Experiences of resettled Iraqi and Syrian refugee young people and families with a mental health triage and assessment service.

The Refugee Access Service (RAS) is a triage, assessment and referral service established in Melbourne, Australia to ensure timely and appropriate mental health support for young refugees. This qualitative study sought to explore the experiences of young people aged 12-25 years, and their families, newly arrived from Iraq and Syria, who had contact with the RAS, for the purposes of further programme development. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants, either individually or in family groups.

Research-related knowledge, understanding and practice in public mental health: the voices of social workers and occupational therapists.

Introduction: Previous studies have explored facilitators and barriers to research conducted by allied health professionals in general medical settings. Since the mental health system is acknowledged to be significantly under-funded and more poorly functioning than general medical services, it is unclear whether the published facilitators and barriers also apply to mental health settings. This study sought to explore the research-related knowledge, understanding and practices of allied mental health clinicians based in a large public mental health service.

A longitudinal study of the impacts of a stay in a Prevention and Recovery Care service in Victoria, Australia.

Background: Prevention and Recovery Care services are residential sub-acute services in Victoria, Australia, guided by a commitment to recovery-oriented practice. The evidence regarding the effectiveness of this service model is limited, largely relying on small, localised evaluations. This study involved a state-wide investigation into the personal recovery, perceived needs for care, well-being and quality-of-life outcomes experienced by Prevention and Recovery Care services' consumers.

Subjective quality of life and schizophrenia: results from a large cohort study based in Chinese primary care.

Introduction: Much confusion exists between health-related QoL (HRQoL) scales and subjective QoL (SQoL) scales. One method to avoid confusion is use of a single question that asks What is your quality of life? or similar. This study explored the relationship between biopsychosocial factors and high SQoL, SQoL stability, and factors associated with improving SQoL.

Community-based models of care facilitating the recovery of people living with persistent and complex mental health needs: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.

Objective: This study aims to assess the effectiveness of community-based models of care (MoCs) supporting the recovery of individuals who experience persistent and complex mental health needs.

Method: We conducted a systematic review and narrative synthesis of MoC studies reporting clinical, functional, or personal recovery from October 2016 to October 2021. Sources were Medline, EMBASE, PsycInfo, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases.

Developments in rehabilitation psychiatry within the RANZCP and the creation of a mental health rehabilitation curriculum.

Objective: This paper describes the initial development of a mental health rehabilitation curriculum for Australian mental health settings and for psychiatrists and trainees wishing to develop specialist skills in mental health rehabilitation.

Method: Members of the Section of Social Cultural and Rehabilitation Psychiatry (SSCRP) established an expert working group under the auspices of the RANZCP. Existing college training resources were reviewed, and a gap analysis was conducted to guide development of new training modules.

Constructing recovery: A Lived Experience and post-structuralist exploration of how the meaning of personal recovery and rehabilitation has changed over time.

Objective: This article explores how the concept of 'recovery' has been much debated and often sits at odds with our notion of rehabilitation.

Method: This article provides a Lived Experience and post-structural commentary on the ever-changing meaning of recovery and rehabilitation.

Results: Building on the contemporary Consumer Movement's use of the term recovery, this article explores how constructions of recovery try to create a boundary which stops people being invalidated based on their experience, or perceived experience, of mental distress.

Risk factors for violent behaviors in patients with schizophrenia: 2-year follow-up study in primary mental health care in China.

Objective: The consequences and impact of violent behavior in schizophrenia are often serious, and identification of risk factors is of great importance to achieve early identification and effective management.

Methods: This follow-up study sampled adult patients with schizophrenia in primary mental health care in a rural area of southern China, in which 491 participants completed a comprehensive questionnaire at baseline and the 2-year follow-up. Sociodemographic, clinical and psychological assessment data were collected from all participants.

The Help-Seeking Experiences of Family and Friends Who Support Young People With Mental Health Issues: A Qualitative Study.

Little has been documented of the journey that family and friends (F&F) undertake when supporting a young person aged 12-25 years struggling with mental illness. The experiences of family and friends were explored using an online qualitative survey ( = 58) and semi-structured interviews ( = 15). Recruitment was through a national youth mental health service Facebook page and website.

Two-year cohort-up study of clozapine prescription in Chinese patients with schizophrenia treated in rural primary care.

Few studies have examined the clozapine in cohort studies of Chinese patients with schizophrenia in rural primary care. The objective of this two-year cohort study was to describe the usage of clozapine and investigate and identify the demographic, clinical correlations and risk variables which affect the use of clozapine in patients with schizophrenia. A random cluster sampling technique was used, and participants were collected from China National Psychiatric Management System (CNPMS).

Research capacity and culture in an Australian metropolitan public mental health service: scoping the skills and experience of social workers and occupational therapists.

Background: Investment in a clinical research culture appears to be associated with benefits for consumers, staff, and overall organisational performance. The validated 55-item Research Capacity and Culture (RCC) tool was developed specifically to gauge the research capacity and culture of health professionals and workplace settings within which they work. Results of some individual studies suggest that professional discipline and workplace setting may impact RCC results however it has never been used in a dedicated public mental health setting.

Self-reported needs of people living with psychotic disorders: Results from the Australian national psychosis survey.

Person-centered care is a collaborative approach to health care. To provide effective, person-centered care to people living with severe mental illness, it is necessary to understand how people view their own needs. The Perceived Need for Care Questionnaire (PNCQ) was used in the Australian National Survey of High Impact Psychosis (SHIP) to deepen understanding and evaluate, at a population level, the needs of Australian adults living with psychotic illness.

Quality of life in patients with schizophrenia: A 2-year cohort study in primary mental health care in rural China.

Objective: Quality of life (QoL) has been always an important way to evaluate the outcomes of schizophrenia, but there have been few previous longitudinal studies and few in middle-income countries. This study aimed to explore the QoL in Chinese patients with schizophrenia treated in primary mental health care and the risk factors of QoL over time.

Methods: Patients with schizophrenia treated in primary mental health care in rural/regional areas in Luoding, Guangdong, PR China, were evaluated with an extended questionnaire including the Chinese version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) at baseline and 2-year follow-up.

IRP commission: sexual minorities and mental health: global perspectives.

Sexual orientation is a key determinant of the identity of human beings. It has also been seen as a social determinant of health. People whose sexual orientation is non-heterosexual or sexual minorities or sexually diverse are included in the broad umbrella term LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) which is a commonly used acronym in activism, social policy, and subsequently cultural literature.

Health-related quality of life in people with psychotic disorders: The role of loneliness and its contributors.

Background: Perception of loneliness has been identified as the strongest predictor of health-related quality of life assessed with the Assessment of Quality of Life-4D in people with psychotic disorders. We aimed to establish contributors to perceived loneliness, and ascertain the mediating role of loneliness in the relationship between identified contributors to loneliness and other known predictors of health-related quality of life with health-related quality of life.

Methods: Data for 1642 people collected as part of the 2010 Australian National Survey of Psychosis were analysed.

Community-based social interventions for people with severe mental illness: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of recent evidence.

People living with severe mental illness (SMI) are one of the most marginalized groups in society. Interventions which aim to improve their social and economic participation are of crucial importance to clinicians, policy-makers and people with SMI themselves. We conducted a systematic review of the literature on social interventions for people with SMI published since 2016 and collated our findings through narrative synthesis.

Supporting family and friends of young people with mental health issues using online technology: A rapid scoping literature review.

Aim: Family and friends are often the first and/or only support options used by young people (12-25 years) struggling with mental health issues. The overarching aim of this literature review is to map current practice in online interventions specifically targeting family and friends of young people with mental health issues, especially relevant in light of the current worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A rapid scoping literature review was conducted searching health and psychology databases for online interventions targeting family and friends supporting a young person (12-25 years) struggling with a mental health issue.

Improving Cognitive Skills for People with Mental Illness to Increase Vocational and Psychosocial Outcomes: The Employ Your Mind Program.

Cognitive impairments contribute to difficulty obtaining employment for people with severe mental illness (SMI). We describe an evaluation of a program, Employ Your Mind (EYM), which integrates cognitive remediation with vocational rehabilitation to improve cognitive skills and psychosocial outcomes relevant to employment. Participants with SMI were referred to WISE Employment and completed the six-month EYM program.

Design features that reduce the use of seclusion and restraint in mental health facilities: a rapid systematic review.

Unlabelled: Increasing efforts are being made to prevent and/or eliminate the use of seclusion and restraint in mental health facilities. Recent literature recognises the importance of the physical environment in supporting better outcomes in mental health services. This rapid review scoped the existing literature studying what physical design features of mental health facilities can reduce the use of seclusion and physical restraint.

Moving clients forward: a grounded theory of disability employment specialists' views and practices.

Purpose: This study sought to better understand the views and practices of disability employment specialists working with clients with mental illness. Specifically, it explored what helps and hinders employment specialists in their work.

Materials And Methods: A constructivist grounded theory methodology was used.

Proposing a causal pathway for health-related quality of life in people with psychotic disorders.

This study aimed to establish independent predictors for health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with psychotic disorders, and the mediating role of global functioning in those relationships. Data for 1642 people collected as part of the second Australian National Survey of Psychosis were analyzed. The Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL)-4D and the Personal and Social Performance scale were used for assessing HRQoL and global functioning respectively.

Mental Health in Australia and the Challenge of Community Mental Health Reform.

Australia was one of the first countries to develop and implement a national mental health plan, 30 years ago. This national approach belied the countrys federal structure, in which the federal government takes responsibility for primary care while state and territory governments manage acute and hospital mental health care. This arrangement has led to significant variations across jurisdictions.