Recovery Programs for People With Mental Illness in Taiwan: A Feasibility Study.

Importance: Most recovery programs have been developed in Western countries. This study explores the cultural adaptation of a recovery program to a non-Western country.

Objective: To test the feasibility of a recovery group developed for people with mental illness in Taiwan.

Peer navigators to promote engagement of homeless African Americans with serious mental illness in primary care.

Homeless African Americans with serious mental illness experience higher rates of morbidity and mortality than adults with severe mental illness alone. Peer navigators, individuals with similar lived experiences, may help these individuals navigate the healthcare system to improve healthcare utilization. This study examined whether the Peer Navigator Program (PNP) improved scheduling and achieving healthcare appointments compared to treatment as usual (TAU) over the course of 12 months, including three periods within that timeframe: engagement (first three months), impact (middle six months), and maintenance (final six months).

Using Peer Navigators to Address the Integrated Health Care Needs of Homeless African Americans With Serious Mental Illness.

Objective: The study examined the impact of a peer navigator program (PNP) developed by a community-based participatory research team and used with a group of African Americans with serious mental illness who were homeless.

Methods: Sixty-seven research participants were randomly assigned to receive PNP or treatment as usual (control) for one year. Data on general health and mental health, recovery, and quality of life were collected at baseline and at four, eight, and 12 months.

Community-based participatory research examining the health care needs of African Americans who are homeless with mental illness.

African Americans with mental illness who are homeless experience significant health risks and illnesses leading to high mortality and morbidity rates. A community-based participatory research (CBPR) team conducted a qualitative study to begin to describe these problems. Results from focus groups and key informant interviews of 42 individuals yielded 98 themes which were sorted into three categories: problems, solutions, and peer navigators.

Peer navigators and integrated care to address ethnic health disparities of people with serious mental illness.

People of color with serious mental illnesses experience high rates of morbidity and mortality. Patient navigators, developed for cancer care, may help this group benefit from integrated care. This review examined patient navigators' key ingredients for cancer care for relevance to patients of color for application of peer services to psychiatric goals.

Psychiatric symptoms moderate the effects of mental illness self-management in a randomized controlled trial.

Depression has been shown to moderate the effects of physical illness self-management (ISM) programs. We attempted to replicate these findings for a mental ISM intervention. Outpatients with serious mental illness (N = 428) from eight Tennessee communities were randomly assigned to receive a peer-led self-management intervention called Building Recovery of Individual Dreams and Goals Through Education and Support or services as usual.

Recovery of people with psychiatric disabilities living in the community and associated factors.

Objective: Consumer-oriented recovery has been discussed for more than two decades in the mental health field. Although there some qualitative recovery studies have shown important findings, few quantitative studies of this concept currently exist. This study examined the relationship between recovery and associated social-environmental and individual factors.

Consumer empowerment and self-advocacy outcomes in a randomized study of peer-led education.

This study examined the effectiveness of the Building Recovery of Individual Dreams and Goals (BRIDGES) peer-led education intervention in empowering mental health consumers to become better advocates for their own care. A total of 428 adults with mental illness were randomly assigned to BRIDGES (intervention condition) or a services as usual wait list (control condition). Interviews were conducted at enrollment, at the end of the intervention, and 6-months post-intervention.

Early outcomes and lessons learned from a study of the Building Recovery of Individual Dreams and Goals through Education and Support (BRIDGES) program in Tennessee.

Objective: Peer-led education interventions have the potential to provide mental health consumers with the knowledge, skills and support they need to live successful and rewarding self-determined lives. However, few studies have explored whether and how these interventions enhance recovery. This study addresses this knowledge gap by examining changes among 160 participants in the Building Recovery of Individual Dreams and Goals (BRIDGES) education program.