8 research outputs found
Editorial Board
Source at http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12888-017-1345-8 Background: The duration of untreated psychosis is determined by both patient and service related factors.
Few studies have considered the geographical accessibility of services in relation to treatment delay in early
psychosis. To address this, we investigated whether treatment delay is co-determined by straight-line distance
to hospital based specialist services in a mainly rural mental health context.
Methods: A naturalistic cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of recent onset psychosis patients
in northern Norway (n = 62). Data on patient and service related determinants were analysed.
Results: Half of the cohort had a treatment delay longer than 4.5 months. In a binary logistic regression model,
straight-line distance was found to make an independent contribution to delay in which we controlled for other
known risk factors.
Conclusions: The determinants of treatment delay are complex. This study adds to previous studies on treatment
delay by showing that the spatial location of services also makes an independent contribution. In addition, it may
be that insidious onset is a more important factor in treatment delay in remote areas, as the logistical implications of
specialist referral are much greater than for urban dwellers. The threshold for making a diagnosis in a remote location
may therefore be higher. Strategies to reduce the duration of untreated psychosis in rural areas would benefit from
improving appropriate referral by crisis services, and the detection of insidious onset of psychosis in community based
specialist services
HIV Risk Behavior Self-Report Reliability at Different Recall Periods
Few studies have investigated the optimal length of recall period for self-report of sex and drug-use behaviors. This meta-analysis of 28 studies examined the test-retest reliability of three commonly used recall periods: 1, 3, and 6Â months. All three recall periods demonstrated acceptable test-retest reliability, with the exception of recall of needle sharing behaviors and 6-months recall of some sex behaviors. For most sex behaviors, a recall period of 3Â months was found to produce the most reliable data; however, 6Â months was best for recalling number of sex partners. Overall, shorter periods were found to be more reliable for recall of drug-use behaviors, though the most reliable length of recall period varied for different types of drugs. Implications of the findings and future directions for research are discussed