Tiny Homes Are Huge for People Living With Serious Mental Illness

Purpose: A formative evaluation examined the acceptability and feasibility of tiny homes for people living with serious mental illness (SMI). Methods: The evaluation included four focus groups with people with SMI and service providers ( n = 28) and eight overnight stays with people with SMI. Results: The analysis identified six recommendations for tailoring the design of the tiny homes and the community where the homes will be located to meet the needs of people living with SMI. The recommendations for the design of the tiny homes included maximize natural light and outdoor spaces, design flexible living spaces, and ensure accessibility. The recommendations for the design of the surrounding community included ensure privacy, build a community, and maximize residents’ connectivity. Conclusions: This research serves as a starting point for interventions that aim to develop housing that is both affordable and tailored to the needs of people with SMI.

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Monitoring the physical health of individuals with serious mental illness

Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0790966700011125 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 108-115

Author(s):

Majella Cahill ◽

Anne Jackson

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Mental Health Service ◽

Physical Health ◽

Serious Mental Illness ◽

Health Monitoring ◽

Service Providers ◽

Psychiatric Service ◽

Service Users ◽

Effective Models

AbstractDeveloping effective models of identifying and managing physical ill health amongst mental health service users has become an increasing concern for psychiatric service providers. This article sets out the general professional and Irish statutory obligations to provide physical health monitoring services for individuals with serious mental illness. Review and summary statements are provided in relation to the currently available guidelines on physical health monitoring.

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SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS AND DEMENTIA: TRAINING AGING AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE PROVIDERS

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igx004.3932 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 1 (suppl_1) ◽

pp. 1074-1074

Author(s):

D.L. White ◽

S. Hasworth

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Mental Health Service ◽

Health Service ◽

Serious Mental Illness ◽

Service Providers ◽

Health Service Providers

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Promoting the Mental Health of University Students in China: Protocol for Contextual Assessment to Inform Intervention Design and Adaptation (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.25009 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Josephine Pui-Hing Wong ◽

Cun-Xian Jia ◽

Mandana Vahabi ◽

Jenny Jing Wen Liu ◽

Alan Tai-Wai Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

University Students ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Health Knowledge ◽

Service Providers ◽

Self Report ◽

Mental Illness Stigma ◽

Contextual Assessment ◽

Mental Health Knowledge

BACKGROUND Chinese students are extremely vulnerable to developing mental illness. The stigma associated with mental illness presents a barrier to seeking help for their mental health. OBJECTIVE The <i>Linking Hearts—Linking Youth and ‘Xin’ (hearts)</i> project is an implementation science project that seeks to reduce mental illness stigma and promote the mental health of university students in Jinan, China. The Linking Hearts project consists of 3 components. In this paper, we outline the protocol for the first component, that is, the contextual assessment and analysis of the mental health needs of university students as the first step to inform the adaptation of an evidence-based intervention to be implemented in Jinan, China. METHODS Six local universities will participate in the Linking Hearts project. A total of 100 students from each university (n=600) will engage in the contextual assessment through self-report surveys on depression, anxiety, stress, mental health knowledge, and mental health stigma. Quantitative data will be analyzed using several descriptive and inferential analyses via SPSS. A small number of participants (144 students and 144 service providers) will also be engaged in focus groups to assess the socio-environmental contexts of university students’ health and availability of mental health resources. Qualitative data will be transcribed verbatim and NVivo will be used for data management. Social network analysis will also be performed using EgoNet. RESULTS Linking Hearts was funded in January 2018 for 5 years. The protocol of Linking Hearts and its 3 components was approved by the research ethics boards of all participating institutions in China in November 2018. Canadian institutions that gave approval were Ryerson University (REB2018-455) in January 2019, University of Alberta (Pro00089364), York University (e2019-162) in May 2019, and University of Toronto (RIS37724) in August 2019. Data collection took place upon ethics approval and was completed in January 2020. A total of 600 students were surveyed. An additional 147 students and 138 service providers took part in focus groups. Data analysis is ongoing. Results will be published in 2021. CONCLUSIONS Findings from this contextual assessment and analysis will generate new knowledge on university students’ mental health status, mental health knowledge, and resources available for them. These findings will be used to adapt and refine the <i>Acceptance and Commitment to Empowerment-Linking Youth N’ Xin</i> intervention model. The results of this contextual assessment will be used to inform the adaptation and refinement of the mental health intervention to promote the mental health of Chinese university students in Jinan. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR1-10.2196/25009

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“As soon as people hear that word…”: associative stigma among clinicians working with people with serious mental illness

Journal of Public Mental Health ◽

10.1108/jpmh-12-2016-0055 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 20-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Beth A. Vayshenker ◽

Joseph DeLuca ◽

Timothy Bustle ◽

Philip Yanos

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Serious Mental Illness ◽

Service Providers ◽

Personal Characteristics ◽

Content Type ◽

Work Related ◽

Stigma By Association ◽

Related Stigma ◽

Associative Stigma

Purpose Stigma by association occurs when members affiliated with a marginalized group become discredited themselves. The purpose of this paper is to explore associative stigma among mental health (MH) clinicians working with individuals diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI). Design/methodology/approach In total, 47 eligible service providers completed an online qualitative study, with open-ended questions about areas touching on associative stigma such as assumptions about the MH profession, personal experiences of work-related stigma, and ways of coping. Findings The data revealed that MH clinicians commonly endorse experiences of associative stigma. The following themes were derived: experiences of stigma in describing the profession to others, media portrayal of MH professionals, assumptions about the field, ascriptions of personal characteristics, job devaluation, means of coping with associative stigma, and impact of associative stigma on work on clients. Originality/value This is the first qualitative study to examine the phenomenon of associative stigma with MH clinicians. This study suggests that MH providers working with people with SMI do encounter associative stigma when discussing their profession with community members. Professionals discussed encountering the stereotype that the work that they do is dangerous, that it is something “unwanted” and that it does not require much skill but could be done by anyone. Associative stigma could be an important component in the understanding of factors related to professional burnout.

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A spatial analysis of Los Angeles County’s burden of serious mental illness in relation to public mental health service providers

Journal of Public Mental Health ◽

10.1108/jpmh-03-2019-0034 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 231-239

Author(s):

Sarah Simmons

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Mental Health Service ◽

Los Angeles ◽

Serious Mental Illness ◽

Los Angeles County ◽

Service Providers ◽

Hot Spot ◽

Content Type ◽

Health Service Providers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify regions of Los Angeles County with high burdens of serious mental illness and determine whether these regions align with those experiencing the greatest economic hardship. Design/methodology/approach This cross-sectional study analyzed the estimated prevalence of serious mental illness and the locations of publicly funded mental health service providers within each census tract of Los Angeles County. The burden of serious mental illness was calculated for each census tract using these variables and an optimized hot spot analysis was conducted to determine which regions were the most underserved in terms of serious mental illness. Findings There is a significantly higher burden of serious mental illness in Southeastern Los Angeles and Pomona Valley than in the rest of Los Angeles County (p = 0.01). The same can be said regarding the Lancaster-Palmdale area and San Fernando Valley (p = 0.05). These areas do appear to align with the areas of Los Angeles County with an economic hardship index in the fourth quartile. Originality/value Mental health initiatives targeting the four hot spot regions should be given priority by the County of Los Angeles. This is especially true when allocating funds from Proposition 63, which aims to address mental health disparities in underserved, unserved or inappropriately served populations.

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