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The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a great challenge for the existing health systems. The restrictions imposed across countries on the movement of people and the realignment of health care services in response to the pandemic are likely to negatively affect the health status and delivery of mental health services to persons with dual disorders (PWDD). Methods: An online survey was conducted among mental health professionals involved in providing care to PWDD to better understand the problems encountered and identify potential solutions in providing continued treatment for PWDD during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The findings confirmed significant disruption in the delivery of treatment services for PWDD during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dissatisfaction with personal protective equipment, inadequate COVID-19 testing services at treatment facility, and lack of guidelines on providing continued treatment services to PWDD by national authorities or professional bodies were identified as the likely reasons for this disruption. Conclusions: These concerns in turn need to be addressed by the policy-makers, hospital management staff, and other stakeholders. Specifically, there should be a focus on developing and disseminating guidelines to assist mental health professionals in setting-up and providing continued treatment services to PWDD via tele-psychiatry and other novel digital strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the growing interest in investigating social harms from drinking, little is known about drinkers' reports of these harms and their gender differences among Australian young adults at age 30. We aimed to examine gender differences of social harms from drinking as reported by drinkers. Methods: 2,200 young adults at age 30 with complete data on social harms from drinking were drawn from the 30-year follow-up of the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy. Measures included percentages of 11 past-year drinkers' self-reported social harms stratified by gender. Logistic regression was used to examine associations between gender and each social harm, accounting for relevant confounding. Results: More than one in five young adults (22%) reported at least one social harm in the past year. Among binge drinkers, 44% reported at least one social harm. After adjustments for social roles and binge drinking, we found no gender differences on several self-reported social harms: friendship problems, people criticizing drinking, non-marital family problems, employment problems, and alcohol-fuelled fights. However, men were more likely to report spousal threats to leave, drink-driving legal problems and financial problems. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that young adults are still vulnerable to risky drinking at age 30 and the social harm resulting from drinking. Thus, alcohol prevention campaigns should target this age group and include women in their focus. Strategies aiming to reduce alcohol-related harms, such as screening in clinical settings for risky drinking and alcohol-related harms, followed by motivational behavior interventions, could be beneficial among these vulnerable groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To systematically review the quality of evidence regarding the effectiveness of supports for people affected by suicide. EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PsychINFO were searched for evaluations of community-based supports for people affected by suicide. Outcomes included suicide-related behavior, depression, grief, quality of life, caring ability, and qualitative experiences. Fifteen studies evaluated 15 supports of various modalities. Study quality was generally poor; most studies examined bereaved individuals with mixed findings. Few reduced suicide-related behavior, half improved depression, and grief, while studies of caring ability, quality of life, or qualitative experiences reported positive effects. Supports associated with better outcomes connected peers with similar experiences, were provided over a period of months, and involved veteran rather than novice facilitators. Supports for people affected by suicide may be effective for improving suicide-related behavior, psychological adjustment, quality of life and caregiving, but require further evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Understanding the social contexts in which problematic drinking occurs can inform prevention strategies. In this article, we investigate gender-specific social contexts associated with problematic drinking and depression among adults aged 30 years. Because depression has been consistently linked with harmful alcohol consumption, we will also examine its association with drinking contexts. Methods: We used data from 2490 young adults who completed the 30-year follow-up phase of the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy and its Outcomes, a prospective study commenced in 1981. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to identify latent constructs of drinking contexts stratified by gender, with subsequent regression analysis to assess the role of these contexts in problematic drinking (measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test). Results: Six distinct drinking contexts were identified, which differed by gender, three for men and three for women. For both men and women, "social drinking", was associated with problematic drinking. "Home drinking" was also common to men and women but associations with problematic drinking differed, being risky only among men. "Daytime drinking" (women) was associated with risk but "work-related drinking" (men) was not. Both "home drinking" (men) and "daytime drinking" (women) were linked to depression symptoms. Conclusion: Specific contexts appeared to be associated with problematic drinking for both sexes. Among both men and women, "social drinking" was associated with problematic drinking. Both "home drinking" (men) and "daytime drinking" (women) contexts, were associated with problematic drinking and depressive symptoms. Targeted alcohol-focused interventions need to address co-occurring mental health issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: People bereaved by suicide, people who make suicide attempts and people who care for someone at risk of suicide may experience negative psychosocial and physical health outcomes. Provision of support to these populations is an important component of suicide prevention and postvention in Australia, including the Queensland Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2015–2017. This study aimed to identify, classify and review resources available in Queensland for people affected by suicide using an innovative classification framework. Method: Searches of the grey literature were completed in Google Chrome in August/September 2016 using seven search terms relevant to Queensland. The first three pages of results were recorded, assessed for suitability, and analysed using a classification framework created by the authors. Results: The study found 24 resources for people affected by suicide in Queensland. The majority of resources (n = 14, 58%) targeted the bereaved, four (17%) addressed carers of people affected by suicide, and six (25%) were general suicide prevention resources. None of the resources specifically targeted people who have made a suicide attempt. The quality of the resources varied and only two had been evaluated. Discussion: Using the classification framework the study identified several gaps, such as relative lack of resources for specific vulnerable populations, including minority subgroups, older adults and men. There is also space for improvement in both the implementation of rigorous evaluation and quality assurance mechanisms for the development of suicide prevention and postvention resources, and in their co-creation with consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]