scholarly journals Mental health service use among mothers involved in public family law proceedings: linked data cohort study in South London 2007-2019

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Jane Pearson ◽  
Claire Grant ◽  
Linda Wijlaars ◽  
Emily Finch ◽  
Stuart Bedston ◽  
...  

Background Research in England suggests a high burden of mental health problems and substance misuse among women whose children enter care. Family courts therefore need to consider timely support for parental mental health and likely time to recovery within public family law proceedings concerning placement of a child into care (‘care proceedings’). We report population-based evidence from linked, routinely collected, de-identified records on the type and severity of maternal mental health problems in relation to care proceedings. Methods We linked family court data and mental health service records for 2137 (66%) of women involved in care proceedings between 2007-2019 in the South London and Maudsley NHS Mental Health Trust (SLaM) catchment area. We compared their mental health service use and risk of dying with 17,096 female matched controls who accessed SLaM between 2007 and 2019, aged 16-55 years old. Results Most women (79%) were known to SLaM before care proceedings began. Compared to the matched controls, women had higher rates of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (19% vs 11% matched controls), personality disorders (21% vs 11%), and substance misuse (33% vs 12%). They were more likely to be admitted to a SLaM inpatient unit (27% vs 14%) or to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act (19% vs 8%). Finally, women had a 2.15 (95% CI: 1.68 to 2.74) times greater hazard of dying, compared with the matched controls, adjusted for age. Conclusions Given the high prevalence and severity of mental health problems among women involved in care proceedings, family law and social care policy is needed to ensure adequate and timely treatment for parent mental health problems. The increased risk of dying among those accessing mental health services highlights the critical need for post-proceeding services to ensure parents whose children enter care continue to receive support after care proceedings conclude.

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 543-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moritz E Wigand ◽  
Nathalie Oexle ◽  
Tamara Waldmann ◽  
Tobias Staiger ◽  
Thomas Becker ◽  
...  

Background: Unemployment and mental ill health often contribute to each other and lead to social exclusion with negative consequences for individuals and society. Yet, unemployed people with mental health problems often do not seek care. Aims: The aim of this study was to assess predictors of help-seeking among unemployed people with mental health problems. Methods: At baseline, 301 unemployed participants with mental health problems reported potential predictors of help-seeking in terms of mental health literacy, perceived barriers to care, self-concept as having a mental illness and current mental health service use. At 6-month follow-up, 240 participants reported whether or not they had started new mental health treatment since baseline. Results: Adjusted for symptoms, sociodemographic and work-related variables, help-seeking was predicted by previous mental health service use and by fewer non-stigma-related barriers, not by stigma-related barriers. Conclusion: Implications for interventions to increase help-seeking among this vulnerable group are discussed.


2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Girón ◽  
Andreu Nolasco ◽  
Pamela Pereyra-Zamora ◽  
Mikel Munarriz ◽  
José Salazar ◽  
...  

2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (23) ◽  
pp. 4581-4590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Hewitt ◽  
Julia H. Rowland

PURPOSE: Analyses were conducted to obtain national estimates of mental health service use, unmet need for such services, and the prevalence of mental health problems among individuals reporting a cancer history. METHODS: Of a nationally representative sample of 95,615 adults in the United States interviewed as part of the 1998, 1999, and 2000 National Health Interview Survey, 4,878 reported a history of cancer (excluding superficial skin cancer). Analyses assessed whether cancer survivors relative to those without a self-reported history of cancer had increased use of mental health services and had increased reports of unmet need for such services. Analyses were also conducted to ascertain demographic and health characteristics associated with service use and unmet need. RESULTS: Compared with individuals without a cancer history, cancer survivors reported significantly greater contact in the past year with a mental health provider (7.2% v 5.7%). Cancer survivors were more likely to have used mental health services (odds ratio, 1.60 among those without other chronic illnesses and 3.04 among those with other chronic illnesses), and mental health service use was significantly greater among those who were under age 65 and diagnosed at younger ages, were formerly married, or had other comorbid chronic conditions. If all cancer survivors with mental health problems or who needed but could not access mental health services due to cost had received such care, mental health service use would have increased from 7.2% to 11.7%, a 62% increase in use. CONCLUSION: Cancer seems to be one of several chronic illnesses that precipitates the need for and use of mental health services. Improvements are needed in recognizing mental health problems among cancer survivors and reducing barriers to psychosocial service use.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishal Bhavsar ◽  
James H. Maccabe ◽  
Stephani L. Hatch ◽  
Matthew Hotopf ◽  
Jane Boydell ◽  
...  

BackgroundAlthough psychotic experiences in people without diagnosed mental health problems are associated with mental health service use, few studies have assessed this prospectively or measured service use by real-world clinical data.AimsTo describe and investigate the association between psychotic experiences and later mental health service use, and to assess the role of symptoms of common mental health disorders in this association.MethodWe linked a representative survey of south-east London (SELCoH-1, n=1698) with health records from the local mental healthcare provider. Cox regression estimated the association of PEs with rate of mental health service use.ResultsAfter adjustments, psychotic experiences were associated with a 1.75-fold increase in the rate of subsequent mental health service use (hazard ratio (HR) 1.75, 95% CI 1.03–2.97) compared with those without PEs. Participants with PEs experienced longer care episodes compared with those without.ConclusionsPsychotic experiences in the general population are important predictors of public mental health need, aside from their relevance for psychoses. We found psychotic experiences to be associated with later mental health service use, after accounting for sociodemographic confounders and concurrent psychopathology.


Author(s):  
Rachel J Pearson ◽  
Amelia Jewell ◽  
Linda Wijlaars ◽  
Ruth Gilbert

IntroductionAn estimated 23% of children in England are exposed to maternal mental health problems, with growing concern around how maternal mental health affects parenting capacity and entries into public care for their children. There is limited evidence on the prevalence of mental health service need among women whose children enter care and on whether these needs are sufficiently met. With England’s family justice system and children’s social care sector increasingly overstretched, there is a need to identify opportunities for an improved response to maternal mental health. Objectives and ApproachWe linked administrative family court data for women (n = 5463) involved in public family court proceedings (care proceedings) across eight London boroughs between 2007 and 2019, with patient records from South London and Maudsley NHS mental health trust (SLaM). Work is ongoing to (1) describe the frequency, type and timing of mental health service use among women who link and (2) compare these findings to general population trends. Results2843 (52%) women linked to a SLaM patient record via deterministic linkage. Matches had better recording of identifiers and were more likely to have returned to court than non-matches (36% vs 26%). The majority of women (75.0%) were referred for treatment before the start of their (first) care proceeding, while 34.8% had a diagnosis recorded in a structured field. To appraise linkage quality, we manually reviewed de-identified clinician notes for 100 randomly selected women who linked; we confirmed ‘true’ match status for 95 women and found no evidence contradicting match status for the remainder. Conclusion / ImplicationsThis novel linkage between mental health and family court data supports growing evidence that women whose children enter care in England have high prevalence of mental health problems. Research using this linkage will help to inform strategies to improve maternal mental health and outcomes for vulnerable women and their children.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina B. Gee ◽  
Gagan S. Khera ◽  
Alyssa T. Poblete ◽  
Barunie Kim ◽  
Syeda Y. Buchwach

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