Evaluation of the acceptability and clinical utility of an Arabic-language mindfulness CD in an Australian community setting

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 552-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilse Blignault ◽  
Hend Saab ◽  
Lisa Woodland ◽  
Elizabeth Comino
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Clinical Utility ◽  
Health Service Delivery ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Culturally Appropriate ◽  
Mental Health Service Delivery ◽  
Mindfulness Skills ◽  
Arabic Speaking

The cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity of Australia's population presents challenges for mental health service delivery. Arabic-speaking communities in Australia underutilise mental health services despite high levels of trauma and psychological distress. Clinicians who work with this population lack linguistically and culturally appropriate clinical resources. The aim of this study was to explore the acceptability and clinical utility of a Mindfulness Skills CD translated into formal Arabic. The 70 participants were Arabic-speaking adults, mostly Lebanese-born Muslim women, who enrolled in a 5-week mindfulness program using the CD and agreed to follow-up at 12 weeks. Both recruitment and data collection were undertaken by a female project officer who is a widely respected member of the Arabic community in south-east Sydney. Compliance with the program protocol was high and all but 4 participants continued to use the CD beyond the 5 weeks. Overall, participants reported that mindfulness techniques fitted well with their way of life and were compatible with their cultural and religious practices. Most found mindfulness complementary to their regular reflective prayer. Using the Mindfulness Skills CD was associated with statistically significant reductions in psychological distress as measured by the Kessler Scale (K10) and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS21) postprogram (K10; DASS21 Depression and Stress subscales) and at follow-up (all measures). The evaluation showed that the Arabic Mindfulness Skills CD is an effective and culturally appropriate mental health resource for this population group. This low-cost, easily distributed resource is suitable for use in individual self-management and as an adjunct to primary and specialist mental health care.

scholarly journals A longitudinal population-based study of carers of people with psychosis

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. W. C. Poon ◽  
C. Harvey ◽  
A. Mackinnon ◽  
L. Joubert
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service Delivery ◽  
Mental Health Service Delivery ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Over Time

Aims.Few studies have examined the experiences of carers of people with psychosis using a representative sample. Aiming to obtain generalisable results concerning carers in the context of increased emphasis on involving carers in Australian mental health service delivery and policy frameworks, this study recruited carers within the second Australian national survey of psychotic disorders (Survey of High Impact Psychosis, SHIP). Given that most SHIP participants had long-term illness and extended relationships with carers, the health and wellbeing of carers as a group were expected to be relatively stable. However, since it is unknown whether carers’ health and wellbeing would change, our main aim was to explore change and stability in carers’ health and wellbeing and the relationship between any changes experienced by individual carers and corresponding SHIP participants’ functioning over time.Methods.Ninety-eight caregivers of SHIP participants were recruited at baseline and completed validated instruments assessing their health and wellbeing. Seventy-eight carers were re-interviewed at 1-year follow-up. Clinical factors were extracted from the SHIP database. Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test and t-test were used to analyse changes in variables over time. Cross-lagged analyses were conducted to identify possible causative relationships in changes in SHIP participant and carer variables.Results.A substantial percentage of carers experienced social isolation (28.6%), psychological distress (37.7%) and poorer quality of life than population norms. There were no statistically significant changes between baseline and follow-up scores for almost all carers’ health and wellbeing variables, other than a poorer perception of their quality of life in relation to their physical health after 1 year. Cross-lagged analyses suggested that poorer functioning of people with psychosis influenced carers’ social isolation, grief and psychological distress.Conclusions.Findings show that carers’ perception of their health and wellbeing did not improve within current mental health service delivery frameworks over time. Carer's persistently poor health and wellbeing suggests a pressing need to enhance services that improve carers’ health and wellbeing especially their physical health and the functioning of people with psychosis whom they support.

scholarly journals Can a brief training intervention help improve mental health service delivery in South Africa?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances B. Slaven ◽  
Yvonne Erasmus ◽  
Margot Uys ◽  
Pierre-Emile Bruand ◽  
Beki Magazi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Secondary Level ◽  
Health Service Delivery ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Training Intervention ◽  
Mental Health Service Delivery ◽  
Brief Training

Background: South Africa faces a number of significant challenges apropos mental health service delivery, including a large treatment gap, a high rate of readmission, over-burdened specialist tertiary facilities, and slow integration of mental health into general health services. The South African National Mental Health Education Programme implemented between February 2019 and December 2019, aimed to upskill health workers to diagnose and manage mental disorders at primary and secondary levels of care.Aim: This study aimed to assess the evolution of training participants’ self-reported competency in mental health care and the number of referrals made to higher levels of care as well as to reflect on the possible broader effects of the training.Setting: The programme and study were conducted in South Africa with Medical Officers and Professional Nurses working at public sector primary and secondary level health care facilities.Methods: A descriptive observational study collected data from training participants through a pre- and post-course, and 3-month follow-up survey.Results: The average confidence ratings for performing mental health care activities and managing mental health conditions increased from pre- to post-course, and was either maintained or increased further at 3-month follow-up. A decrease in the self-reported percentage of patients being referred to a higher level of care was observed 3-months after the training.Conclusion: The evaluation suggests that a brief training intervention such this can go a long way in increasing the confidence of primary and secondary level health care workers in managing common mental health conditions and adhering to the provisions of legislation.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of providing university students with a mindfulness-based intervention to increase resilience to stress: 1-year follow-up of a pragmatic randomised controlled trial

2020 ◽  
pp. jech-2020-214390
Author(s):  
Julieta Galante ◽  
Jan Stochl ◽  
Géraldine Dufour ◽  
Maris Vainre ◽  
Adam Peter Wagner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
University Students ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Workload Management ◽  
Mindfulness Skills ◽  
Randomised Controlled

BackgroundThere is concern that increasing demand for student mental health services reflects deteriorating student well-being. We designed a pragmatic, parallel, single-blinded randomised controlled trial hypothesising that providing mindfulness courses to university students would promote their resilience to stress up to a year later. Here we present 1-year follow-up outcomes.MethodsUniversity of Cambridge students without severe mental illness or crisis were randomised (1:1, remote software-generated random numbers), to join an 8-week mindfulness course adapted for university students (Mindfulness Skills for Students (MSS)), or to mental health support as usual (SAU).ResultsWe randomised 616 students; 53% completed the 1-year follow-up questionnaire. Self-reported psychological distress and mental well-being improved in the MSS arm for up to 1 year compared to SAU (p<0.001). Effects were smaller than during the examination period. No significant differences between arms were detected in the use of University Counselling Service and other support resources, but there was a trend for MSS participants having milder needs. There were no differences in students’ workload management; MSS participants made more donations. Home practice had positive dose–response effects; few participants meditated. No adverse effects related to self-harm, suicidality or harm to others were detected.ConclusionLoss to follow-up is a limitation, but evidence suggests beneficial effects on students’ average psychological distress that last for at least a year. Effects are on average larger at stressful times, consistent with the hypothesis that this type of mindfulness training increases resilience to stress.Trial registration numberACTRN12615001160527.

scholarly journals Longitudinal Correlates of Loneliness and Psychological Distress During the Lockdown Situation due to COVID-19. Effects of Age and Self-Perceptions of Aging

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Losada-Baltar ◽  
José Ángel Martínez-Huertas ◽  
Lucía Jiménez-Gonzalo ◽  
María del Sequeros Pedroso-Chaparro ◽  
Laura Gallego-Alberto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Stressful Situation ◽  
Self Perceptions ◽  
Personal Variables ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
Perceptions Of Aging

Abstract Objectives To longitudinally analyze the correlates of loneliness and psychological distress in people exposed to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown, exploring the effects of age and self-perceptions of aging (SPA). Methods A longitudinal follow-up of 1,549 participants was carried out at four different time points during the lockdown in Spain. Questions about the risk of COVID-19, age, SPA, family and personal resources, loneliness, and psychological distress were measured. Results Changes in loneliness showed a linear longitudinal trajectory through time, but changes in psychological distress showed a U-shaped relationship with time. Age was a relevant predictor of differences in distress, with older people reporting less psychological distress. Change in both dependent variables was related to change in different predictors like family and personal variables and also to negative SPA. Discussion In a stressful situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults may be more resilient to adverse mental health outcomes by using more adaptive resources that strengthen their resilience. Support is provided for the importance of stereotyped views of the aging process that, independently of chronological age, may put people at risk of suffering adverse mental health outcomes such as loneliness and psychological distress in times of crisis.

The relationship between exclusion from school and mental health: a secondary analysis of the British Child and Adolescent Mental Health Surveys 2004 and 2007

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 629-641 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Ford ◽  
C. Parker ◽  
J. Salim ◽  
R. Goodman ◽  
S. Logan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Psychiatric Disorder ◽  
Health Surveys ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Adolescent Mental Health ◽  
Child And Adolescent ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

BackgroundChildren with poor mental health often struggle at school. The relationship between childhood psychiatric disorder and exclusion from school has not been frequently studied, but both are associated with poor adult outcomes. We undertook a secondary analysis of the British Child and Adolescent Mental Health Surveys from 2004 and its follow-up in 2007 to explore the relationship between exclusion from school and psychopathology. We predicted poorer mental health among those excluded.MethodPsychopathology was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, while psychiatric disorder was assessed using the Development and Well-Being Assessment and applying Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM IV) criteria. Exclusion from school and socio-demographic characteristics were reported by parents. Multi-variable regression models were used to examine the impact of individual factors on exclusion from school or psychological distress.ResultsExclusion from school was commoner among boys, secondary school pupils and those living in socio-economically deprived circumstances. Poor general health and learning disability among children and poor parental mental health were also associated with exclusion. There were consistently high levels of psychological distress among those who had experienced exclusion at baseline and follow-up.ConclusionsWe detected a bi-directional association between psychological distress and exclusion. Efforts to identify and support children who struggle with school may therefore prevent both future exclusion and future psychiatric disorder.

scholarly journals The Emergence of Recovery: A Genealogical Exploration of the Forces of Power Shaping New Zealand's Mental Health Services in the 21st Century

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Darren Mills
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Health Service Delivery ◽  
Individual Responsibility ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Mental Health Service Delivery ◽  
Methods And Techniques ◽  
Psychiatric Discourse

<p>Recovery is a conceptual model that underpins New Zealand’s mental health service delivery in the 21st century. This thesis explores how recovery emerged historically as an influential philosophy and how representations of recovery have changed to meet the needs of different groups. An inquiry, based on Foucault’s genealogical method, investigates the historical and contemporary forces of power that have shaped the construction of mental illness, and the development of methods and techniques to support and manage persons labelled as mentally ill. The normalisation of knowledge developed during 19th century psychiatric practice provided a context for later critique and resistance from movements that highlighted the oppressive power of psychiatric discourse. Key to the critique were the antipsychiatry and service user movements, which provided the conditions for the possibility of the emergence of recovery as a dominant discourse. Since its emergence, recovery has moved through a number of representations as it was taken up by different groups. A significant shift in the 21st century has been the dominance of neo-liberal discourse based on consumerism, a rolling back of the state, and an emphasis on individual responsibility. The implications of this shift for users and providers of services and their effects on current representations of recovery conclude the inquiry.</p>

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