Even mild internalized stigma merits attention among adults with serious mental illness.

Internalized or self-stigma can be damaging to psychological and social functioning and recovery, especially for people with serious mental illness. Most studies have focused on the effects of high self-stigma, which has included both moderate and high self-stigma, versus low levels of self-stigma which has included no, minimal, or mild self-stigma. Therefore, little is known about the variation within these categories (e.

Photoredox-Ni Dual Catalysis: Chelation-Free Hydroacylation of Terminal Alkynes.

Hydroacylation of alkynes is undoubtedly the simplest and most atom-efficient approach for the synthesis of enones with diverse synthetic applications. Despite significant progress in hydroacylations, no hydroacylations exist that make use of aldehydes without a chelating group, especially when combined with terminal alkynes. Here we report a synergistic nickel-photocatalytic system that allows for the highly regio- and stereoselective hydroacylation of unactivated aldehydes and alkynes in milder conditions without the use of chelating groups.

Barriers and Enablers to Implementing Peer Specialists in Veterans Health Administration Primary Care: a Qualitative Study.

Background: Peer specialists (PSs) are increasingly deployed in a variety of settings to provide patient-centered care. In the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), efforts are underway to integrate PSs into primary care settings. Little is known about the barriers and enablers to implementing PS services in primary care.

Core Competencies to Promote Consistency and Standardization of Best Practices for Digital Peer Support: Focus Group Study.

Background: As digital peer support is quickly expanding across the globe in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, standardization in the training and delivery of digital peer support can advance the professionalism of this field. While telehealth competencies exist for other fields of mental health practice, such as social work, psychiatry, and psychology, limited research has been done to develop and promote digital peer support competencies.

Objective: The goal of this study is to introduce the coproduction of core competencies that can guide digital peer support.

Implementation of peer specialist services in VA primary care: a cluster randomized trial on the impact of external facilitation.

Background: Over 1100 veterans work in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) as peer specialists (PSs)-those with formal training who support other veterans with similar diagnoses. A White House Executive Action mandated the pilot reassignment of VHA PSs from their usual placement in mental health to 25 primary care Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACTs) in order to broaden the provision of wellness services that can address many chronic illnesses. An evaluation of this initiative was undertaken to assess the impact of outside assistance on the deployment of PSs in PACTs, as implementation support is often needed to prevent challenges commonly experienced when first deploying PSs in new settings.

Between and within race differences in patient-centeredness and activation in mental health care.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare Black and White mental health care patients' perceptions of their providers' and their own participation in patient-centered mental health care. Perceptions of patient-centered care (PCC) in relation to the Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity were explored.

Methods: Black and White veterans receiving mental health care (n = 82) completed surveys assessing patient activation, involvement in care, perceptions of PCC, and therapeutic alliance.

Health Behavior Change Processes Among Adults With Serious Mental Illness Engaged in Illness Self-Management.

Self-management interventions promote illness management among adults with chronic health conditions. Little is known regarding the processes by which these interventions have their effects. The present study examined how Living Well, an effective self-management intervention for adults with serious mental illness, led to health behavior change in a randomized controlled trial.

Certified Peer Specialists' Perspective of the Barriers and Facilitators to Mobile Health Engagement.

This study examined certified peer specialists' perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to mobile health (mHealth) engagement. A total of 267 certified peer specialists from 38 states completed an online survey. Of this sample, 74 certified peer specialists completed open-ended questions.

Peer and Non-Peer Co-Facilitation of a Health and Wellness Intervention for Adults with Serious Mental Illness.

Peer specialists, or individuals with lived experience of mental health conditions who support the mental health recovery of others, often work side-by-side with traditional providers (non-peers) in the delivery of treatment groups. The present study aimed to examine group participant and peer provider experiences with peer and non-peer group co-facilitation. Data from a randomized controlled trial of Living Well, a peer and non-peer co-facilitated intervention for medical illness management for adults with serious mental illness, were utilized.

Digital Peer Support Mental Health Interventions for People With a Lived Experience of a Serious Mental Illness: Systematic Review.

Background: Peer support is recognized globally as an essential recovery service for people with mental health conditions. With the influx of digital mental health services changing the way mental health care is delivered, peer supporters are increasingly using technology to deliver peer support. In light of these technological advances, there is a need to review and synthesize the emergent evidence for peer-supported digital health interventions for adults with mental health conditions.

Quality of life outcomes of web-based and in-person weight management for adults with serious mental illness.

Adults with serious mental illness have high rates of obesity, with associated negative impacts on health-related quality of life. The present study utilized data from a randomized controlled trial (N = 276) to examine the effectiveness of in-person and online-delivered weight management interventions, compared to usual care, for improving health-related quality of life in this population. Participants completed quality of life assessments at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months.

Stigma and discrimination as correlates of mental health treatment engagement among adults with serious mental illness.

Objective: The negative impacts of stigma on mental health treatment initiation are well established, but the relationship of stigma to proactive engagement in mental health treatment (e.g., actively working toward therapy goals) is largely unexamined.

Predictors of attendance in health and wellness treatment groups for people with serious mental illness.

Objective: People with serious mental illness have dramatically reduced life expectancy that is largely attributed to elevated rates of chronic medical conditions. Several group interventions have been developed and implemented in recent years to improve health and wellness among people with mental health conditions. Unfortunately, attendance in these interventions is often low, and there is limited understanding of factors that influence patient engagement in this treatment modality.

The influence of experiences of stigma on recovery: Mediating roles of internalized stigma, self-esteem, and self-efficacy.

Objective: Experiencing stigmatization regarding mental illness has harmful effects on recovery from serious mental illness (SMI). Stigma experiences can also lead to internalized stigma, the cognitive and emotional internalization of negative stereotypes, and application of those stereotypes to one's self. Internalized stigma may lead to additional harms, including decrements in self-esteem and self-efficacy.

Unmet Needs of People with Serious Mental Illness: Perspectives from Certified Peer Specialists.

Examine the unmet needs of people with serious mental illness (SMI) from the perspective of certified peer specialists. 267 certified peer specialists from 38 states completed an online survey (female [73%], 50.9 [SD = 12] years, and non-Hispanic White [79.

Preparing Long-Term Care Staff to Meet the Needs of Aging Persons With Serious Mental Illness.

Objectives: Individuals with serious mental illness (SMI; schizophrenia spectrum disorders and affective psychoses) are increasingly aging into older adulthood and are overrepresented in residential long-term care settings. The present study aimed to examine the preparedness of staff in these settings to care for individuals with SMI.

Design: A multidisciplinary US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) workgroup of professionals with expertise in geriatric mental health collected voluntary feedback via online questionnaire as part of a quality improvement project.

Intra-operative point-of-procedure delineation of oral cancer margins using optical coherence tomography.

Objectives: Surgical margin status is a significant determinant of treatment outcome in oral cancer. Negative surgical margins can decrease the loco-regional recurrence by five-fold. The current standard of care of intraoperative clinical examination supplemented by histological frozen section, can result in a risk of positive margins from 5 to 17 percent.

Living Well: An Intervention to Improve Medical Illness Self-Management Among Individuals With Serious Mental Illness.

Objective: Many adults with serious mental illness have significant medical illness burden and poor illness self-management. In this study, the authors examined Living Well, a group-based illness self-management intervention for adults with serious mental illness that was cofacilitated by two providers, one of whom has lived experience with co-occurring mental health and medical conditions.

Methods: Adults with serious mental illness (N=242) were randomly assigned to Living Well or an active control condition.

Associations of Age and Gender with Negative Symptom Factors and Functioning Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults with Schizophrenia.

Objective: Gender differences in neurocognition, social skills, and negative symptoms, favoring women, have been documented among young/middle-aged adults with schizophrenia. However, gender differences have rarely been examined among older adults with schizophrenia, when decreases in circulating estrogens may impact outcomes among women.

Methods: Community-dwelling adults (N = 242, ages 40-85) with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder completed assessments of negative symptoms (expressive and experiential deficits), neurocognition, and social skills.

Impact of Online Weight Management With Peer Coaching on Physical Activity Levels of Adults With Serious Mental Illness.

Objective: Many adults with serious mental illness are sedentary and experience significant medical illness burden. This study examined the effectiveness of online weight management with peer coaching (WebMOVE) for increasing general physical activity among adults with serious mental illness.

Methods: Using quantitative and qualitative data from a randomized controlled trial (N=276), this study compared WebMOVE, in-person weight management for adults with serious mental illness (MOVE SMI), and usual care.

Thought, language, and communication deficits and association with everyday functional outcomes among community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults with schizophrenia.

Older adults with schizophrenia experience poorer community integration and social functioning compared to same-age peers with no mental health disorders; these individuals are at elevated risk for functional decline and early institutionalization in long-term care facilities. Deficits in thought, language, and communication (TLC; that is, thought disorder and alogia) are core features of schizophrenia and may worsen with age; however, little research focuses on the functional sequelae of these impairments among older adults with schizophrenia. The present study aimed to examine the relationships among age, TLC deficits, and functional outcomes in a sample of community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults with schizophrenia (N = 245; ages 40-85).

Defining "peerness" in peer-delivered health and wellness interventions for serious mental illness.

Comments on the original article by Silver and Nemec (see record 2016-43088-001) regarding the recent special issue on peer-delivered services. Silver and Nemec thoughtfully raised important topics for further explanation. Especially intriguing was their commentary on what constitutes "essential peerness"; that is, what qualities or experiences are necessary/sufficient to make a peer a peer? With this editorial, the authors add to that conversation, specifically with regard to the role of peer specialists in health/wellness interventions.