scholarly journals A survey of mental health professionals in a paediatric hospital during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 135910452110331
Author(s):  
Brian CF Ching ◽  
Sophie D Bennett ◽  
Isobel Heyman ◽  
Holan Liang ◽  
Matteo Catanzano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
School Closure ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Paediatric Hospital

Background There is little understanding of the mental health impact for young people with long-term physical health conditions and mental health professionals’ experiences of supporting them during COVID-19. This service evaluation aimed to conduct a survey of the psychological services provided by mental health professionals in a paediatric hospital in relation to COVID-19. Method Clinical psychologists and assistant psychologists ( n = 76) across the hospital were asked to complete a survey, asking about their perceptions of COVID-19’s impact on patients and families and experiences of providing support during COVID-19. Open-ended survey questions were analysed qualitatively using framework analysis. Results Respondents described perceived impacts on patients and families around social isolation, school closure, family relationships, physical health, mental health, treatments and social support. Respondents’ experiences of providing mental health support during COVID-19 highlighted themes around providing remote/virtual support, workload and facilitators and barriers to their work. Conclusions Mental health professionals surveyed reported a complex mental health landscape in young people with long-term physical health conditions and their families during COVID-19. Service-wide involvement is needed to facilitate changes to support vital adaptations to remote/virtual working. Research on the mental health of young people with long-term physical health conditions and staff experiences of providing support is warranted.

scholarly journals Youth Mental Health Tracker: protocol to establish a longitudinal cohort and research database for young people attending Australian mental health services

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. e035379
Author(s):  
Cathrin Rohleder ◽  
Yun Ju Christine Song ◽  
Jacob J Crouse ◽  
Tracey A Davenport ◽  
Frank Iorfino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Young People ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Severe Illness ◽  
Trajectory Data

IntroductionMental disorders are a leading cause of long-term disability worldwide. Much of the burden of mental ill-health is mediated by early onset, comorbidities with physical health conditions and chronicity of the illnesses. This study aims to track the early period of mental disorders among young people presenting to Australian mental health services to facilitate more streamlined transdiagnostic processes, highly personalised and measurement-based care, secondary prevention and enhanced long-term outcomes.Methods and analysisRecruitment to this large-scale, multisite, prospective, transdiagnostic, longitudinal clinical cohort study (‘Youth Mental Health Tracker’) will be offered to all young people between the ages of 12 and 30 years presenting to participating services with proficiency in English and no history of intellectual disability. Young people will be tracked over 3 years with standardised assessments at baseline and 3, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months. Assessments will include self-report and clinician-administered measures, covering five key domains including: (1) social and occupational function; (2) self-harm, suicidal thoughts and behaviour; (3) alcohol or other substance misuse; (4) physical health; and (5) illness type, clinical stage and trajectory. Data collection will be facilitated by the use of health information technology. The data will be used to: (1) determine prospectively the course of multidimensional functional outcomes, based on the differential impact of demographics, medication, psychological interventions and other key potentially modifiable moderator variables and (2) map pathophysiological mechanisms and clinical illness trajectories to determine transition rates of young people to more severe illness forms.Ethics and disseminationThe study has been reviewed and approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Sydney Local Health District (2019/ETH00469). All data will be non-identifiable, and research findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and scientific conference presentations.

scholarly journals Caregivers’ Mental Health and Somatic Symptoms During COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung S Park
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Somatic Symptoms ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Abstract Objectives This study examines differences in the mental and physical health of the U.S. population during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic among 3 groups: noncaregivers, short-term caregivers (1 year or less), and long-term caregivers (greater than 1 year). Methods Data from the Understanding America Study are used to describe group differences in reports of psychological distress and somatic symptoms. Logistic and negative binomial regression models are used to examine whether these differences persist after adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, and prepandemic health conditions. To understand within-group differences in caregiving demands, the intensity of care provided by short-term and long-term caregivers, as well as selected patients’ health conditions are summarized. Results Adults’ mental and physical health varied substantially by caregiver status. Caregivers continued to fare worse than noncaregivers in terms of mental health and fatigue, and long-term caregivers were more likely to report headache, body aches, and abdominal discomfort than both short-term caregivers and noncaregivers, net of controls. The nature of caregiving differed between short-term and long-term caregivers, with the latter more likely to provide greater hours of care, and to be looking after patients with permanent medical conditions. Discussion Efforts to understand and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on population health should include caregivers, whose mental and physical health were already vulnerable before COVID-19.

Knowing Your Early Warning Signs and Preventing a Relapse

2021 ◽  
pp. 129-138
Author(s):  
Beth Broussard ◽  
Michael T. Compton
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Young Person ◽  
Warning Signs ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Her Family ◽  
Early Warning Signs

This chapter explains early warning signs, which are mild symptoms that occur before another episode of illness, or a relapse. To help prevent a relapse, young people can stick with treatment, watch for early warning signs, and work with their mental health professional to intervene promptly. Young people can identify their unique warning signs by thinking back to the time just before the first episode to identify the two or three early warning signs that they should watch for. Family, friends, and mental health professionals can help identify the changes they observed as well. Open communication between the young person and his or her family, friends, and mental health professionals is important when early warning signs start to occur. By carefully monitoring early warning signs, young people, their families, and their mental health professionals can work together to help lessen the severity of any future episode of psychosis that a person may have—or prevent a relapse altogether.

scholarly journals Mental health and politics since the eurozone crisis: The role of mental health professionals

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 28-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel M. Perera
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
The Body ◽  
Generalized Anxiety ◽  
Eurozone Crisis ◽  
The Mind

Abstract Some of the most immediate health effects of the 2008 economic crisis concerned the mind, not the body. Rates of generalized anxiety, chronic depression, and even suicide spiked in many European societies. This viewpoint highlights the role of mental health professionals in responding to this emergency, and argues that their sustained mobilization is necessary to its long-term resolution.

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