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Two innovative educational products aimed at improving the quality of human-subjects research in and around energy-impacted communities are introduced here. The educational materials include: (1) a self-paced online education course titled "Understanding and Addressing Research Fatigue in Rural Communities" and (2) an accompanying workbook for research planning titled "Engaging in Energy Communities: The Role of the Researcher." We explain how two recent studies were instrumental in identifying the need for the online education course and the associated workbook. We conclude the paper with guidance on how to access these new resources, which we believe will be particularly useful for graduate students and early-career researchers. We invite feedback from users as well as from colleagues who may wish to use these educational materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the process of developing online tutorials for a specified student group, in this case Second-Year Nursing students in University College Dublin. The product was commissioned by the Health Sciences Library and the UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Systems. It was developed as a “Capstone Project” for part fulfillment of the MLIS in UCD. We focused our research on three areas of scholarship to assist in the development of our product, namely Information Behavior, Learning Technologies, and Learning Science and Design. Flemings VARK model was used to inform the team of the four different learning styles (visual, auditory, reading, and kinesthetic) and to match the presentation style to these. An initial difficulty in the assessment phase was one of access to a large group of students, as the students were on clinical placements. We created personas and a profile of nursing students to try and compensate for this. The tutorial was developed to cater for this specific group of students and later to act as a valuable support to the Library, which is under severe pressure in terms of staff availability to support student learning. The product is relatively straightforward to produce (and maintain) and is something the Library will be able to develop and add to in future years. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The current literature acknowledges that substance use amongst those with severe mental health problems is common, and recent prevalence estimates suggest that up to 56% of psychiatric inpatients are using alcohol or drugs problematically. It has also been shown that substance use can play a significant role in leading to an acute admission, and that inpatients who use substances have poorer hospital-related outcomes than non-users. Despite this knowledge, there appears to be a level of uncertainty amongst academics, clinicians and policy-makers alike with regards to what works for this client group. The research in this field is limited and often reports mixed or inconclusive findings, which in turn leads to guidelines that fail to recommend any specific interventions or combination of interventions for inpatients who are using substances. Furthermore, the common existing barriers to implementation of evidence-based approaches into routine care make the challenge even more difficult, with the day-to-day reality suggesting that even providing the evidence and recommending interventions within guidelines may not be sufficient to promote integration into practice. Despite the challenges, an inpatient admission may present a ‘window of opportunity’ to address substance use amongst those with severe mental-health problems, which may in turn contribute to reduced readmissions and lower healthcare costs. In addition, positive outcomes may potentially increase the clients' connections to their family, community and support networks by keeping them in the community. Finally, it is argued that there is potential to enhance the knowledge, confidence and skills of inpatient staff to address this complex and challenging need. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective:This article reports the results of an evaluation of a consultation-liaison service for people with combined mental health and substance use problems. The service is one component of an overall integrated service framework for this group of clients developed and delivered across one of the largest Mental Health Foundation Trusts in the UK. A full description of the client group referred to consultation-liaison over a 3-year period is provided, as well as a description of different referral pathways and a preliminary evaluation of a brief intervention offered as part of the service.Methods:Service evaluation data were collected through routine practice and provided demographic and diagnostic information on the clients who were referred to the consultation-liaison service (N= 173). A sample of these clients (n= 39) received a full brief motivational intervention consisting of six sessions delivered over a 12-week period. Quantitative questionnaire data collected for clients who received this component subsequently allowed a baseline and follow-up cohort assessment of changes on various substance-related outcomes in those receiving the brief intervention.Results:The results indicated that clients referred to the service (N= 173) were typically male (69.9%), in their mid-30s (M= 36.6 years,SD= 9.98) and considered to be white British (61.8%). They often presented with psychotic (52.6%) or depressive (16.8%) disorders and were commonly using alcohol (67.1%) or cannabis (47.4%). Of the clients who completed the full brief intervention (n= 39), baseline and follow-up outcome measures were available on a subsample (nranged from 11 to 25 depending on each specific measure) and results showed significant changes in a number of areas, including increased engagement with treatment (p< .001), reduced alcohol (p= .001) and cannabis use (p= .015), fewer signs of hazardous alcohol use (p= .026), and improved confidence to change substance use (p= .006). These findings have to be considered as preliminary given the limitations of the service evaluation methodology.Conclusions:The consultation-liaison service appears to be a helpful component within an overall service framework for dual diagnosis in a number of ways, for example through the enhancement of existing services such as assessment, advice, and consultation, as well as the delivery of a brief intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a service report based on the experience of the Combined Psychosis and Substance Use Programme (COMPASS), which aims to provide integrated treatment for people who experience coexisting mental health and substance use problems. A fundamental role of the service is to deliver a structured training package based on a Cognitive-Behavioural Integrated Treatment approach to staff within mental health services. We aimed to establish whether the needs of staff prior to training were consistent across various service areas and whether our training package can enhance staff confidence and skills to work with this client group. The final aim was to consider if confidence and skills can be maintained over an extended period of time. This article is based on service evaluation data collected between the late 1990s and 2011. Data that had been collected from staff across diverse service areas within a large Mental Health Trust in the UK were analysed. There was a high degree of consistency across the service areas. Prior to training staff expressed interest in combined psychosis and substance use problems and felt that it was part of their role to work with this client group. However they also reported that their knowledge of and competence in the area could be improved. Following the receipt of training staff confidence significantly increased and remained high at our most recent follow up 10 years later. The different strands of evidence provide robust support for the aims of our work. Specifically the significant role of training and continued support and supervision in increasing the confidence and skills of mental health staff responding to combined mental health and substance use problems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]