“A new horizon?”: evaluation of an integrated Substance Use Treatment Programme (SUTP) for mentally disordered offenders

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Miles

Purpose – The treatment of substance use amongst mentally disordered offenders (MDOs) remains a challenge for secure forensic mental health services. The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated three-stage substance use treatment programme (SUTP) for male and female MDO’s in medium security. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 45 (72.6 per cent) MDO’s were referred (39 males/6 females). Standardised outcome measures were administered pre-SUTP, post-SUTP and at one year follow-up. Abstinence rates and location was determined via case notes at three year follow-up. Findings – All MDO’s had a past history of substance use, approximately three-quarters reporting problematic use prior to admission. Over half completed all three SUTP stages, less than 5 per cent dropping out during active treatment. The SUTP supported abstinence throughout the one year follow-up period and significantly improved MDO’s adaptive beliefs about substances and craving by one year follow-up amongst attendees. At three years, most MDO’s were in the community and almost three-quarters were abstinent. There was no significant difference in abstinent rates between community and hospital. There was a non-significant trend suggesting SUTP attendance supported abstinence. Both male and female participants appear to have benefited from treatment and satisfaction was high, reflecting the specific aims and objectives of treatment. Research limitations/implications – The small non-randomised sample from one area limits the generalisability of findings and statistical power. Originality/value – Findings indicate further support for the limited evidence base that small but clinically meaningful and maintained changes to problematic substance use are possible following integrated substance use treatment for male and female MDO’s.

Author(s):  
N.M. Gamage ◽  
C. Darker ◽  
B.P. Smyth

Objectives: Adolescents with substance use disorders (SUDs) exhibit high rates of comorbid psychological problems. This study aimed to examine the impact of an outpatient substance use treatment programme upon the psychological wellbeing of adolescents. Methods: A prospective study was carried out examining psychological symptoms in a group of adolescents attending the Youth Drug and Alcohol (YoDA) Addiction Service in Dublin. Participants were treated with evidenced based psychological models such as cognitive behavioural therapy, motivational interviewing and systemic family therapy. The Becks Youth Inventory was utilised to assess psychological symptoms at treatment entry and repeated three months later at follow up. Results: Among 36 adolescents who were included in this study, poly-substance misuse was the norm. Almost three-quarter had a cannabis use disorder (CUD). There were significant reductions in mean subscale scores of depression (56.0 to 50.8, p = 0.003), anger (55.2 to 49.5, p < 0.001) and disruptive behaviour (61.6 to 56.5, p = 0.002) at follow up. Although there wasn’t a statistically significant reduction in mean scores for anxiety, we observed a significant proportion of participants (p = 0.008) improving and moving out of a moderate to severe symptom range when examined by category. This was also the case for self-concept (p = 0.04). Furthermore this study revealed a positive correlation between the reduction in days of cannabis use and reduction in depressive scores (Pearson correlation 0.49, p = 0.01) among those with a CUD. Conclusion: The findings indicate that substance use treatment for adolescents is associated with important psychological and behavioural improvements.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Soumik Mandal ◽  
Chirag Shah ◽  
Stephanie Peña-Alves ◽  
Michael L. Hecht ◽  
Shannon D. Glenn ◽  
...  

PurposeEngagement is a critical metric to the effectiveness of online health messages. This paper explores how people engage in youth-generated prevention messages in social media.Design/methodology/approachThe data sample consisted of engagement measures of 82 youth-generated messages hosted in a social media channel and a follow-up survey on content creators' motivation for promoting their messages and their dissemination strategies. A comparative analysis of engagement metrics along with qualitative analysis of the message types was performed.FindingsTwo types of messages were considered: stop messages and prevent messages. Our analyses found that people interacted with stop messages on social media more frequently than prevent messages. On analyzing the youth's motivation and promotion strategies, no significant difference was observed between stop message creators and prevent message creators.Social implicationsThis work has implications for programs promoting prevention and health information in social media.Originality/valueThis is the first study in social media-based prevention programs the authors are aware of that differentiated between the strategies of youth-produced prevention messages.


2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-165
Author(s):  
Baldeesh Gakhal ◽  
Sharon Oddie

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and prevalence of bullying behaviours and victimisation experiences among mentally disordered offenders within a medium secure unit (MSU). Design/methodology/approach – In all, 35 adult male patients completed the Direct and Indirect Patient behaviour Checklist-Hospital Version (DIPC-H). Findings – Indirect aggression was reported more frequently than direct aggression, although there was no statistically significant difference between the prevalence estimates. The most prevalent DIPC-H categories were the pure victim and not involved categories followed by bully/victim and pure bully. Membership of the pure bully category was predicted by being on a particular ward. Research limitations/implications – Given that the study was a preliminary investigation into the nature and prevalence of bullying behaviours in a MSU, the sample size is limited. Consequently, it is difficult to generalise the findings. It would be useful for future research to focus on differences between levels of security using larger sample sizes to enable a greater understanding of the prevalence of bullying in secure settings and associated factors. Practical implications – Further evidence is provided by the current research that indirect bullying and victimisation behaviours are reported more frequently by patients. The importance of anti-bullying procedures and interventions in secure settings is emphasised and recommendations that can be applied across various forensic settings are described. Better-informed interventions can then be implemented with the aim to manage bullying behaviours in secure settings. The one “pure bully” in the current study was on a rehabilitation ward. This highlights that such behaviours occur on lesser secure wards and serves as an important reminder to ensure that staff do not become complacent. Originality/value – As there is only one published study to date that has focused on bullying behaviours in a MSU, the current study will contribute to the dearth of literature in this area and assist professionals working in secure settings to better understand the nature and prevalence of bullying behaviours among mentally disordered offenders.


2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 259-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calem De Burca ◽  
Helen Louise Miles ◽  
Eduardo Antonio Vasquez

Purpose – Substance use contributes to the development of criminogenic behaviour and mental health problems. However, the extent and severity of substance use and the relationship to offending in mentally disordered offenders (MDOs) admitted to regional medium secure units has received relatively limited research attention. Design/methodology/approach – Case note reviews (n=57) and semi-structured interviews (n=21) of past substance use levels, substance use problems and forensic history were conducted at a medium secure unit in South East England. Findings – Results highlighted the high prevalence of substance use among MDOs, especially when determined by self-report. At least one-third (case note review) or almost half (self-report) used alcohol at the time of their index offence, although many failed to recognise use as problematic. Significant correlations were found between heavy past use of alcohol and use of alcohol at time of offending. Past heavy use of alcohol significantly predicted whether or not the individual was convicted of a violent offence. Research limitations/implications – The small sample from one area limits the generalisability of findings as substance use demographics vary. Methodological shortcomings were noted when comparing data from self-report and case note information. Retrospective recall bias may influence past perceptions of substance use. Practical implications – These preliminary findings indicate the importance of assessing substance use in MDOs and considering its relationship to offending behaviour in treatment and risk management. Originality/value – Although anecdotally substance use is known to be high and likely to be related to offending behaviour amongst MDOs, there is little previous research highlighting this.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 234-236
Author(s):  
P Willems ◽  
J Hercun ◽  
C Vincent ◽  
F Alvarez

Abstract Background The natural history of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in children seems to differ from PSC in adults. However, studies on this matter have been limited by short follow-up periods and inconsistent classification of patients with autoimmune cholangitis (AIC) (or overlap syndrome). Consequently, it remains unclear if long-term outcomes are affected by the clinical phenotype. Aims The aims of this is study are to describe the long-term evolution of PSC and AIC in a pediatric cohort with extension of follow-up into adulthood and to evaluate the influence of phenotype on clinical outcomes. Methods This is a retrospective study of patients with AIC or PSC followed at CHU-Sainte-Justine, a pediatric referral center in Montreal. All charts between January 1998 and December 2019 were reviewed. Patients were classified as either AIC (duct disease on cholangiography with histological features of autoimmune hepatitis) or PSC (large or small duct disease on cholangiography and/or histology). Extension of follow-up after the age of 18 was done for patients followed at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal. Clinical features at diagnosis, response to treatment at one year and liver-related outcomes were compared. Results 40 patients (27 PSC and 13 AIC) were followed for a median time of 71 months (range 2 to 347), with 52.5% followed into adulthood. 70% (28/40) had associated inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (78% PSC vs 54% AIC; p=0.15). A similar proportion of patients had biopsy-proven significant fibrosis at diagnosis (45% PSC vs 67% AIC; p=0.23). Baseline liver tests were similar in both groups. At diagnosis, all patients were treated with ursodeoxycholic acid. Significantly more patients with AIC (77% AIC vs 30 % PSC; p=0.005) were initially treated with immunosuppressive drugs, without a significant difference in the use of Anti-TNF agents (0% AIC vs 15% PSC; p= 0.12). At one year, 55% (15/27) of patients in the PSC group had normal liver tests versus only 15% (2/13) in the AIC group (p=0.02). During follow-up, more liver-related events (cholangitis, liver transplant and cirrhosis) were reported in the AIC group (HR=3.7 (95% CI: 1.4–10), p=0.01). Abnormal liver tests at one year were a strong predictor of liver-related events during follow-up (HR=8.9(95% CI: 1.2–67.4), p=0.03), while having IBD was not (HR=0.48 (95% CI: 0.15–1.5), p=0.22). 5 patients required liver transplantation with no difference between both groups (8% CAI vs 15% CSP; p=0.53). Conclusions Pediatric patients with AIC and PSC show, at onset, similar stage of liver disease with comparable clinical and biochemical characteristics. However, patients with AIC receive more often immunosuppressive therapy and treatment response is less frequent. AIC is associated with more liver-related events and abnormal liver tests at one year are predictor of bad outcomes. Funding Agencies None


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walid El Moghazy ◽  
Samy Kashkoush ◽  
Glenda Meeberg ◽  
Norman Kneteman

Background. We aimed to assess incidentally discovered hepatocellular carcinoma (iHCC) over time and to compare outcome to preoperatively diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma (pdHCC) and nontumor liver transplants.Methods.We studied adults transplanted with a follow-up of at least one year. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.Results.Between 1990 and 2010, 887 adults were transplanted. Among them, 121 patients (13.6%) had pdHCC and 32 patients (3.6%) had iHCC; frequency of iHCC decreased markedly over years, in parallel with significant increase in pdHCC. Between 1990 and 1995, 120 patients had liver transplants, 4 (3.3%) of them had iHCC, and only 3 (2.5%) had pdHCC, while in the last 5 years, 263 patients were transplanted, 7 (0.03%) of them had iHCC, and 66 (25.1%) had pdHCC (P<0.001). There was no significant difference between groups regarding patient survival; 5-year survival was 74%, 75.5%, and 77.3% in iHCC, pdHCC, and non-HCC groups, respectively (P=0.702). Patients with iHCC had no recurrences after transplant, while pdHCC patients experienced 17 recurrences (15.3%) (P=0.016).Conclusions.iHCC has significantly decreased despite steady increase in number of transplants for hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients with iHCC had excellent outcomes with no tumor recurrence and survival comparable to pdHCC.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 2473011419S0002
Author(s):  
Alastair Faulkner ◽  
Alistair Mayne ◽  
Fraser Harrold

Category: Midfoot/Forefoot Introduction/Purpose: Morton’s neuroma is a common condition affecting the foot and is associated with chronic pain and disability. Conservative management including a combination of orthotic input; injection or physiotherapy, and surgical excision are current treatment options. There is a paucity of literature regarding patient related outcome measures (PROMs) data in patients managed conservatively. We sought to compare conservative with surgical management of Morton’s neuroma using PROMs data in patients with follow-up to one year. Methods: Prospective data collection commenced from April 2016. Patients included had to have a confirmed Morton’s neuroma on ultrasound scan. Patient demographics including age, sex and BMI were collected. The primary outcome measures were the Manchester Foot Score for pain (MOX-FQ), EQ time trade off (TTO) and EQ visual analogue scale (VAS) taken pre-operatively; at 26-weeks and at 52-weeks post-operatively. Results: 194 patients were included overall: 79 patients were conservatively managed and 115 surgically managed. 19 patients were converted from conservative to surgical management. MOX-FQ pain scores: pre-op conservative 52.15, surgical 61.56 (p=0.009), 6-months conservative 25.1, surgical 25.39 (p=0.810), 12 months conservative 18.54, surgical 20.52 (p=0.482) EQ-TTO scores: pre-op conservative 0.47, surgical 0.51 (p=0.814), 6-months conservative 0.41, surgical 0.49 (p=0.261), 12 months conservative 0.26, surgical 0.37 (p=0.047) EQ-VAS scores: pre-op conservative 63.84, surgical 71.03 (p=0.172), 6-months conservative 46.10, surgical 52.51 (p=0.337), 12 months conservative 30.77, surgical 37.58 (p=0.227) Satisfaction at 12 months: conservative 17 (21.5%), surgical 32 (27.8%) p=0.327 Conclusion: This is one of the first studies investigating long-term PROMs specifically in conservative management for Morton’s neuroma patients. There was no significant difference in pain score and EQ-VAS between all conservative treatments and surgical management at 12 months There was no significant difference in satisfaction at 12 months between conservative and surgical groups.


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