Comparing a Peer-presented vs. Mental Health Service Provider-presented Mental Health Outreach Program for University Students:A Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurianne Bastien ◽  
Bilun Naz Boke ◽  
Jessica Mettler ◽  
Stephanie Zito ◽  
Lina Di Genova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
University Students ◽  
Service Provider ◽  
Comparison Group ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Outreach Program ◽  
Wait List ◽  
Health Service Provider

BACKGROUND University students are reporting concerning levels of mental health distress and challenges. University mental health service provider (MHSP) initiatives have been shown to be effective in supporting students’ mental health; but these services are often resource-intensive. Consequently, new approaches to service delivery such as online and peer support initiatives have emerged as cost-effective and efficient approaches to support university students. However, these approaches have not been sufficiently evaluated for effectiveness or acceptability in university student populations. OBJECTIVE Thus, the overarching goal of the present study was to evaluate a MHSP-presented versus peer-presented online mental health resilience-building video outreach program against a wait-list comparison group. METHODS Participants were 217 undergraduate students (Mage = 20.40 years, SD = 1.96, 79.7 % women) who were randomly assigned to one of the intervention groups (MHSP-presented (n = 69) or peer-presented (n = 73)) or the wait-list comparison group (n=75). Participants in the intervention groups were asked to watch three brief skills-building videos addressing strategies for building mental health resilience, while the comparison group was wait-listed. The MHSP-presented and peer-presented video series were identical in content, with presenters using a script to ensure consistency across delivery methods, but videos differed in which they were either presented by MHSPs or university students (peer). All participants were asked to complete online self-report measures of stress, coping self-efficacy, social support, social connectedness, mindfulness, and quality of life at baseline (Time 1), six weeks later (Time 2; post), and at a 1-month follow up (Time 3). RESULTS Results from a series of two-way ANOVAs found no significant differences in outcomes between any of the three groups. Surprisingly, a main effect of time revealed that all students improved on several well-being outcomes. Additionally, results for program satisfaction revealed that both the MHSP-presented and peer-presented programs were rated very highly and at comparable levels. CONCLUSIONS Thus, findings suggest that an online mental health resilience-building video outreach may be acceptable for university students regardless of if it is MHSP-presented or peer-presented. Furthermore, the overall increases in well-being across groups which coincided with the onset and early weeks of COVID-19 suggest an unexpected pattern of response amongst university students to the early period of the pandemic. Limitations and barriers as well as research implications are discussed.

The Classification and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Concerns: A Proposed Practical Scientific Alternative to the DSM and ICD

2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Rubin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Service Provider ◽  
Health Service Provider ◽  
Statistical Manual ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Mental Health Concerns

The Classification and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Concerns ( CSM) is a proposed alternative to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM) and International Classification of Diseases ( ICD). In contrast to the DSM/ ICD overarching concept of “mental disorders,” the CSM’s overarching concept is “mental health concerns.” A mental health concern occurs when a person seeking mental health services expresses to a mental health service provider a concern about any of these topics: behavior, emotion, mood, meaning of life, death, dying, managing chronic pain, addiction, work, relationships, education, eating, cognition, sleep, and challenging life situations. The CSM begins from the perspective of the person seeking services and that is what would be classified in its manual. In addition to classifying mental health concerns, the CSM would describe a collaborative approach between the person expressing the concern and the mental health service provider for creating a psychological formulation narrative that eschews the DSM/ ICD pathologizing jargon. Compared with the DSM/ ICD approach, the use of the CSM potentially would be less stigmatizing, as well as more practical. Moreover, it would be more consistent with principles of science, eliminate the monopoly of the DSM/ ICD mental disorder approach for accessing mental health services, provide a new choice to both mental health service users and providers, challenge old ideas, stimulate fresh perspectives, and open new avenues of research.

scholarly journals THE LIABILITY OF PROVIDERS OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN NEGLIGENCE

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Gray
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Service Provider ◽  
Duty Of Care ◽  
Health Service Provider ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
High Court ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Individual

In Hunter and New England Local Health District v McKenna the High Court considered the question of the liability in tort of a mental health provider for the actions of someone whom it had briefly treated. After involuntarily detaining the individual under relevant legislation, the service released the individual into the care of a friend. The person released killed his friend. The High Court allowed an appeal against a finding of the New South Wales Court of Appeal that the mental health service provider had owed, and had breached, legal obligations to the family of the person killed, denying compensation to the family on the basis that the service provider did not owe family members a duty of care. It will be argued that the High Court was wrong to deny that a mental health service provider could owe, or did owe, a duty of care to victims of those to whom the service provider provided services. The Court reached its decision utilising reasoning contrary to that of other cases which have involved questions of the liability of public authorities. The decision travels the well-worn path of denying that a public authority owes a duty of care to the public that it serves by asserting the inconsistency of obligations more apparent than real. The decision shows judicial reluctance to hold public authorities to the legal standards expected of other service providers, a reluctance that must be challenged.

Social media interventions for mental health: A scoping review

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nashva Ali
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Service Provider ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Health Service Provider ◽  
Media Interventions

Abstract Background: Social media in healthcare has been widely used over the past few years with increasing popularity worldwide. Social media platforms can potentially act as a possible mental health service provider by improving communication, awareness and education. Objective: The aim of this scoping review is to describe the use of social media interventions for mental health and to provide an understanding of the current state of knowledge. Methods: The search platforms utilized for the scoping review were PubMed and IEEE. The inclusion criteria were as follows: research-based articles, primary means for mental health service is social media, and articles that specify mental disorders (depression, anxiety, etc). Results: After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria on 190 articles, 30 were included for the purpose of this review. Twelve studies originated from the USA while six studies were from the UK. While fourteen papers were on general mental health disorders, twelve papers focused on depression. The results generally showed that social media interventions for mental health had advantages over the conventional treatments. A lack of studies from developing countries, and fewer studies including the elderly population and the assumption of digital literacy are among the identified gaps. Conclusion: Social media has the potential to act as a service provider for users with mental health issues. However, the effectiveness of this method has not been accurately measured and more research is required for evaluating the effectiveness of using social media for treatment over conventional methods.

Agreement on diagnoses of mental health problems between an online clinical assignment and a routine clinical assignment

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Håkan Bøsndbo ◽  
Børge Mathiassen ◽  
Monica Martinussen ◽  
Bjørn Helge Håndegard ◽  
Siv Kvernmo
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Multinomial Regression ◽  
Diagnostic Categories ◽  
Adolescent Mental Health Service ◽  
Clinical Assignment

We examined the agreement between diagnoses assigned based on the Development and Well Being Assessment (DAWBA) information collected online, and ordinary day-to-day diagnostic assignment by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) clinicians. Diagnoses were compared for 286 patients. Raw agreement for diagnostic categories was 74-90%, resulting in kappa values of 0.41-0.49. Multinomial regression models for ‘emotional diagnosis’ and ‘hyperkinetic/conduct diagnosis’ were significant ( P < 0.001). Age, gender and number of informants significantly contributed to the explanation of agreement and disagreement. Agreement on mental health diagnoses may be sufficient to replace routine clinical assignment of diagnoses with an online clinical assignment, thereby saving time and resources.

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