Psychological distress among university female students and their need for mental health services

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 672-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Bernhardsdóttir ◽  
R. Vilhjálmsson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Female Students

29 Symptoms of PTSD in a Burn Outpatient Clinic: Prevalence and Engagement Challenges for the Burn Team

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S21-S22
Author(s):  
Andrew McAleavey ◽  
Mariel Emrich ◽  
Adina R Jick ◽  
Collette L McGuire ◽  
JoAnn Difede
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Outpatient Clinic ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Psychological Trauma ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Outpatient Mental Health ◽  
Contact Information

Abstract Introduction Psychological distress, including posttraumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, and depressive disorders, are common after burn injury. These conditions are major determinants of long-term quality of life and productivity loss among burn patients, yet are generally under treated. Among the many reasons for limited treatment are lack of accessible quality care, limited clinical staff expertise in assessing these conditions, and patient avoidance of effective services. Methods During December 2018 to September, 2019, patients awaiting outpatient visits at an urban burn center were asked to complete brief standardized self-report questionnaires assessing symptoms of posttraumatic distress, anxiety, and depression. Using pre-defined criteria, we attempted to reach individuals with greater than moderate distress using contact information provided voluntarily and engage these patients in outpatient mental health services. Results 747 questionnaires were completed by 511 individuals in the assessment period, and of these 98 (19.2%) individuals had a likely PTSD diagnosis. Visual analog scale assessments for current anxiety, depression and stress all suggested high average distress in the overall group. Using pre-defined criteria to identify potential distress, we identified 195 people (38.2%) to whom we would proactively offer services. Only 159 provided contact information, and several more were not eligible for available clinical services so were not contacted. We called 128 individuals (81%). This led to direct communication with 48 patients (37.5% of those contacted), but only 22 individuals (17.2% of all those contacted) still endorsed distress at the time of the phone call (which was planned to occur within one week of the patients’ report) and 11 individuals were interested in seeking mental health services. Of these, 4 were referred to other services, 3 declined specific offers of service, 4 were scheduled for appointments and only 2 individuals attended appointments with the in-hospital psychological trauma group. Conclusions Psychological distress is highly prevalent in the burn outpatient clinic, with roughly one in five patients likely meeting criteria for PTSD. However, engaging patients in psychological and psychiatric treatment remains a major challenge for the effective care in this population. We discuss strategies tried here and systemic barriers to overcome in future research and care. Applicability of Research to Practice High prevalence of PTSD in outpatient burn clinics and difficulty engaging patients in separate outpatient mental health services suggest co-located and collaborative care models would be highly helpful in this population.

Trajectories of psychological distress after prison release: implications for mental health service need in ex-prisoners

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 611-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. G. Thomas ◽  
M. J. Spittal ◽  
E. B. Heffernan ◽  
F. S. Taxman ◽  
R. Alati ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Community Mental Health Services ◽  
Mental Health Service Use ◽  
Very High

BackgroundUnderstanding individual-level changes in mental health status after prison release is crucial to providing targeted and effective mental health care to ex-prisoners. We aimed to describe trajectories of psychological distress following prison discharge and compare these trajectories with mental health service use in the community.MethodThe Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) was administered to 1216 sentenced adult prisoners in Queensland, Australia, before prison release and approximately 1, 3 and 6 months after release. We used group-based trajectory modeling to identify K10 trajectories after release. Contact with community mental health services in the year following release was assessed via data linkage.ResultsWe identified five trajectory groups, representing consistently low (51.1% of the cohort), consistently moderate (29.8%), high increasing (11.6%), high declining (5.5%) and consistently very high (1.9%) psychological distress. Mood disorder, anxiety disorder, history of self-harm and risky drug use were risk factors for the high increasing, very high and high declining trajectory groups. Women were over-represented in the high increasing and high declining groups, but men were at higher risk of very high psychological distress. Within the high increasing and very high groups, 25% of participants accessed community mental health services in the first year post-release, for a median of 4.4 contact hours.ConclusionsFor the majority of prisoners with high to very high psychological distress, distress persists after release. However, contact with mental health services in the community appears low. Further research is required to understand barriers to mental health service access among ex-prisoners.

scholarly journals Prevalence of psychological distress and mental disorders, and use of mental health services in the epidemiological catchment area of Montreal South-West

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Caron ◽  
Marie-Josée Fleury ◽  
Michel Perreault ◽  
Anne Crocker ◽  
Jacques Tremblay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Catchment Area ◽  
South West

scholarly journals eMental Health Literacy and Psychological Distress as Predictors of Barriers to Mental Health Services

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 865-866
Author(s):  
Eve Root ◽  
Grace Caskie
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Mental Health Information ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Way

Abstract Since the COVID-19 pandemic, psychologists have begun to rely heavily on technology to provide mental health information and services (APA, 2020). As the older adult population increases, the number of older adults in need of mental health services also increases; however, little is known about the way older adults might utilize technology to inform mental health-related decisions. This study expands on the construct of eHealth Literacy by examining eMental Health Literacy, which is defined as the degree to which individuals seek, find, understand, and appraise basic mental health information and services online that are needed to inform mental health-related decisions. A sample of 244 older adults (M=68.34, range=65-82 years) were recruited online through Amazon Mechanical Turk. A structural equation model was estimated specifying eMental Health Literacy and psychological distress as predictors of extrinsic and intrinsic barriers to mental health services. After adding three correlated errors, the model achieved good fit (χ2(110)=329.20, p<.001, SRMR=.08, CFI=.93, TLI=.91, GFI=.86, RMSEA=.09). All indicators were significantly related to their latent construct (p<.001). The results indicated that, controlling for psychological distress, higher eMental health literacy was significantly related to fewer reported intrinsic (b=-.386, p<.001) and extrinsic barriers (b=-.315, p<.001) to mental health services. Higher distress was also significantly related to more intrinsic (b=.537, p<.001) and extrinsic barriers (b=.645, p<.001) to mental health services. These findings suggest that, as we move towards a more digital world, eMental health literacy could play a significant role in the way older adults navigate through the mental healthcare system.

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