001). Road traffic crashes (p<0.001) and alcohol-related incidents (p<0.001) significantly decreased. There was a decrease in the absolute number of weekly ambulance attendances (ratio (95% CI), 0.89 (0.87 to 0.91), p<0.001), attendances to respiratory conditions (0.74 (0.61 to 0.86), p=0.01), and trauma (0.81 (0.77 to 0.85), p<0.001). However, there was a significant increase in ambulance attendances for mental health conditions (1.37 (1.22 to 1.51), p=0.005).ConclusionsDespite the relative absence of COVID-19 in the community during the 5-week nationwide lockdown, there were significant differences in ambulance utilisation during this period. The lockdown was associated with an increase in ambulance attendances for mental health conditions and is of concern. In considering future lockdowns, the potential implications on a population’s mental well-being will need to be seriously considered against the benefits of elimination of virus transmission.

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Who Learns More in Interprofessional Mental Health Simulation Training? A Study Comparing Learning Outcomes of Different Professionals who Work in Mental and Physical Health Care Settings

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.02.488 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. S301-S302

Author(s):

L. Valdearenas ◽

C. Attoe ◽

S. Cross

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Human Factors ◽

Physical Health ◽

Learning Outcomes ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Allied Health ◽

Simulation Training ◽

Allied Health Professionals ◽

Health Simulation ◽

Mental And Physical Health

IntroductionSimulation training has the potential to develop communication and teamwork skills, as well as technical knowledge and competency. Mental health simulation training aims to promote awareness of mental health conditions and to enhance human factors (or non-technical) skills that will enable professionals that work in mental and physical healthcare settings to improve their collaborative and patient-centered clinical practice. This study explored the differences in learning outcomes after a mental health simulation course between different professionals–nursing staff, medical staff, and allied health professionals.Aims and objectives This project examined the different learning outcomes of human factors, confidence and knowledge, for nursing, medical and allied health professionals following mental health simulation training.MethodsCourse-specific measures of confidence and knowledge were administered pre- and post-training to all participants, in addition to The Human Factors Skills for Healthcare Instrument (HFSHI). A post-course evaluation for with free-text responses to open questions regarding the impact of the training was utilised to collect qualitative data.ResultsWith data collection ongoing, preliminary results indicate differences in learning outcome depending on professional background, both in terms of quantitative measures and qualitative findings.ConclusionsLearning outcomes may differ for different professionals despite receiving the same simulation training focusing on mental and physical health, evidencing the importance of sharing individual learning experiences in simulation using a debrief model.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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