Publications by authors named "Judy Proudfoot"

Background: People with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) often experience mental health symptoms that exacerbate illness and increase mortality risk. Access to psychological support is low in people with T2DM. Detection of depression is variable in primary care and can be further hampered by mental health stigma.

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  • This study examines how e-mental health (eMH) engagement patterns, particularly the concept of "e-attainment," influence mental health outcomes, emphasizing the importance of personal goals over strict protocol adherence.
  • Using clustering methods on data from over 43,000 users of a self-guided eMH program in Australia, the research aims to identify real-world engagement profiles and their correlation with mental health improvements.
  • Findings from the analysis highlight that understanding user behavior in a naturalistic setting can be instrumental for designing effective eMH programs targeted at the general population.
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Background: The high prevalence of diabetes distress and subclinical depression in adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T1DM and T2DM, respectively) indicates the need for low-intensity self-help interventions that can be used in a stepped care approach to address some of their psychological needs. However, people with diabetes can be reluctant to engage in mental health care. Benefit-finding writing (BFW) is a brief intervention that involves writing about any positive thoughts and feelings concerning a stressful experience such as an illness, avoiding potential mental health stigma.

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Article Synopsis
  • E-mental health (eMH) interventions are transforming how healthcare is delivered, particularly in primary care, but their online recruitment methods raise questions about participant differences.
  • This study aimed to explore recruitment experiences for an eMH trial through primary care and compare participant characteristics based on recruitment sources.
  • Out of 780 enrolled participants, only 24 came from general practices, with the majority recruited online (520) or through existing networks (196), highlighting significant barriers to in-person recruitment efforts.
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Background: Depressive symptoms are common in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Effective depression treatments exist; however, access to psychological support is characteristically low. Web-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is accessible, nonstigmatizing, and may help address substantial personal and public health impact of comorbid T2DM and depression.

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Background: Young people with type 1 diabetes are at increased risk of mental disorders. Whereas treatment need is high, difficulty recruiting young people with type 1 diabetes into psychosocial studies complicates development, testing and dissemination of these interventions.

Objective: Interviews with young adults with type 1 diabetes were conducted to examine attitudes towards mental health and mental health research, including barriers and motivators to participation in mental health studies and preferred sources of mental health support.

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Background: Previous research has identified that men experiencing depression do not always access appropriate health services. Web-based interventions represent an alternative treatment option for men, are effective in reducing anxiety and depression, and have potential for wide dissemination. However, men do not access Web-based programs at the same rate as women.

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Background: Depressive symptoms are common in people with type 2 diabetes and contribute to adverse health consequences that substantially impact social and vocational function. Despite the existence of effective depression treatments, the majority of people with type 2 diabetes do not access these when needed. Web-based alternatives to more traditional psychotherapies offer a potential solution to reducing the personal and economic burdens of type 2 diabetes.

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Background: Diabetes mellitus is Australia's fastest growing chronic disease, and has high comorbidity with depression. Both subthreshold depression and diabetes distress are common amongst people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, and are associated with poorer diabetes self-care. A need exists for low-intensity self-help interventions for large numbers of people with diabetes and diabetes distress or subthreshold depression, as part of a stepped-care approach to meeting the psychological needs of people with diabetes.

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Background: Depression in adolescents is a common and impairing problem. Effective psychological therapies for depression are not accessed by most adolescents. Computerised therapy offers huge potential for improving access to treatment.

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Background: Young people with type 1 diabetes experience elevated levels of emotional distress that impact negatively on their diabetes self-care, quality of life, and disease-related morbidity and mortality. While the need is great and clinically significant, a range of structural (eg, service availability), psychological (eg, perceived stigma), and practical (eg, time and lifestyle) barriers mean that a majority of young people do not access the support they need to manage the emotional and behavioral challenges of type 1 diabetes.

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a fully-automated cognitive behavior therapy-based mobile phone and Web-based psychotherapeutic intervention (myCompass) for reducing mental health symptoms and diabetes-related distress, and improving positive well-being in this vulnerable patient group.

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Background: The strongest risk factor for depression is having a family history of the condition. Many individuals with a family history of depression are concerned about their personal risk for depression and report unmet educational and psychological support needs. No supportive and/or educational interventions are currently available that target this group of individuals.

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Article Synopsis
  • The increasing use of mobile apps presents a chance to enhance access to evidence-based mental health care.
  • A systematic review identified 8 papers on 5 apps addressing issues like depression and anxiety, showing significant improvements in mental health symptoms.
  • Despite their potential, most mental health apps lack solid scientific backing, emphasizing the need for public education and further research to validate effective programs.
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  • The study examines early markers for bipolar disorder by comparing the early experiences of individuals with bipolar disorder to those with unipolar depression.
  • Participants with bipolar disorder reported more disruptive home and school environments, along with driven personality traits and emotional dysregulation, whereas those with unipolar depression described more supportive backgrounds and compliant behaviors.
  • The research suggests that understanding both immediate and long-term factors could improve early intervention strategies for bipolar disorder in young people.
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  • The study aimed to assess the representation of adults aged 65 and older in research on computerized cognitive-behavioral therapy (CCBT) for depression.
  • Approximately 3% of participants in CCBT studies from 2000 to 2010 were older adults, indicating a significant under-representation in this area of research.
  • While older adults tended to have lower dropout rates, they faced more technical challenges compared to younger participants.
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Chronic diseases require a multidisciplinary approach to provide patients with optimal care in general practice. This often involves general practitioners (GPs) referring their patients to allied health professionals (AHPs). The Team-link study explored the impact of an intervention to enhance working relationships between GPs and AHPs in general practice regarding the management of two chronic diseases: diabetes and ischaemic heart disease (IHD) or hypertension.

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  • The study aims to review the effectiveness of online interventions for alcohol misuse, using systematic searches of research from 1998 to present, focusing on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that deliver interventions via the Internet.
  • Out of an initial 31 trials found, 17 met the criteria, with the majority (70.6%) involving university students and targeting at-risk drinking behaviors, utilizing brief personalized feedback as a common intervention method.
  • Effect sizes from various studies varied, averaging around 0.42, indicating a moderate impact of these online programs on reducing alcohol consumption among participants.
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Objectives: Chronic diseases require a multidisciplinary approach to provide optimal patient care in general practice. In Australian general practice, this usually involves referral to an allied health provider outside the practice. This study explored the patient and practice factors associated with referral of patients with diabetes, ischaemic heart disease (IHD) or hypertension to external allied health providers (AHPs).

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  • The study aimed to validate the Patients Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC) among Australian patients with chronic diseases and analyze the relationship between patient-assessed quality of care and various patient and practice characteristics.
  • A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from two health service intervention studies involving patients with chronic conditions, where questionnaires containing the PACIC were sent to participants, and factor analysis was used to interpret the data.
  • The results showed a different two-factor structure in Australia compared to the five-factor structure identified in the US and Europe, highlighting variations in patient interactions with the health system; further, total PACIC scores were linked to specific patient characteristics but not to practice characteristics or demographic factors like gender and age.
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Background: "Stressbusters" is an interactive computer software programme based on a clinically effective face-to-face CBT protocol for young people with depression. It was designed for teenagers with mild to moderate depression, and comprises eight 45-minute sessions.

Method: Twenty-three young people (aged 12-16; mean age 14.

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The clinical and cost-effectiveness of a computer-aided cognitive behavioural therapy (CCBT) programme, Beating the Blues, is indicated by a number of studies, but relatively little is known about its acceptability for patients with depression, anxiety, or both. This study investigated the acceptability of Beating the Blues offered on eight scheduled clinic visits with brief face-to-face support. Pre and posttreatment measures explored the relationship among programme acceptability, treatment continuation, and outcomes for people accessing the programme in routine care.

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