Showing papers by "Ellie Fossey published in 2016"

Work participation for people with severe mental illnesses: An integrative review of factors impacting job tenure.

Abstract: Background Enabling people with severe mental illness to sustain employment remains a challenge. This is despite most wishing to be employed, and the development of effective vocational interventions and employment supports for this population. To better understand how to enable their sustained involvement in the workforce, this review sought to identify, analyse and summarise studies investigating the factors that impact the job tenure of workers with severe mental illness, irrespective of the type of employment support they received. Methods An integrative literature review approach was employed to locate, appraise and synthesise quantitative and qualitative research focused on job tenure published in the 20 years up to 2013. Findings from nineteen studies were extracted and integrated using thematic analytic strategies. Results Job tenure was mostly conceptualised across the reviewed studies as time spent in individual jobs rather than as ongoing participation in the workforce. Three themes describe the factors contributing to job tenure: (1) the worker's experience of doing the current job; (2) natural supports in the workplace; and (3) strategies for integrating work, recovery and wellness, each of which could either support or impede ongoing employment. Conclusion Occupational therapists, other vocational specialists and mental health staff can use these factors as a guide to supporting people with severe mental illness in employment. More detailed examination of job tenure is required in future research not only on job duration but also on the quality of jobs held, their value for career development and the role of services in supporting tenure.

Randomised controlled trial of a digitally assisted low intensity intervention to promote personal recovery in persisting psychosis: SMART-Therapy study protocol

Abstract: Psychosocial interventions have an important role in promoting recovery in people with persisting psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. Readily available, digital technology provides a means of developing therapeutic resources for use together by practitioners and mental health service users. As part of the Self-Management and Recovery Technology (SMART) research program, we have developed an online resource providing materials on illness self-management and personal recovery based on the Connectedness-Hope-Identity-Meaning-Empowerment (CHIME) framework. Content is communicated using videos featuring persons with lived experience of psychosis discussing how they have navigated issues in their own recovery. This was developed to be suitable for use on a tablet computer during sessions with a mental health worker to promote discussion about recovery.

Supporting students with invisible disabilities: A scoping review of postsecondary education for students with mental illness or an acquired brain injury

Abstract: Living with Disability Research Centre, School of Allied Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia

Principles for Recovery-Oriented Inpatient Care

Abstract: This chapter defines and distinguishes between two related concepts of “recovery” in relation to serious mental illnesses and the provision of “recovery-oriented care.” With this distinction in place, the chapter then outlines four key principles for applying the principles of recovery-oriented care to inpatient psychiatry. This first principle is that it is the person’s own recovery, reframing the aim of inpatient care to preparing the person to manage his or her condition and life following discharge. The second principle that follows from this is that Recovery-oriented care needs to be person/family-centered and culturally responsive to be relevant to the person’s life. Given the high prevalence of trauma among persons with mental illness and the potentially traumatic nature of hospitalization itself, the third principle is that inpatient staff should anticipate, and welcome, trauma survivors through the provision of a safe, respectful, and collaborative environment. Finally, principle four is that the interdisciplinary team needs to be expanded to include the person him or herself, his or her identified family members, and the community-based providers who have worked with the person in the past and/or will work with the person following discharge. In closing, the respective role of each of these team members within the context of recovery-oriented inpatient care is described.

The PULSAR primary care protocol: a stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial to test a training intervention for general practitioners in recovery-oriented practice to optimize personal recovery in adult patients

Abstract: General practitioners (GPs) in Australia play a central role in the delivery of mental health care. This article describes the PULSAR (Principles Unite Local Services Assisting Recovery) Primary Care protocol, a novel mixed methods evaluation of a training intervention for GPs in recovery-oriented practice. The aim of the intervention is to optimize personal recovery in patients consulting study GPs for mental health issues. The intervention mixed methods design involves a stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial testing the outcomes of training in recovery-oriented practice, together with an embedded qualitative study to identify the contextual enablers and challenges to implementing recovery-oriented practice. The project is conducted in Victoria, Australia between 2013 and 2017. Eighteen general practices and community health centers are randomly allocated to one of two steps (nine months apart) to start an intervention comprising GP training in the delivery of recovery-oriented practice. Data collection consists of cross-sectional surveys collected from patients of participating GPs at baseline, and again at the end of Steps 1 and 2. The primary outcome is improvement in personal recovery using responses to the Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery. Secondary outcomes are improvements in patient-rated measures of personal recovery and wellbeing, and of the recovery-oriented practice they have received, using the INSPIRE questionnaire, the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. Participant data will be analyzed in the group that the cluster was assigned to at each study time point. Another per-protocol dataset will contain all data time-stamped according to the date of intervention received at each cluster site. Qualitative interviews with GPs and patients at three and nine months post-training will investigate experiences and challenges related to implementing recovery-oriented practice in primary care. Recovery-oriented practice is gaining increasing prominence in mental health service delivery and the outcomes of such an approach within the primary care sector for the first time will be evaluated in this project. If findings are positive, the intervention has the potential to extend recovery-oriented practice to GPs throughout the community. Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry ( ACTRN12614001312639 ). Registered: 8 August 2014.

Helping people with a mental illness obtain work: the Health Optimisation Program for Employment.

Abstract: Objective:Inclusion in work and education remains problematic for many people with a mental illness. We describe a structured programme – the Health Optimisation Program for Employment – that supported people with a mental illness to gain employment or commence studies.Method:Twenty hours of the Health Optimisation Program for Employment were delivered to 600 individuals. Participants were asked to complete an evaluation survey encompassing vocational status and ratings of self-efficacy.Results:Of the 364 participants who completed the baseline assessment, 168 responded to the evaluation survey 6 months after the delivery of the Health Optimisation Program for Employment. Of these, 21.5% had started a new job, while a further 42.8% were either volunteering or studying. Satisfaction with the programme was high and self-efficacy ratings improved significantly over the short term only.Conclusions:The Health Optimisation Program for Employment requires further evaluation using rigorous scientific methodology ...