Factors associated with eMental health adoption readiness and use by mental health counsellors in general practices (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Literature shows that mental health care counsellors generally have a high adoption readiness for eMental Health, while the actual use of eMental Health in patients is limited. Facilitating future adoption and use requires insight into the most important underlying factors, as well as the eligibility criteria the mental health care counsellors use in their decision to apply eMental Health for their (vulnerable) patients. OBJECTIVE This study examined the use and non-use of eMental Health by mental health counsellors and aimed to unfold the underlying reasons and readiness to adopt eMental Health. METHODS A theoretical model was developed, based on the Reasoned Action Approach, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology Model and the Measurement Instrument Determinants of Innovations model. By means of an online survey among mental health counsellors (N = 132), this model was empirically validated. An additional study goal was to unveil the criteria mental health counsellors use to estimate patients’ eligibility for eMental health. RESULTS The most important predictors of the readiness of mental health counsellors to adopt eMental health were the perceived usefulness and benefits. eMental Health also needed to be easily accessible and making use of an eMental Health application should match the task perception of the mental health counsellor. The readiness of mental health counsellors to adopt eMental health had a direct and an indirect effect (via estimated patients’ eligibility for eMental health) on the use of eMental Health by the counsellors. In order to determine whether eMental health suited a patient, the mental health counsellors not only looked at whether the patients had access to a computer and internet and had sufficient digital and Dutch language skills, but they also considered it crucial that the patients were motivated to use eMental health. CONCLUSIONS The study revealed that there will only be a future for eMental health in general practice if the mental health counsellor is convinced of the benefits of eMental health and can transfer this enthusiasm to the patient. It is recommended to involve mental health counsellors in the development of eMental health to increase the (perceived) added value and use in general practice.

James Michael Evans

After working in a successful small animal practice, he joined the pharmaceutical industry. He became an author of books for pet owners and the profession, and set up the Pet Health Counsellor programme.

A prevalence study on hypertension among practising advocates in Madurai

Background: In recent years, the practice of law is demanding and exceedingly stressful occupation. Main factors concerned are, being overloaded with work, unsupported, lack of appreciation, long hours, unattainable targets. Even the most balanced and well-adjusted advocates at some point eventually succumbs to the pressures of working in the legal field. It causes hypertension and a great impact on ones’well being. Hence the main objective of the study is to find out the prevalence of hypertension among practising advocates, thereby effective measures can be taken to prevent and control hypertension and its complications.Methods: : A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 300 practising advocates at Madurai district court for a period of 1 year by simple random sampling method.Results: The overall prevalence of hypertension among the practising advocates was found to be 41% (123). Among the 123 hypertensives, 56 (18.7%) were known hypertensives and 67 (22.3%) were newly detected hypertensives.Conclusions: The cause for hypertension among the advocates may be due to hectic work pressure. Advocates being professionals are well educated and informative. Regular adoption of basic life style modification practices, short vacations, arrangement of health camps in court premises with guidance of bar council association, recruitment of health counsellor in Bar Council Association for health educating and counselling the advocates, regular monitoring of health status by self-care management can control and prevent hypentension.

Nursing Role in Cardiac Prevention

The lack of a multidisciplinary approach is certainly among the causes of the ineffectiveness of intervention in the field of cardiovascular secondary prevention. By multidisciplinary approach is meant involving cardiologists, nurses, rehabilitation therapists, dieticians as well as psychologists in the framing of interventions tailor made to patients needs. In particular, people working in the nursing area can play a very important role which can be summed up into three different levels: a technical level, aiming at the cooperation with cardiologists to carry out diagnostic examinations and give a portrait of patients in terms of risks; a second level consists in giving information, and helping to face the disease, as well as stepping in during its evolution, almost a health counsellor for the patients; finally the nurse can act as a psychological support both to the patient and his/her family during acute illnesses and reassure him/her that he/she is being treated properly and that successively will resume a good quality of life. Hospital represent an ideal place for secondary prevention, at least in the first phases of the intervention. The results collected during hospitalization would be rapidly lost if they were not followed and sustained in the medium- long term by structured follow-up programmes. The development of ambulatories might represent a link between hospitals and the territory, i.e. the specialist and one’s personal physician. The staff of ambulatories should comprise a cardiologist and a trained professional nurse, this being specialized, specifically, in cardiology and cardiovascular prevention. Staff of the type described could work independently, co-ordinating ambulatories on the territory within the framework of standardized recognized protocols and relating information concerning patients, general practitioners and other surgeries. In this way, an essential link of the continuity in medical care would be guaranteed.