Older people’s mental health services: supporting and developing health care assistants

2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 30-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Thompson
Elements ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather K. Speller

Disparities in mental health care for racial minorities remains a serious and very real problem calling for immediate attention. The 2001 report of the Surgeon General affirmed that ethnic and racial minorities have less access to and availability of mental health services, and are subsequently less likely to receive needed mental health services. This paper examines a range of issues regarding Asian American mental health. It presents the practical and cultural barriers that members of this ethnic group confront when seeking mental health care and explains how cultural differences sometimes result in misdiagnosis and ineffective treatment. It also explores ways that the American mental health care system can improve to accommodate diverse ethnic groups.


2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Holley ◽  
Steven Gillard

There is a lack of literature evaluating the development and use of vignettes to explore contested constructs in qualitative health care research where a conventional interview schedule might impose assumptions on the data collected. We describe the development and validation of vignettes in a study exploring mental health worker and service user understandings of risk and recovery in U.K. mental health services. Focus groups with mental health workers and service users explored study questions from experiential perspectives. Themes identified in the groups were combined with existing empirical literature to develop a set of vignettes. Feedback focus groups were conducted to validate and amend the vignettes. Following use in research interviews, results suggested that the vignettes had successfully elicited data on issues of risk and recovery in mental health services. Further research using creative, comparative methods is needed to fully understand how vignettes can best be used in qualitative health care research.


Author(s):  
Ahmad Hajebi ◽  
Vandad Sharifi ◽  
Maryam Abbasinejad ◽  
Ali Asadi ◽  
Nahid Jafari ◽  
...  

Objective: The main objective of this study was to review aspects of the current situation and structure of the integrated mental health care services for planning a reform. Aspects of the newly designed infrastructure, along with specification of duties of the various human resources, and its relation with Iran’s Comprehensive Mental and Social Health Services (the SERAJ Program), will also be presented Method: This is a study on service design and three methods of literature review, deep interview with stakeholders, and focused group discussions. In the literature review, national and international official documents, including official reports of the World Health Organization (WHO) and consultant field visits, were reviewed. Deep semi-structured interviews with 9 stakeholders were performed and results were gathered and categorized into 3 main questions were analyzed using the responsibility and effectiveness matrix method. The Final results were discussed with experts, during which the main five-domain questions were asked and the experts’ opinions were observed. Results: In this study, the main gaps of the public mental health care (PHC) services in Iran were identified, which included reduction of risk factors for mental disorders, training the general population, early recognition and treatment of patients with mental disorders, educating patients and their families, and rehabilitation services. The new model was then proposed to fill these gaps focusing on increasing access, continuity of care, coordination in service delivery, and comprehensiveness of care. A mental health worker was placed besides general healthcare workers and general practitioners (GPs). Services were prioritized and the master flowchart for mental health service delivery was designed. Conclusion: A reform was indeed necessary in the integrated mental health services in Iran, but regarding the infrastructure needed for this reform, including human and financial resources, support of the senior authorities of the Ministry of Health (MOH) is necessary for the continuity and enhancement of services. In this model, attention has been given to the principles of integrating mental health services into primary health care. Current experience shows that the primary health care system has been facing many executive challenges, and mental health services are not exclusion to this issue. Monitoring and evaluation of this model of service and efforts for maintaining sustainable financial resources is recommended to make a reform in this system and to stabilize it.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Gasteiger ◽  
Theresa Fleming ◽  
K Day

© 2020 The Authors Background: Patient portals have the potential to increase access to mental health services. However, a lack of research is available to guide practices on extending patient portals into mental health services. This study explored stakeholder (student service users' and health providers') expectations and perceptions of extending patient portals into a New Zealand university-based mental health service. Materials and methods: This qualitative study explored the perspectives of 17 students and staff members at a university-based health and counselling service on an Internet-based patient portal through a software demonstration, two focus groups and 13 interviews. Data were analyzed thematically. Results: Staff and students perceived the patient portal as useful, easy to use and expected it to help make mental health care more accessible. Staff were most concerned with the portal's ability to support their triage processes and that it might enable students to ‘counselor hop’ (see multiple counselors). Staff recommended extension into services that do not require triage. Most students expected the portal to enhance patient-counselor contact and rapport, through continuity of care. Students were concerned with appointment waiting times, the stigmatization of poor mental health and their capacity to seek help. They considered the portal might assist with this. Students recommended extension into all services, including urgent appointments. After viewing findings from initial student and staff groups, staff concluded that extending a patient portal into their counseling services should be prioritized. Conclusion: This research suggests that there is value in extending patient portals into mental health care, especially into low-risk services. Future research should explore opportunities to support triage and appointment-making processes for mental health services, via patient portals.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Pallab K. Maulik ◽  
Sudha Kallakuri ◽  
Siddhardha Devarapalli

Background: There are large gaps in the delivery of mental health care in low- and middle-income countries such as India, and the problems are even more acute in rural settings due to lack of resources, remoteness, and lack of infrastructure, amongst other factors. The Systematic Medical Appraisal Referral and Treatment (SMART) Mental Health Project was conceived as a mental health services delivery model using technology-based solutions for rural India. This paper reports on the operational strategies used to facilitate the implementation of the intervention. Method: Key components of the SMART Mental Health Project included delivering an anti-stigma campaign, training of primary health workers in screening, diagnosing and managing stress, depression and increased suicide risk and task sharing of responsibilities in delivering care; and using mobile technology based electronic decision support systems to support delivery of algorithm based care for such disorders. The intervention was conducted in 42 villages across two sites in the state of Andhra Pradesh in south India. A pre-post mixed methods evaluation was done, and in this paper operational challenges are reported. Results: Both quantitative and qualitative results from the evaluation from one site covering about 5000 adults showed that the intervention was feasible and acceptable, and initial results indicated that it was beneficial in increasing access to mental health care and reducing depression and anxiety symptoms. A number of strategies were initiated in response to operational challenges to ensure smoother conduct of the project and facilitated the project to be delivered as envisaged. Conclusions: The operational strategies initiated for this project were successful in ensuring the delivery of the intervention. Those, coupled with other more systematic processes have informed the researchers to understand key processes that need to be in place to develop a more robust study, that could eventually be scaled up.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document