Patient-Physician Communication in Depression

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-89
Author(s):  
Ana Margarida Pisco Almeida ◽  
Margarida Figueiredo-Braga ◽  
Hugo Almeida
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Physician Communication ◽  
Target Groups ◽  
Clinical Communication ◽  
Intervention Plan ◽  
Sms Intervention ◽  
Supportive Messages

Optimizing clinical communication between patients and health professionals is a major demand, particularly in mental health; the use of digital media is creating new opportunities in this field. Messaging services can be particularly useful to enhance communication with patients with depression, between consultations, allowing the delivery of supportive messages or reminders. This paper discusses this scenario and describes a four-stage study: (1) a diagnosis of perspectives and practices, (2) a six-week SMS intervention plan, (3) a prototype of a digital application to support patients' follow-up and interaction, (4) and a survey on physicians' digital experience and predisposition to use the prototype. Results underline the potential of using messaging systems to improve communication between health professionals and patients with depression, namely when these systems are part of blended-interventions. Further research is needed, particularly regarding the adjustment of these solutions to specific target groups.

Perception and satisfaction in telemedicine on Mental Health among professionals during the COVID outbreak. A real-world experience on telepsychiatry. (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Roncero ◽  
Diego Remon ◽  
Nerea M Casado-Espada ◽  
Lourdes Aguilar ◽  
Sinta Gamonal-Limcaoco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Psychiatric Service ◽  
Traditional System ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Medical Consultations

BACKGROUND There are previous experiences on the perception of patients with the use of telemedicine (TM). After break down caused by pandemic Covid19 crisis, mental health professionals in Spain should develop their work in a telematics way. OBJECTIVE Explore about the perceptions and interests of mental health professionals who have performed TM in the pandemic situation. METHODS An Ad-hoc questionary on the perception of the TM, the Work Satisfaction Questionnaire of Font Roja, and questions on patients satisfaction ere used. The data collected included 112 professionals of the Psychiatric Service who began to perform TM massively on March 16, following the alarm status declaration for ten weeks. More than 12.000 medical consultations were carried out on the phone. RESULTS High levels of satisfaction was detected among professional TM would function as a complement to the traditional system of face-to-face visits (n-112, f-109, 96.5%), only 9.7% (f-11) believed that the telematic system would completely replace face-toface visits. 60,8% did not consider this a monotonous work. The older the health workers were, the more satisfied they felt on their telephone follow-up consultation. The higher the previous experience the more satisfaction was showed. There are gender differences and women seems to be more adapted. CONCLUSIONS TM can be implemented without much effort, although the time, methods and resources used must be managed. Satisfaction among professionals is high, especially among those with more clinical experience. Patient satisfaction must be contrasted. CLINICALTRIAL This study is not a trial

Efficacy of an Intervention to Reduce Stigma Beliefs and Attitudes Among Primary Care and Mental Health Professionals: Two Cluster Randomized-Controlled Trials

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco José Eiroa-Orosa ◽  
María Lomascolo ◽  
Anaïs Tosas-Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Mental Health Diagnosis ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Health Centres ◽  
Beliefs And Attitudes ◽  
Health Diagnosis

Although it may seem paradoxical, primary care and mental health professionals develop prejudices and discriminatory attitudes towards people with mental health problems in a very similar way to the rest of the population. The main objective of this project was to design, implement and evaluate two awareness interventions respectively tailored to reduce stigma and discrimination beliefs and attitudes towards persons with a mental health diagnosis among primary care (PC) and mental health (MH) professionals. These interventions were developed by Obertament, the Catalan alliance against stigma and discrimination in mental health. The TLC3 (Targeted, Local, Credible, Continuous Contact) methodology was adapted to the Catalan PC and MH professional contexts. Activists with lived experience of mental health diagnosis carried out awareness-raising interventions in PC and MH health centres. The efficacy of these interventions was evaluated using two prospective double-blind cluster-wait-list-randomized-controlled trial experimental designs. Stigmatizing beliefs and behaviours were measured with the Opening Minds Stigma Scale for Health Care Providers in primary care centres and with the Beliefs and Attitudes towards Mental Health Service users’ rights in mental health centres. Positive reductions in both PC and MH professionals’ stigmatising beliefs and attitudes were found in the 1-month follow-up, although a ‘rebound effect’ at the 3-month follow up was also detected. This emphasizes the importance of the continuity of the presence of anti-stigma activities and messages. Attrition rates where high, which can hamper the reliability of the results. Further follow-up studies should enquiry effects of long-term interventions aimed at reducing stigmatising beliefs and attitudes among primary care and mental health professionals.

scholarly journals ‘We've got another one for you!’ Liaison psychiatry's experience of stigma towards patients with mental illness and mental health professionals

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 450-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Bolton
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
General Hospital ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Liaison Psychiatry ◽  
Clinical Communication ◽  
The Impact

Aims and methodTo assess stigmatising attitudes towards mental illness and psychiatric professionals experienced by UK liaison psychiatry staff. A questionnaire asked about the impact of these events on patient care and for suggestions for tackling stigma in the general hospital.ResultsOut of 72 multidisciplinary respondents, over three-quarters had experienced stigmatising attitudes towards mental illness by general hospital colleagues at least monthly. Two-thirds reported instances where stigmatisation had an adverse impact on patient care, and over a quarter reported stigmatising attitudes towards mental health professionals. Suggestions for combating stigma included educational initiatives, clear clinical communication, and the provision of high-quality liaison services.Clinical implicationsLiaison psychiatry is well placed to both recognise and combat stigma in the general hospital. This can help to ensure that patient care is comprehensive, safe and respectful.

scholarly journals Effect of counseling by paraprofessionals on depression, anxiety, somatization, and functioning in Indonesian torture survivors

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Deborah Larson-Stoa ◽  
Gerard A. Jacobs ◽  
Abraham Jonathan ◽  
Bhava Poudyal
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Counseling Services ◽  
Torture Survivors ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Impairment In Functioning

The Indonesian population has faced political violence, victimization, and torture throughout the last 70 years. Due to the scarcity of mental health professionals in many low and middle-income countries, counseling programs are increasingly utilizing paraprofessionals to provide support to the affected population as a strategy of task shifting. In this article, we would like to examine the effectiveness of counseling services provided by such trained paraprofessionals. This study was part of program evaluation to determine whether the participants (torture survivors) improved after counseling services provided by trained paraprofessionals in Indonesia. Local communities were invited to join the psychosocial program created and implemented by an NGO in 2005. The 178 participants were recruited from Jakarta, Papua, and Aceh, Indonesia for the program, which aimed to help survivors of violence suffering from “heavy hearts.” The intervention lasted three months, and the follow-up intake was conducted after four months. The results indicated the participants’ anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, somatic symptoms, and functioning improved from the intake to the follow-up. The program appeared to have been effective in reducing the participants’ symptoms and impairment in functioning. This indicates that in countries where there is a scarcity of mental health professionals, working with paraprofessionals has the potential to help survivors of torture and violence.

scholarly journals Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Mental Health Professionals: A Long-Term Qualitative Follow-up Study

Mindfulness ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole de Zoysa ◽  
Florian A. Ruths ◽  
James Walsh ◽  
Jane Hutton
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cognitive Therapy ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Follow Up Study

scholarly journals Efficacy of an Intervention to Reduce Stigma Beliefs and Attitudes among Primary Care and Mental Health Professionals: Two Cluster Randomised-Controlled Trials

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1214
Author(s):  
Francisco José Eiroa-Orosa ◽  
María Lomascolo ◽  
Anaïs Tosas-Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Cluster Randomised ◽  
Awareness Raising ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Beliefs And Attitudes ◽  
Health Diagnosis

Although it may seem paradoxical, primary care and mental health professionals develop prejudices and discriminatory attitudes towards people with mental health problems in a very similar way to the rest of the population. The main objective of this project was to design, implement and evaluate two awareness-raising interventions respectively tailored to reduce stigmatising beliefs and attitudes towards persons with a mental health diagnosis among primary care (PC) and mental health (MH) professionals. These interventions were developed by Obertament, the Catalan alliance against stigma and discrimination in mental health. Activists from this organisation with lived experience of mental health diagnosis carried out awareness-raising interventions in PC and MH health centres. The Targeted, Local, Credible, Continuous Contact (TLC3) methodology was adapted to the Catalan healthcare context. The efficacy of these interventions was evaluated using two prospective double-blind cluster-randomised-controlled trials. Stigmatizing beliefs and behaviours were measured with the Opening Minds Stigma Scale for Health Care Providers in PC centres and with the Beliefs and Attitudes towards Mental Health Service users’ rights in MH centres. Reductions in both PC and MH professionals’ stigmatising beliefs and attitudes were found in the 1-month follow-up, although a ‘rebound effect’ at the 3-month follow up was detected. This emphasizes the importance of the continuity of the presence of anti-stigma activities and messages. Attrition rates were high, which can hamper the reliability of the results. Further follow-up studies should enquiry effects of long-term interventions aimed at reducing stigmatising beliefs and attitudes among primary care and mental health professionals using assessment systems that include the measurement of knowledge acquired and actual behavioural change.

scholarly journals Factors influencing short-term effectiveness and efficiency of the care provided by Dutch general practice mental health professionals

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-147
Author(s):  
Tosca G.R. Vennemann ◽  
Ben F.M. Wijnen ◽  
Lianne Ringoir ◽  
Audry Kenter ◽  
Marja J.H. Van Bon-Martens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
General Practice ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Effectiveness And Efficiency

Introduction: This study examined whether factors related to general practice mental health professionals (GP-MHPs), that is, characteristics of the professional, the function, and the care provided, were associated with short-term effectiveness and efficiency of the care provided by GP-MHPs to adults in Dutch general practice. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted among 320 adults with anxiety or depressive symptoms who had an intake consultation with GP-MHPs (n = 64). Effectiveness was measured in terms of change in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) 3 months after intake; and efficiency in terms of net monetary benefit (NMB) at 3-month follow-up. A range of GP-MHP-related predictors and patient-related confounders was considered. Results: Patients gained on average 0.022 QALYs at 3-month follow-up. The mean total costs per patient during the 3-month follow-up period (€3,864; 95% confidence interval [CI]: €3,196-€4,731) decreased compared to that during the 3 months before intake (€5,220; 95% CI: €4,639–€5,925), resulting largely from an increase in productivity. Providing mindfulness and/or relaxation exercises was associated with QALY decrement. Having longer work experience as a GP-MHP (≥2 years) and having 10-20 years of work experience as a mental health care professional were negatively associated with NMB. Furthermore, a higher number of homework exercises tended to be related to less efficient care. Finally, being self-employed and being seconded from an organization in which primary care and mental health care organizations collaborate were related to a positive NMB, while being seconded from a mental health organization tended towards such a relationship. Conclusions: Findings seem to imply that the care provided by GP-MHPs contributes to improving patients’ functioning. Some GP-MHP-related characteristics appear to influence short-term effectiveness and efficiency of the care provided. Further research is needed to confirm and better explain these findings and to examine longer-term effects.

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