Changes in Recovery Assessment Scale Scores During a Treatment Episode Among Patients in a Large Behavioral Health Care System.

Objective: The authors utilized patient-reported outcomes from a large U.S. behavioral health care system to evaluate the strength of improvements in patients' self-perceived recovery during mental health treatment.

Welcome to the Metaverse: Virtual Reality in Nursing Professional Development.

Virtual reality (VR) is an innovative teaching strategy for professional development using computer-generated, three-dimensional images in an interactive virtual environment. Self-reported survey responses of nurses who used VR in orientation and the nurse residency program demonstrated improved knowledge, skills, and confidence. VR provides an innovative and engaging educational medium for learning that may have implications for future clinical practice and research.

Identifying Psychosis Episodes in Psychiatric Admission Notes via Rule-based Methods, Machine Learning, and Pre-Trained Language Models.

Early and accurate diagnosis is crucial for effective treatment and improved outcomes, yet identifying psychotic episodes presents significant challenges due to its complex nature and the varied presentation of symptoms among individuals. One of the primary difficulties lies in the underreporting and underdiagnosis of psychosis, compounded by the stigma surrounding mental health and the individuals' often diminished insight into their condition. Existing efforts leveraging Electronic Health Records (EHRs) to retrospectively identify psychosis typically rely on structured data, such as medical codes and patient demographics, which frequently lack essential information.

Causes of death among Australians with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, 2002-2019.

Aims: This population-based study sought to explore in detail the conditions driving the diversification in causes of death among people with diabetes.

Methods: We linked Australians with type 1 or type 2 diabetes of all ages on the National Diabetes Services Scheme to the National Death Index for 2002-2019. We investigated the proportional contributions of different causes of death to total deaths over time across eight categories of causes of death, stratified by sex and diabetes type.

What can death records tell us about multimorbidity?

Background: Multimorbidity has been measured from many data sources which show that prevalence increases with age and is usually greater among women than men and in more recent periods. Analyses of multiple cause of death data have shown different patterns of multimorbidity associated with demographic and other characteristics.

Methods: Deaths in Australia among over 1.

Changes in anxiety and depression in patients with different income levels through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Lower socioeconomic status is known to be associated with high mental health burden, there have been few epidemiological studies showing how socioeconomic status has modified the effect of COVID-19 on anxiety and depression.

Methods: We analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey in the United States between 2019 and 2021 and used respondents with a documented income-to-poverty ratio as a measure of income level (n = 79,468). We used frequency of medication use and self-reported frequency of anxious and depressive episodes as the main outcome measures.

A new data driven method for summarising multiple cause of death data.

Background: National mortality statistics are based on a single underlying cause of death. This practice does not adequately represent the impact of the range of conditions experienced in an ageing population in which multimorbidity is common.

Methods: We propose a new method for weighting the percentages of deaths attributed to different causes that takes account of the patterns of associations among underlying and contributing causes of death.

Persistent effects of COVID-19 in patients hospitalized during the first wave of the pandemic: The impact of persistent fatigue on quality of life in a cross-sectional study.

COVID-19 can affect physical and mental health long after acute infection. In this descriptive study, 48 individuals hospitalized for COVID-19 between April and May 2020 were interviewed regarding their experience with COVID-19 after hospitalization. The mean age of participants was 51.

Analysis of Multiple Causes of Death: A Review of Methods and Practices.

Background: Research and reporting of mortality indicators typically focus on a single underlying cause of death selected from multiple causes recorded on a death certificate. The need to incorporate the multiple causes in mortality statistics-reflecting increasing multimorbidity and complex causation patterns-is recognized internationally. This review aims to identify and appraise relevant analytical methods and practices related to multiple causes.

Quantifying cause-related mortality in Australia, incorporating multiple causes: observed patterns, trends and practical considerations.

Background: Mortality statistics using a single underlying cause of death (UC) are key health indicators. Rising multimorbidity and chronic disease mean that deaths increasingly involve multiple conditions. However, additional causes reported on death certificates are rarely integrated into mortality indicators, partly due to complexities in data and methods.

Identifying Diagnoses of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder in Large Data Sets.

Objective: The authors used a large clinical data set to determine which index diagnoses of schizophrenia spectrum disorder were new diagnoses.

Methods: Using the Massachusetts All-Payer Claims Database (2012–2016), the authors identified patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder diagnosis in 2016 (index diagnosis) and then reviewed patients’ care histories for the previous 12, 24, 36, and 48 months to identify previous diagnoses. Logistic regression was used to examine patient characteristics associated with the index diagnosis being a new diagnosis.

Evidence for Schizophrenia-Specific Pathophysiology of Nicotine Dependence.

Tobacco use is the top preventable cause of early mortality in schizophrenia. Over 60% of people with schizophrenia smoke, three times the general prevalence. The biological basis of this increased risk is not understood, and existing interventions do not target schizophrenia-specific pathology.

Geographical variation in hospitalization for psychosis associated with cannabis use and cannabis legalization in the United States: Submit to: Psychiatry Research.

The 2017 National Inpatient Sample database was utilized to investigate the association between cannabis legalization in the United States and hospitalizations for psychosis associated with cannabis use. We compared the odds of hospital discharges for psychosis associated with cannabis use in adults between the Pacific census division (where most states legalized recreational cannabis use) and other divisions using multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for confounders. We calculated a score for each census division representing cannabis legality as the population-weighted sum of state scores: 1=illegal or cannabidiol/low potency cannabis; 2= medical marijuana; and 3=recreational and medical marijuana legalized.

Enhancing Australian Mortality Data to Meet Future Health Information Demands.

The Australian mortality data are a foundational health dataset which supports research, policy and planning. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the need for more timely mortality data that could assist in monitoring direct mortality from the virus as well as indirect mortality due to social and economic societal change. This paper discusses the evolution of mortality data in Australia during the pandemic and looks at emerging opportunities associated with electronic infrastructure such as electronic Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (eMCCDs), ICD-11 and automated coding tools that will form the foundations of a more responsive and comprehensive future mortality dataset.

Education-related inequalities in cause-specific mortality: first estimates for Australia using individual-level linked census and mortality data.

Background: Socioeconomic inequalities in mortality are evident in all high-income countries, and ongoing monitoring is recommended using linked census-mortality data. Using such data, we provide the first estimates of education-related inequalities in cause-specific mortality in Australia, suitable for international comparisons.

Methods: We used Australian Census (2016) linked to 13 months of Death Registrations (2016-17).

Unintentional and intentional drug poisoning deaths, Australia, 2012-2016: Drug pattern profile and demographic characteristics.

Background: Identifying differences in unintentional versus intentional drug poisoning deaths can inform targeted prevention. This study aimed to: compare unintentional versus intentional drug poisoning deaths by drug involvement, age and sex; describe patterns of drug involvement by intent; and describe common drug patterns by age and sex.

Methods: Cases comprised deaths among Australians aged ≥15 where drug poisoning was the underlying cause (Cause of Death Unit Record File 2012-2016).

Nicotine acutely alters temporal properties of resting brain states.

Background: Nicotine-dependent individuals have altered activity in neurocognitive networks such as the default mode (DMN), salience (SN) and central executive networks (CEN). One theory suggests that, among chronic tobacco smokers, nicotine abstinence drives more DMN-related internal processing while nicotine replacement suppresses DMN and enhances SN and CEN. Whether acute nicotine impacts network dynamics in non-smokers is, however, unknown.

Assessing the quality of cause of death data in six high-income countries: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan and Switzerland.

Objectives: To assess the policy utility of national cause of death (COD) data of six high-income countries with highly developed health information systems.

Methods: National COD data sets from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan and Switzerland for 2015 or 2016 were assessed by applying the ANACONDA software tool. Levels, patterns and distributions of unusable and insufficiently specified "garbage" codes were analysed.