Search

Crisis lines provide a critical first line of mental wellbeing support for community members in distress. Given the increasing referral to such services, there is a need to understand what the expectations of the community are around the role of such services in our public health responses. A computer assisted telephone interview was undertaken between 28th October and 30th November 2019. The aim was to explore expectations and anticipated outcomes of Lifeline Australia's crisis support services from a nationally representative community sample (N = 1,300). Analysis was undertaken to determine if demographic variables (age, gender, indigenous status, country of birth, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) status, sexual orientation, household composition, region and State/territory) and past service use affected community expectations. Results showed that a majority of respondents expected Lifeline to listen and provide support, recommend other services, and provide information. Help‐seekers were expected to feel heard and listened to, receive safety advice or support to stay safe, and feel more hopeful. Lifeline was expected to prioritise people feeling suicidal, in immediate personal crisis, and experiencing domestic violence. Findings reveal that community members hold expectations for Lifeline Australia to serve as a suicide prevention and general crisis support service, which are congruent with the service's aims. There was little variation in community expectations of crisis support services based on demographic factors and past service use. The results show that the community has extensive and diverse expectations for this national crisis service to meet both short and longer‐term needs for all vulnerable members of the community—entailing a very substantial public health service responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust had planned to assess and implement the impact of managing chronic oedema and wet legs more effectively in the community in 2020. The article outlines how the service reacted to the sudden change of direction needed in response to COVID-19 pandemic and how the work we had already undertaken in this project facilitated this new way of working. When the TVN team was redeployed, they used information from our original audit to target the patients who had been deemed the highest risk. Ensuring the patient had the most appropriate care began to improve outcomes and reduce visits. A small dip check audit was completed to prove the impact of appropriate compression in the community. This paper highlights the positive impacts made in the first 3 months of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic oedema is a life-long condition that can be complicated by excess fluid leaking onto the skin, resulting in 'wet legs'. Prevention, early intervention and the provision of appropriate compression are key to optimising patient outcomes. The authors developed timely chronic oedema strategy for community nurses to reduce their caseloads and improve patient quality of life. This article outlines the challenges and phases involved in the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Technology is increasingly being used in youth mental healthcare to support service delivery and improve health outcomes. The current study trialed a new electronic psychosocial application (myAssessment) that aims to provide a holistic assessment of relevant risk and protective factors in youth mental healthcare. The study aimed to determine whether myAssessment was acceptable to all users, and whether it affected: reporting of certain behaviors and ratings of self-disclosure; youth ratings of control, fears of judgmental reactions or time-efficiency; clinician ratings of time-efficiency or their ability to formulate a treatment plan; and the therapeutic alliance. Method: The application was tested at a youth mental health service using a quasi-experimental two phase Treatment-as-Usual/Intervention design. Three hundred thirty nine youth and 13 clinicians participated across both phases. Reporting of behaviors, self-disclosure, youth control, judgmental reactions, time efficiency, ability to formulate treatment plans, and the therapeutic alliance were compared between groups. Results: myAssessment was found to be widely accepted by both young people and clinicians. Use of myAssessment resulted in reporting of behaviors that were 2.78 through 10.38 times higher for a variety of substances (use of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, sedatives, hallucinogens, and opioids), in identifying non-heterosexual sexual orientation, having had sex, an STI check, sex without a condom, having felt pressured to have sex in the past, having self-harmed, and in having put themselves in an unsafe situation. Participants who used the application also reported being less likely to lie on past experiences of being bullied, substance use, and self-harm. Use of the application resulted in improved youth ratings of time efficiency in session. The application was found to have no impact on youth control, judgmental reactions, formulation of treatment plans, or the therapeutic alliance. Conclusions: Electronic psychosocial assessments can increase rates of self-disclosure and, therefore, provide an earlier and more comprehensive picture of young people’s risks without negatively impacting the therapeutic alliance. Additionally, this type of technology has been shown to be widely accepted by both young people and clinicians and can improve youth beliefs that there is enough time in session to speak about what is most important to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health problems experienced by young people, and even mild anxiety can significantly limit social, emotional, and cognitive development into adulthood. It is, therefore, essential that anxiety is treated as early and effectively as possible. Young people are unlikely, however, to seek professional treatment for their problems, increasing their chance of serious long-term problems such as impaired peer relations and low self-esteem. The barriers young people face to accessing services are well documented, and self-help resources may provide an alternative option to respond to early manifestations of anxiety disorders. This article reviews the potential benefits of self-help treatments for anxiety and the evidence for their effectiveness. Despite using inclusive review criteria, only six relevant studies were found. The results of these studies show that there is some evidence for the use of self-help interventions for anxiety in young people, but like the research with adult populations, the overall quality of the studies is poor and there is need for further and more rigorous research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]