How hospital practitioners can support sofa surfing adolescents to access community mental health services: An English perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 648-656
Author(s):  
Farrah Quintyne ◽  
Scott B Harpin

Informal homelessness or, as Centrepoint describe, ‘the hidden homeless’ includes young people who may sleep on their friends’ or extended family’s couches or floor. They estimate that 103,000 people aged 16–24 in the United Kingdom presented to their Local Authority in 2017–2018 as being or at risk of being homeless. A proportion of young people who experience homelessness rely on their own resources rather than approaching their Local Authority for support. There are a number of barriers that make it harder for any homeless person to access services to enhance their emotional well-being. If a young homeless person presents at a hospital, there is an opportunity for them to be directed to the appropriate support required. This is even more critical when young people have an identified mental health need. The authors will outline ways in which hospital practitioners can support adolescents who are sofa surfing and who have an identified mental health need, to receive community-based support when planning for discharge from hospital.

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. e033317
Author(s):  
Rachel M Hiller ◽  
Sarah L Halligan ◽  
Richard Meiser-Stedman ◽  
Elizabeth Elliott ◽  
Emily Rutter-Eley

ObjectivesYoung people who have been removed from their family home and placed in care have often experienced maltreatment and there is well-developed evidence of poor psychological outcomes. Once in care, foster carers often become the adult who provides day-to-day support, yet we know little about how they provide this support or the challenges to and facilitators of promoting better quality carer–child relationships. The aim of this study was to understand how carers support the emotional needs of the young people in their care and their views on barriers and opportunities for support.Design and participantsParticipants were 21 UK foster carers, recruited from a local authority in England. They were predominantly female (86%), aged 42–65 years old and ranged from those who were relatively new to the profession (<12 months’ experience) to those with over 30 years of experience as a carer. We ran three qualitative focus groups to gather in-depth information about their views on supporting their foster children’s emotional well-being. Participants also completed short questionnaires about their training experiences and sense of competence.ResultsOnly half of the sample strongly endorsed feeling competent in managing the emotional needs of their foster children. While all had completed extensive training, especially on attachment, diagnosis-specific training for mental health problems (eg, trauma-related distress, depression) was less common. Thematic analysis showed consistent themes around the significant barriers carers faced navigating social care and mental health systems, and mixed views around the best way to support young people, particularly those with complex mental health needs and in relation to reminders of their early experiences.ConclusionsFindings have important implications for practice and policy around carer training and support, as well as for how services support the mental health needs of young people in care.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009385482110175
Author(s):  
Erin B. Comartin ◽  
Amanda Burgess-Proctor ◽  
Jennifer Harrison ◽  
Sheryl Kubiak

This multi-jail study examines the behavioral health needs and service use in a sample of 3,787 individuals in jail, to compare women in rural jails to their gender and geography counterparts (that is rural men, urban women, and urban men). Compared to urban women (17.9%, n = 677), rural men (18.2%, n = 690), and urban men (56.1%; n = 2,132), rural women (7.6%, n = 288) had significantly higher odds of serious mental illness and co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Rural woman were nearly 30 times more likely to receive jail-based mental health services; however, a discrepancy between screened mental health need (43.1%, n = 124) and jail-identified mental health need (8.4%, n = 24) shows rural women are severely under-identified compared to their gender/geography counterparts. These findings have implications for the changing nature of jail populations and suggests the need to improve behavioral health identification methods.


Author(s):  
Ming-Bo Liu ◽  
Géraldine Dufour ◽  
Zhuo-Er Sun ◽  
Julieta Galante ◽  
Chen-Qi Xing ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren Sharpe ◽  
Mohsen Rajabi ◽  
Clement Chileshe ◽  
Sitali Mayamba Joseph ◽  
Ibrahim Sesay ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantining on children and young people (CYP) living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has yet to be fully comprehended. CYP in LMICs are at utmost risk, given the COVID-19-related restrictions and social distancing measures, resulting in reduced access to school-based services for nutritional and mental health needs. This study examined mental health of CYP during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Zambia and Sierra Leone. Method A total of 468 disabled and disadvantaged CYP aged 12 to 25 completed a planning tool that comprised the short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS), as well as open-ended questions covering social connectedness, physical distancing and educational challenges during the lockdown. The community coaches screened individuals and families who could be eligible to receive emergency aid, and based on a convenience sample following distribution of aid, recipients were invited to complete the planning tool. Results The data showed that participants in the global south have increasing anxieties and fears centred on accessing offline educational resources and income loss in the family effecting food security and their ability to return to education. Mean (SD) SWEMWBS scores for all participants in Zambia and Sierra Leone, were 19.61 (3.45) and 21.65 (2.84), respectively. Mental well-being scores were lower in females, children aged 12–14 and participants with two or more disabilities. Factors significantly associated with poor mental wellbeing in the sample were: type of disability, nationality, peer relationships, connection to others during the pandemic, knowledge about COVID-19, worry about the long-term impact of COVID-19, and the types of self-isolating. Conclusion The study shows that participants who self-reported low levels of COVID-19 health literacy also scored low on the mental wellbeing self-assessment. Yet, despite undoubted limited resources, these CYP are doing well in identifying their needs and maintaining hope in the face of the problems associated with COVID-19 in countries where stigma persists around mental ill-health.


Author(s):  
Samit N. Unadkat ◽  
Alfonso Luca Pendolino ◽  
Deborah Auer ◽  
Sadie Khwaja ◽  
Premjit S. Randhawa ◽  
...  

AbstractEver since the introduction of the concept of Procedures of Limited Clinical Value (PoLCV), procedures such as functional septorhinoplasty have been subject to additional funding restrictions within the British National Health Service. Recent publications have suggested that 10% of Clinical Commissioning Groups in the United Kingdom no longer fund septorhinoplasty surgery irrespective of the indications, including congenital malformations or post-trauma, and despite the strong evidence available in the literature in treating a range of health conditions. Thus, inequity exists across the country. At present functional septorhinoplasty surgery is frequently but incorrectly grouped together with aesthetic rhinoplasty, both of which are deemed to be cosmetic interventions. Moreover, as we exit the peak of the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, procedures deemed to be of lower clinical priority will potentially be at risk throughout Europe. The purpose of this review is twofold; the first is to put forward the evidence to commissioners in favor of functional septorhinoplasty surgery on patient well-being and mental health; the second is to demonstrate why functional septorhinoplasty surgery is a distinct procedure from aesthetic rhinoplasty and why it ought not to be classified as a procedure of limited clinical value.


2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 314-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annmarie Grealish ◽  
Sara Tai ◽  
Andrew Hunter ◽  
Richard Emsley ◽  
Trevor Murrells ◽  
...  

1995 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 151-154
Author(s):  
Jon Spear ◽  
Andrew Cole ◽  
Jan Scott

Community mental health services have been criticised for seeing those with minor psychiatric disorders at the expense of those with severe and long-term illness. We report a cross-sectional evaluation of a UK service based entirely within the community. Most patients in contact with the service (66%) had a psychotic disorder or an affective disorder. Patients with greater impairment were likely to receive more intensive treatment. Only 20% of the community psychiatric nurse (CPN) case load focused on acute distress and neurotic disorders. Within this service careful operational planning and maintaining CPNs within the secondary care system appear to be critical factors in achieving the goal of giving priority to the severely mentally ill.


Author(s):  
Courtney C. Walton ◽  
Serena Carberry ◽  
Michael Wilson ◽  
Rosemary Purcell ◽  
Lisa Olive ◽  
...  

The mental health of young people is of increasing concern, and early intervention prevention strategies are required. Youth sports are potentially effective environments within which to situate interventions due to high participation rates, familiarity to young participants, and the typically positive relationships held with adults within such spaces. However, coaches identify that they require more knowledge to better respond to mental health concerns that may be present among players. Here, we describe a research translation process in which an open-access, evidence-informed resource was developed to support coaches and sports clubs to better respond to athletes in need as well as to create environments that may protect against mental ill-health and promote well-being. The resource includes a toolkit—with an associated checklist—for recreational sport clubs to follow, a guide to responding to young people in need, and a short educational video. We suggest that these practical and applied resources, which can be immediately implemented, may assist in the provision of targeted and structured guidance for coaches’ first response intervention with vulnerable young people. Furthermore, these resources can support future efforts by being specifically tailored for the unique locations and cultures that vary among youth sport environments.


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