Secondary Mental Health Services Research Articles

Suicide-related internet use of mental health patients: what clinicians know.

Suicide-related internet use (SRIU), defined as internet use related to one's own feelings of suicide, can be both a risk and protective factor, especially for isolated individuals. Despite its influence on suicidality, clinicians face challenges in assessing SRIU because of the private nature of internet usage. Current recommendations on enquiring about SRIU in a clinical setting concern mostly young people. To address the gap in understanding SRIU among patients of all ages, this study aims to explore mental health clinicians' experiences, attitudes and beliefs regarding enquiring about SRIU, as well as the risks and benefits it presents in the assessment and management of patients. Finally, the study aims to establish the role SRIU potentially plays in the assessment and management of patients. Twelve clinicians practising at secondary mental health services in England participated in interviews. Thematic analyses were used for data interpretation. Clinicians who participated in interviews rarely initiate discussions on SRIU with their patients despite considering this an important factor in suicidality. Age of both patients and clinicians has the potential to influence enquiry into SRIU. Clinicians recognise the potential benefits of patients finding supportive online communities but also express concerns about harmful and low-quality online content related to suicide. Integrating SRIU enquiry into standard clinical practice, regardless of the patient's age, is an important step towards comprehensive patient care. Broader training for clinicians on enquiring about online behaviours is essential to mitigate potential risks and harness the benefits of SRIU in mental health patients.

Akrivia Health Database—deep patient characterisation using a secondary mental healthcare dataset in England and Wales: cohort profile

PurposeThe Akrivia Health cohort was created to extract data from electronic health records in secondary mental health and dementia care services in England and Wales. The data are anonymised, structured...

Adjusting the risk-adjustment: Accounting for variation between organisations in the responsiveness of their expenditure to need

There is concern that basing healthcare budgets on risk adjustment estimates derived from historical utilisation data may reinforce patterns of unmet need. We propose a method to avoid this, based on a measure of how closely local health organisations align resources to the needs of their populations. We refer to this measure as the ‘responsiveness of expenditure to need’ and estimate it using national person-level data on use of acute hospital and secondary mental health services in England. We find large variation in responsiveness in both services and show that higher expenditure responsiveness in mental health is associated with fewer suicides. We then re-estimate the national risk-adjustment model removing the data from the organisations with the lowest expenditure responsiveness to need. As expected, higher need individuals are estimated to have higher expenditure needs when less responsive organisations are removed from the estimation of the risk-adjustment. Removal of organisations with below-average responsiveness results in the neediest deciles of individuals having an extra £163 (7%) annual need for acute hospital care and an additional £79 (27%) annual need for mental health services. The application of this approach to risk adjustment would result in more resources being directed towards organisations serving higher-need populations.

Physical Health Checks and Follow-Up Care in Deprived and Ethnically Diverse People With Severe Mental Illness: Co-Designed Recommendations for Better Care.

There is wide variation in premature mortality rates in adults with severe mental illness (SMI) across London, with Tower Hamlets (a highly deprived and ethnically diverse area) scoring the highest. To identify examples of best practice and co-design recommendations for improving physical health checks and follow-up care amongst people with SMI in Tower Hamlets. Data were collected through online questionnaires (using SMI physical health best practice checklists), one-on-one interviews (n = 7) and focus groups (n = 3) with general practices, secondary mental health services, commissioners and leads of community services and public health programmes, experts by experience and community, voluntary and social enterprise organisations in Tower Hamlets. Data were analysed using deductive and inductive thematic analysis. Twenty-two participants representing 15 general practices (out of 32), secondary mental health services, commissioners and public health leads completed the online questionnaires. Twenty-one participants took part in interviews and focus groups. Examples of best practice included cleaning and validating the SMI register regularly by general practices, knowing the number of patients who had been offered and/or received physical health checks, having clear pathways to community and specialist care services, using various communication methodsand having a key performance indicator (KPI) for tailored smoking cessation services for people with SMI. Recommendations included adopting evidence-informed frameworks for risk stratification and utilising the wider primary care workforce with specific training to follow up on results, offer interventionsand support navigating pathways and taking up follow-up care. Incentivising schemes were needed to deliver additional physical health check components such as oral health, cancer screening, Covid-19 vaccination and sexual health checks. Including KPIs in other community services' specifications with reference to SMI people was warranted. Further engagement with experts by experience and staff training were needed. The present initiative identified best practice examples and co-designed recommendations for improving physical health checks and follow-up care in deprived and ethnically diverse people with SMI. This initiative was supported by three experts with experience, and two community organisations, who were involved in data curation and interpretation, development of recommendationsand/or dissemination activities including writing this manuscript.

Exploring the acceptability, barriers, and facilitators to psychosis screening in the integrated behavioral health primary care setting: a qualitative study

BackgroundA longer duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is associated with poorer treatment outcomes. Screening for psychosis spectrum disorders in the primary care setting could help support the earlier detection and treatment of individuals in need. However, the acceptability of screening for psychosis in this setting as part of routine care is currently unknown.MethodsWe conducted a qualitative interview study with providers and service users who participated in an early psychosis screening program conducted in an integrated behavioral health primary care (IBH-PC) setting. Interviews were recruited from one of eight WellSpace Federally Qualified Health Center IBH-PC clinics in the Sacramento, CA area. Transcripts of the recorded interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsIn total, 12 providers and eight service users participated in the interviews. Most service user and provider participants were supportive of psychosis screening in an IBH-PC setting, but not as part of the general practitioner consultation due to the brief, non-behavioral health nature of many of the appointments, and the expected low prevalence of psychosis in this population. The support of leadership, adequate training and support, staff turnover, and organizational changes were all seen to impact the successful implementation of the program. Different barriers and facilitators were considered important at each stage of the process from introducing the screening procedures to service users; to determining when, where, and how to screen; and how to effectively manage the referral and post-referral stages.ConclusionsDespite the additional challenges of screening in an IBH-PC setting relative to secondary mental health services, the process was considered acceptable and feasible to providers and service users. Services that plan to conduct psychosis screening in their clinics need to consider the challenges and their potential solutions to implementation at each stage of the screening process.

Evaluation of a PTSD group intervention in a secondary care mental health service

Introduction: Secondary care mental health services in the United Kingdom are under increasing pressure to meet the demand for support for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), however, there is a lack of clear guidance for treating complex cases of PTSD. Therefore, an evaluation was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of a pilot stabilisation group programme for clients with PTSD in a secondary care mental health service. Method: Attendees of the group (n = 64) were asked to complete routinely collected outcome measures of wellbeing (WEMWBS) and PTSD symptoms (PCL-5). A repeated-measures t-test analysed the pre and post group scores for statistical significance, whilst Reliable Change Indices analysed the data forreliable improvement and clinically significant change. Results: There was a significant difference between the pre and post group scores on the measures of wellbeing and PTSD symptoms. A large proportion of clients demonstrated reliable and clinically significant improvements in wellbeing. A small proportion of service users demonstrated clinically significant improvements in PTSD symptoms. Conclusion: The intervention shows promise as an initial stage of trauma treatment due to the improvements in wellbeing. However, a large proportion of clients are likely to require further intervention to reduce symptoms of PTSD.

Cohort profile: working age adults accessing secondary mental health services in South London (UK) and benefits – a data linkage of electronic mental health records and benefits data.

IntroductionIn the UK, mental disorders are one of the most common reasons for claiming a benefit relating to unemployment, income, sickness and disability. Limited information exists regarding the demographic characteristics and psychiatric profiles of working age individuals claiming benefits in London. Until recently, detailed data on both mental disorders and benefit receipt were unavailable. ObjectivesTo establish and describe a cohort of working age adults accessing secondary mental health services and benefits related to unemployment, income, sickness, and disability. MethodsUsing a novel data linkage containing electronic secondary mental health records from the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust and benefits data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), we present descriptive statistics on sociodemographics, psychiatric diagnoses, and benefits received among a cohort of working age adults. The DWP benefits data window covers the period January 2007-June 2020, the SLaM data window covers the period January 2007-June 2019. ResultsWe identified n = 150,348 patients (18-65 years), who had attended SLaM secondary mental health services, 78.3% of which had received a benefit relating to unemployment, income, sickness and disability. Of this group, 68% had a recorded primary psychiatric diagnosis. We found that a much higher percentage of those with a primary psychiatric diagnosis received more than one benefit (69.4%) compared to those who had not received a primary psychiatric diagnosis (30.6%). Almost 70% of claimants who obtained more than one benefit were identified as living within the two quintiles representing the highest levels of deprivation in the South-east London boroughs served by SLaM. ConclusionsWe showed types of benefits received among working age adults accessing secondary mental health services. This cohort will be further examined to explore trajectories of mental health care and benefit receipt and provide evidence that will help to inform both DWP policies and mental health care delivery.

Delivering a sleep intervention across a youth mental health service using non-expert practitioners: A service evaluation.

Poor sleep is highly prevalent in young people and increases risk of mental health difficulties, yet access to sleep interventions remains limited. This paper evaluates the use of a sleep intervention delivered by non-expert practitioners in a secondary care youth mental health service. Assistant psychologists were trained to deliver a six-session 1:1 cognitive-behavioural sleep intervention adapted for use with young people with mental health difficulties. A within-subject design assessed clinical outcomes relating to sleep (Insomnia Severity Index), psychological distress and personal goals (Goal Based Outcome Measures) at four time points. High referral, intervention take-up (82.82%) and completion (70%) rates were reported, together with high baseline levels of insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index mean 20.47, SD 3.68) and poor sleep efficiency (56.36%, SD 17.23). Fifty-six young people (average age 19.2 years, SD 3.25) were included in the outcome analysis. Statistically and clinically significant improvements were seen across all outcome measures, with 68% no longer meeting clinical threshold (ISI ≥15) for insomnia at endpoint. This study demonstrates exceptionally high levels of clinical need and engagement with a sleep intervention adapted specifically for young people with mental health difficulties. Whilst limited by the uncontrolled design, large improvements in insomnia and psychological distress support its effectiveness and utility in clinical settings. More robust implementation and evaluation is warranted in broader youth mental health services to promote earlier access.

Detection of and response to gender-based violence: a quality improvement project across three secondary mental health services in London.

Our team of core and higher psychiatry trainees aimed to improve secondary mental health service detection of and response to gender-based violence (GBV) in South East London. We audited home treatment team (HTT), drug and alcohol (D&A) service and in-patient ward clinical records (n = 90) for female and non-binary patients. We implemented brief, cost-neutral staff engagement and education interventions at service, borough and trust levels before re-auditing (n = 86), completing a plan-do-study-act cycle. Documented enquiry about exposure to GBV increased by 30% (HTT), 15% (ward) and 7% (D&A), post-intervention. We identified staff training needs and support for improving GBV care. Up to 56% of records identified psychiatric symptoms related to GBV exposure. Moves to make mental healthcare more trauma-informed rely on services first being supportive environments for enquiry, disclosure and response to traumatic stressors. Our collaborative approach across clinical services increased GBV enquiry and documentation. The quality of response is more difficult to measure and requires concerted attention.

An exploration of service use pattern changes and cost analysis following implementation of community perinatal mental health teams in pregnant women with a history of specialist mental healthcare in England: a national population-based cohort study

BackgroundThe National Health Service in England pledged >£365 million to improve access to mental healthcare services via Community Perinatal Mental Health Teams (CPMHTs) and reduce the rate of perinatal relapse in women with severe mental illness. This study aimed to explore changes in service use patterns following the implementation of CPMHTs in pregnant women with a history of specialist mental healthcare in England, and conduct a cost-analysis on these changes.MethodsThis study used a longitudinal cohort design based on existing routine administrative data. The study population was all women residing in England with an onset of pregnancy on or after 1st April 2016 and who gave birth on or before 31st March 2018 with pre-existing mental illness (N = 70,323). Resource use and costs were compared before and after the implementation of CPMHTs. The economic perspective was limited to secondary mental health services, and the time horizon was the perinatal period (from the start of pregnancy to 1-year post-birth, ~ 21 months).ResultsThe percentage of women using community mental healthcare services over the perinatal period was higher for areas with CPMHTs (30.96%, n=9,653) compared to areas without CPMHTs (24.72%, n=9,615). The overall percentage of women using acute care services (inpatient and crisis resolution teams) over the perinatal period was lower for areas with CPMHTs (4.94%, n=1,540 vs. 5.58%, n=2,171), comprising reduced crisis resolution team contacts (4.41%, n=1,375 vs. 5.23%, n=2,035) but increased psychiatric admissions (1.43%, n=445 vs. 1.13%, n=441). Total mental healthcare costs over the perinatal period were significantly higher for areas with CPMHTs (fully adjusted incremental cost £111, 95% CI £29 to £192, p-value 0.008).ConclusionsFollowing implementation of CPMHTs, the percentage of women using acute care decreased while the percentage of women using community care increased. However, the greater use of inpatient admissions alongside greater use of community care resulted in a significantly higher mean cost of secondary mental health service use for women in the CPMHT group compared with no CPMHT. Increased costs must be considered with caution as no data was available on relevant outcomes such as quality of life or satisfaction with services.

Understanding social and clinical associations with unemployment for people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorders: large-scale health records study

PurposePeople with severe mental illness (SMI) experience high levels of unemployment. We aimed to better understand the associations between clinical, social, and demographic inequality indicators and unemployment.MethodsData were extracted from de-identified health records of people with SMI in contact with secondary mental health services in south London, UK. A Natural Language Processing text-mining application was applied to extract information on unemployment in the health records. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess associations with unemployment, in people with SMI.ResultsRecords from 19,768 service users were used for analysis, 84.9% (n = 16,778) had experienced unemployment. In fully adjusted models, Black Caribbean and Black African service users were more likely to experience unemployment compared with White British service users (Black Caribbean: aOR 1.62, 95% CI 1.45–1.80; Black African: 1.32, 1.15–1.51). Although men were more likely to have experienced unemployment relative to women in unadjusted models (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.26–1.47), differences were no longer apparent in the fully adjusted models (aOR 1.05, 95% CI 0.97–1.15). The presence of a non-affective (compared to affective) diagnosis (1.24, 1.13–1.35), comorbid substance use (2.02, 1.76–2.33), previous inpatient admissions (4.18, 3.71–4.70), longer inpatient stays (78 + days: 7.78, 6.34–9.54), and compulsory admissions (3.45, 3.04–3.92) were associated with unemployment, in fully adjusted models.ConclusionPeople with SMI experience high levels of unemployment, and we found that unemployment was associated with several clinical and social factors. Interventions to address low employment may need to also address these broader inequalities.

From training to practice: Reflections on implementing open dialogue across secondary mental health services

PHOTO CREDIT: George MiltonThis article describes the implementation of Open Dialogue, an integrative approach drawn from systemic family therapy, dialogical theory, and social constructionism, across a range of mental health services within an NHS Trust. Reflections are given from staff working in Early Intervention in Psychosis and Acute Inpatient services, on the experience of training and the feasibility of implementing this approach. The conclusion draws together the learning gained and challenges experienced, as well as identifying areas for future development.

A framework for evaluating the implementation and maintenance of integration within the youth mental health system.

Given the global burden of disease of youth mental disorders, there remains a need to examine how to improve care for this population. Integrated care has been posited as a potential solution, but there is limited evidence on how best to design, staff, and evaluate different models of integrated care for youth mental health. This oral paper presents the findings of a narrative synthesis of the evidence on integrated models of mental healthcare for young people aged 12 to 25 within PubMed, SCOPUS, and PsycINFO databases. Our literature review aimed to: (1) define and summarise the literature on integrated models of mental healthcare for children and young people, and (2) evaluate the effectiveness of integrated models of youth mental healthcare in enhancing mental health outcomes, quality of life, satisfaction with care, and improving health service delivery in young people aged 12-25 years. To be included in our review, studies were English language peer-reviewed and grey literature from January 2001 – October 2021, which included systematic and/or scoping reviews that assess integrated mental healthcare for children and young people aged 12 to 25 years and studies evaluating models of integrated mental healthcare for children and young people using intervention and comparator groups (included in meta-analysis). To synthesise this literature, we generated intial inductive themes describing components of integrated care shared across the youth mental health system including, collaborative care, person centred care, population and evidence-based care, and governance and financing. We incorporated these themes within a deductive framework adapted from the World Health Organisation health system building blocks. These building blocks include service delivery; workforce; information systems and communication; products and technology; and finance along with the cross-cutting themes of leadership, governance, and policy and values. We then mapped these core components of integrated care onto the six intensity levels of integrated care developed by Heath and colleagues providing an overview of how integrated care can be operationalised in terms of health service building blocks. This framework can form a basis for the development of well-articulated models of youth integrated mental health pathways, assisting services identify what operational changes are needed to best implement and sustain integrated care in their own context. Planned future work involving this framework includes using it to map the integration of primary, secondary, tertiary, public, and private youth mental health services within the Australian health system.

Transdiagnostic Ecological Momentary Intervention for Improving Self-Esteem in Youth Exposed to Childhood Adversity

Targeting low self-esteem in youth exposed to childhood adversity is a promising strategy for preventing adult mental disorders. Ecological momentary interventions (EMIs) allow for the delivery of youth-friendly, adaptive interventions for improving self-esteem, but robust trial-based evidence is pending. To examine the efficacy of SELFIE, a novel transdiagnostic, blended EMI for improving self-esteem plus care as usual (CAU) compared with CAU only. This was a 2-arm, parallel-group, assessor-blinded, randomized clinical trial conducted from December 2018 to December 2022. The study took place at Dutch secondary mental health services and within the general population and included youth (aged 12-26 years) with low self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale [RSES] <26) exposed to childhood adversity. A novel blended EMI (3 face-to-face sessions, email contacts, app-based, adaptive EMI) plus CAU or CAU only. The primary outcome was RSES self-esteem at postintervention and 6-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes included positive and negative self-esteem, schematic self-beliefs, momentary self-esteem and affect, general psychopathology, quality of life, observer-rated symptoms, and functioning. A total of 174 participants (mean [SD] age, 20.7 [3.1] years; 154 female [89%]) were included in the intention-to-treat sample, who were primarily exposed to childhood emotional abuse or neglect, verbal or indirect bullying, and/or parental conflict. At postintervention, 153 participants (87.9%) and, at follow-up, 140 participants (80.5%), provided primary outcome data. RSES self-esteem was, on average, higher in the experimental condition (blended EMI + CAU) than in the control condition (CAU) across both postintervention and follow-up as a primary outcome (B = 2.32; 95% CI, 1.14-3.50; P < .001; Cohen d-type effect size [hereafter, Cohen d] = 0.54). Small to moderate effect sizes were observed suggestive of beneficial effects on positive (B = 3.85; 95% CI, 1.83-5.88; P < .001; Cohen d = 0.53) and negative (B = -3.78; 95% CI, -6.59 to -0.98; P = .008; Cohen d = -0.38) self-esteem, positive (B = 1.58; 95% CI, 0.41-2.75; P = .008; Cohen d = 0.38) and negative (B = -1.71; 95% CI, -2.93 to -0.48; P = .006; Cohen d = -0.39) schematic self-beliefs, momentary self-esteem (B = 0.29; 95% CI, 0.01-0.57; P = .04; Cohen d = 0.24), momentary positive affect (B = 0.23; 95% CI, 0.01-0.45; P = .04; Cohen d = 0.20), momentary negative affect (B = -0.33; 95% CI, -0.59 to -0.03, P = .01, Cohen d = -0.27), general psychopathology (B = -17.62; 95% CI, -33.03 to -2.21; P = .03; Cohen d = -0.34), and quality of life (B = 1.16; 95% CI, 0.18-2.13; P = .02; Cohen d = 0.33) across postintervention and follow-up. No beneficial effects on symptoms and functioning were observed. A transdiagnostic, blended EMI demonstrated efficacy on the primary outcome of self-esteem and signaled beneficial effects on several secondary outcomes. Further work should focus on implementing this novel EMI in routine public mental health provision. Dutch Trial Register Identifier:NL7129(NTR7475).

Severe mental illness and the perimenopause

Hormonal fluctuations in the perimenopause are associated with an array of physical and psychological symptoms. Those with pre-existing mental disorders may experience changes to their symptoms and response to treatment during the perimenopausal and postmenopausal periods and may also be at risk of poorer longer-term physical health outcomes in menopause. The transition towards menopause may be compounded by the oestradiol-suppressing effect of many psychotropics on the hypothalamopituitary–gonadal axis. A collaborative approach between primary care and secondary mental health services is an opportunity for proactive discussion of symptoms and support with management of the perimenopause. This may involve lifestyle measures and/or hormone replacement therapy, which can both lead to improvements in well-being and mental and physical health.

Lifestyle medicine: a cultural shift in medicine that can drive integration of care

Our traditional medical mindset and healthcare culture are being severely challenged. In the face of novel infectious diseases, such as Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), along with rising levels of chronic diseases, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, psychiatric illness, cardiovascular disease and cancer, many argue that current healthcare practices are failing to meet our needs. Energy and vision for a new way of practicing medicine are colliding, from both top-down, driven by policy, and bottom-up, driven by clinicians and patients. Policy makers have laid out the need for integration of healthcare delivery to address the complex chronic disease burden; creating integrated care partnerships, health and wellbeing boards and primary care networks to bring together 'at the place level' primary and secondary care, mental and public health services, social care and the voluntary sector. In practice, this is starting to build lasting working relationships between previously siloed services, to address the complex environmental, social, cultural, lifestyle and biopsychosocial drivers of ill health rather than simply providing access to hospitals, doctors and medication. Similarly, out of frustration with our traditional pharmaceutically driven medical model, grass-roots clinicians have built a new vision for their role in this better integrated health system, with the discipline of lifestyle medicine.

Randomised controlled trial of the Community Navigator programme to reduce loneliness and depression for adults with treatment-resistant depression in secondary community mental health services: trial protocol

BackgroundNew treatments are needed for people with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), who do not benefit from anti-depressants and many of whom do not recover fully with psychological treatments. The Community Navigator programme was co-produced with service users and practitioners. It is a novel social intervention which aims to reduce loneliness and thus improve health outcomes for people with TRD. Participants receive up to 10 individual meetings with a Community Navigator, who helps them to map their social world and set and enact goals to enhance their social connections and reduce loneliness. Participants may also access group meet-ups with others in the programme every 2 months, and may be offered modest financial support to enable activities to support social connections.MethodsA researcher-blind, multi-site, 1:1 randomised controlled trial with N = 306 participants will test the effectiveness of the Community Navigator programme for people with TRD in secondary community mental health teams (CMHTs). Our primary hypothesis is that people who are offered the Community Navigator programme as an addition to usual CMHT care will be less depressed, assessed using the PHQ-9 self-report measure, at 8-month, end-of-treatment follow-up, compared to a control group receiving usual CMHT care and a booklet with information about local social groups and activities. We will follow participants up at end-of-treatment and at 14 months, 6 months after end-of-treatment follow-up. Secondary outcomes include the following: loneliness, anxiety, personal recovery, self-efficacy, social network, social identities. We will collect data about health-related quality of life and service use to investigate the cost-effectiveness of the Community Navigator programme.DiscussionThis trial will provide definitive evidence about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the Community Navigator programme and whether it can be recommended for use in practice. The trial is due to finish in August 2025.Trial registrationProspectively registered on 8th July 2022 at: ISRCTN13205972.

Universal credit receipt among users of secondary mental health services: Findings from a novel data linkage

ObjectivesPeople with mental disorders are likely to be overrepresented among Universal Credit (UC) recipients. Despite this, individual level data is lacking on mental disorder diagnosis by UC status, and the intersectionality of different socio-demographic characteristics. Associations were explored between UC receipt, socio-demographic and diagnostic characteristics among mental health service users.&#x0D; MethodsA novel data source consisting of linked electronic mental healthcare records and Department for Work and Pensions administrative benefits records of patients accessing a large mental healthcare service provider in South London was used. Benefits records were restricted to those that covered years 2013-2019. Only working-age patients were included (n=120,000).&#x0D; ResultsPreliminary results indicated that of the 120,000 working-age patients with linked data, 38,000 had received UC at some point between 2013-2019. Most UC recipients were allocated to a conditionality regime that required them to look for work, followed by those who did not have to meet any work-related requirements. Adjusted analyses indicated that UC recipients were more likely to be male, younger, lived in more deprived areas, and were from a non-White ethnic background. Interestingly, having a recorded psychiatric diagnosis meant that patients were less likely to have received UC.&#x0D; ConclusionPossible explanations for the findings will be discussed. In the longer term, our findings have the potential to impact welfare and public health policies, as well as patient care.

A two-arm, randomised feasibility trial using link workers to improve dental visiting in people with severe mental illness: a protocol paper

BackgroundPeople with severe mental illness (e.g. psychosis, bipolar disorder) experience poor oral health compared to the general population as shown by more decayed, missing and filled teeth and a higher prevalence of periodontal disease. Attending dental services allows treatment of oral health problems and support for prevention. However, people with severe mental illness face multiple barriers to attending routine dental appointments and often struggle to access care. Link work interventions use non-clinical support staff to afford vulnerable populations the capacity, opportunity, and motivation to navigate use of services. The authors have co-developed with service users a link work intervention for supporting people with severe mental illness to access routine dental appointments. The Mouth Matters in Mental Health Study aims to explore the feasibility and acceptability of this intervention within the context of a feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT) measuring outcomes related to the recruitment of participants, completion of assessments, and adherence to the intervention. The trial will closely monitor the safety of the intervention and trial procedures.MethodsA feasibility RCT with 1:1 allocation to two arms: treatment as usual (control) or treatment as usual plus a link work intervention (treatment). The intervention consists of six sessions with a link worker over 9 months. Participants will be adults with severe mental illness receiving clinical input from secondary care mental health service and who have not attended a planned dental appointment in the past 3 years. Assessments will take place at baseline and after 9 months. The target recruitment total is 84 participants from across three NHS Trusts. A subset of participants and key stakeholders will complete qualitative interviews to explore the acceptability of the intervention and trial procedures.DiscussionThe link work intervention aims to improve dental access and reduce oral health inequalities in people with severe mental illness. There is a dearth of research relating to interventions that attempt to improve oral health outcomes in people with mental illness and the collected feasibility data will offer insights into this important area.Trial registrationThe trial was preregistered on ISRCTN (ISRCTN13650779) and ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05545228).

Antidepressants in pregnancy: applying causal epidemiological methods to understand service-use outcomes in women and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in exposed children.

Antidepressants are commonly prescribed during pregnancy, despite a lack of evidence from randomised trials on the benefits or risks. Some studies have reported associations of antidepressants during pregnancy with adverse offspring neurodevelopment, but whether or not such associations are causal is unclear. To study the associations of antidepressants for depression in pregnancy with outcomes using multiple methods to strengthen causal inference. This was an observational cohort design using multiple methods to strengthen causal inference, including multivariable regression, propensity score matching, instrumental variable analysis, negative control exposures, comparison across indications and exposure discordant pregnancies analysis. This took place in UK general practice. Participants were pregnant women with depression. The interventions were initiation of antidepressants in pregnancy compared with no initiation, and continuation of antidepressants in pregnancy compared with discontinuation. The maternal outcome measures were the use of primary care and secondary mental health services during pregnancy, and during four 6-month follow-up periods up to 24 months after pregnancy, and antidepressant prescription status 24 months following pregnancy. The child outcome measures were diagnosis of autism, diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and intellectual disability. UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Data on 80,103 pregnancies were used to study maternal primary care outcomes and were linked to 34,274 children with at least 4-year follow-up for neurodevelopmental outcomes. Women who initiated or continued antidepressants during pregnancy were more likely to have contact with primary and secondary health-care services during and after pregnancy and more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant 2 years following the end of pregnancy than women who did not initiate or continue antidepressants during pregnancy (odds ratioinitiation 2.16, 95% confidence interval 1.95 to 2.39; odds ratiocontinuation 2.40, 95% confidence interval 2.27 to 2.53). There was little evidence for any substantial association with autism (odds ratiomultivariableregression 1.10, 95% confidence interval 0.90 to 1.35; odds ratiopropensityscore 1.06, 95% confidence interval 0.84 to 1.32), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (odds ratiomultivariableregression 1.02, 95% confidence interval 0.80 to 1.29; odds ratiopropensityscore 0.97, 95% confidence interval 0.75 to 1.25) or intellectual disability (odds ratiomultivariableregression 0.81, 95% confidence interval 0.55 to 1.19; odds ratiopropensityscore 0.89, 95% confidence interval 0.61 to 1.31) in children of women who continued antidepressants compared with those who discontinued antidepressants. There was inconsistent evidence of an association between initiation of antidepressants in pregnancy and diagnosis of autism in offspring (odds ratiomultivariableregression 1.23, 95% confidence interval 0.85 to 1.78; odds ratiopropensityscore 1.64, 95% confidence interval 1.01 to 2.66) but not attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or intellectual disability; however, but results were imprecise owing to smaller numbers. Several causal-inference analyses lacked precision owing to limited numbers. In addition, adherence to the prescribed treatment was not measured. Women prescribed antidepressants during pregnancy had greater service use during and after pregnancy than those not prescribed antidepressants. The evidence against any substantial association with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or intellectual disability in the children of women who continued compared with those who discontinued antidepressants in pregnancy is reassuring. Potential association of initiation of antidepressants during pregnancy with offspring autism needs further investigation. Further research on larger samples could increase the robustness and precision of these findings. These methods applied could be a template for future pharmaco-epidemiological investigation of other pregnancy-related prescribing safety concerns. This project was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme (15/80/19) and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 27, No. 15. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.