A Design Construct of Developing Approaches to Measure Mental Health Conditions

Mental health is an important determinant of communities’ well-being, influenced not only by individual attributes, but also by social and organisational environments in which people work and live. Despite studies examining mental health status among specific populations, few attempts are evident that focus on solution designs for detecting and measuring impact of mental health conditions. In this study, we develop a construct utilising design science research principles for outlining common vocabulary around the problem, and solution design relevant to a mental health management system. For the case of IT professionals, the developed construct is informed through a social-media based dataset containing more than 65,000 cells and 100 attributes potentially identifying influencing factors. Machine learning techniques are applied to the dataset to discover new findings for this specific group. It is anticipated that the analysis reported in this study would contribute in developing other electronic health management systems both for communities and healthcare professionals

TB STIGMA – MEASUREMENT GUIDANCE

TB is the most deadly infectious disease in the world, and stigma continues to play a significant role in worsening the epidemic. Stigma and discrimination not only stop people from seeking care but also make it more difficult for those on treatment to continue, both of which make the disease more difficult to treat in the long-term and mean those infected are more likely to transmit the disease to those around them. TB Stigma – Measurement Guidance is a manual to help generate enough information about stigma issues to design and monitor and evaluate efforts to reduce TB stigma. It can help in planning TB stigma baseline measurements and monitoring trends to capture the outcomes of TB stigma reduction efforts. This manual is designed for health workers, professional or management staff, people who advocate for those with TB, and all who need to understand and respond to TB stigma

The reflective learning continuum: reflecting on reflection

The importance of reflection to marketing educators is increasingly recognized. However, there is a lack of empirical research which considers reflection within the context of both the marketing and general business education literature. This paper describes the use of an instrument which can be used to measure four identified levels of a reflection hierarchy: habitual action, understanding, reflection and intensive reflection and two conditions for reflection: instructor to student interaction and student to student interaction. Further we demonstrate the importance of reflective learning in predicting graduates’ perception of program quality. Although the focus was on assessment of MBA level curricula, the findings have great importance to marketing education and educators

The capabilities approach: fostering contexts for enhancing mental health and wellbeing across the globe

Concerted efforts have been made in recent years to achieve equity and equality in mental health for all people across the globe. This has led to the emergence of Global Mental Health as an area of study and practice. The momentum that this has created has contributed to the development, implementation and evaluation of services for priority mental disorders in many low- and middle-income countries. This paper discusses two related issues that may be serving to limit the success of mental health initiatives across the globe, and proposes potential solutions to these issues. First, there has been a lack of sophistication in determining what constitutes a ‘good outcome’ for people experiencing mental health difficulties. Even though health is defined and understood as a state of ‘wellbeing’ and not merely an absence of illness, mental health interventions tend to narrowly focus on reducing symptoms of mental illness. The need to also focus more broadly on enhancing subjective wellbeing is highlighted. The second limitation relates to the lack of an overarching theoretical framework guiding efforts to reduce inequalities and inequities in mental health across the globe. This paper discusses the potential impact that the Capabilities Approach (CA) could have for addressing both of these issues. As a framework for human development, the CA places emphasis on promoting wellbeing through enabling people to realise their capabilities and engage in behaviours that they subjectively value. The utilization of the CA to guide the development and implementation of mental health interventions can help Global Mental Health initiatives to identify sources of social inequality and structural violence that may impede freedom and individuals’ opportunities to realise their capabilities

One year follow-up of a randomized trial with a dilemma-focused intervention for depression: Exploring an alternative to problem-oriented strategies

© 2018 Feixas et al.Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is aimed to counteract cognitions and behaviours that are considered as dysfunctional. The aim of the study is to test whether the inclusion of a non-counteractive approach (dilemma-focused intervention, DFI) in combination with CBT group therapy will yield better short- and long-term outcomes than an intervention conducted entirely using CBT.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Using health psychology to help patients: promoting wellbeing

This article explores the construct of wellbeing. Research concerning the relationship between subjective wellbeing and health is discussed. Key components of wellbeing that are important to health include ‘sense of coherence’, ‘optimism’ and ‘benefit finding and post-traumatic growth’. A range of positive psychology interventions that aim to increase positive thoughts, feelings and emotions in order to improve wellbeing have been developed. Mindfulness-based approaches to improving wellbeing are especially popular and are evidence based. These focus on helping the individual to develop an awareness of the present with acceptance and attention. Instead of trying to change uncomfortable thoughts or feelings, the individual practices accepting these, without judgement. Nurses can draw on the information in this article to provide evidence-based advice and guidance to help improve their patients' and their own wellbeing

Doing research on the effectiveness of psychotherapy and psychotherapy training: a person-centered/experiential perspective

In this article, we present a framework for selecting instruments for evaluating psychotherapy and psychotherapy training from a person-centered and experiential psychotherapy (PCEP) perspective. The protocol is divided into eight therapy measurement domains, consisting of four research themes (therapy outcome, therapy process, client predictors, training outcome) and two levels (general/pan-theoretical concepts vs. treatment specific/PCEP-oriented concepts). This research protocol provides recommendations about what to measure, encouraging collaboration across different training sites, while still allowing flexibility for individual centers. Minimum and systematic case study data collection designs are described: Minimum designs are appropriate for use in private practice settings with one's own clients; systematic case-study designs can be used for student case-presentation requirements or for publication. The framework and research protocols described are part of an emerging international research project involving private and public training centers in several countries