The role of body-esteem in academic functioning problems associated with eating disturbances

Objective: To explore the role of body-esteem and self-esteem in the occurrence of academic functioning problems associated with eating disturbances. Participants: 330 university students (aged 16-53 years) in Finland in 2016. Method: Interference with academic functioning measured with the Eating and Body Image Academic Interference Scale. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to describe the relationship of body-esteem, global self-esteem, and age with academic functioning problems associated with eating disturbances. Results: The level of academic functioning problems was low. High appearance-esteem (OR = 0.26; 95% CI [0.14-0.48]) and a five-year increase in age (OR = 0.68; 95% CI [0.52-0.89]) provided protection against academic functioning problems, whereas high evaluations attributed to others about one's body and appearance increased the odds of such problems (OR = 2.25; 95% CI [1.41-3.59]). Conclusion: Problems in academic functioning may relate to problems in eating behavior, body image, and feelings about appearance

Quality and utilization of the Finnish clinical practice guideline in schizophrenia: evaluation using AGREE II and the vignette approach

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the quality of the Finnish clinical practice guideline related to schizophrenia care and how it can be utilized in psychiatric services.Participants and methods: The data were collected from one psychiatric ward and seven psychiatric outpatient units situated in two cities in Southern Finland. A total of 49 professionals working in these sites participated in this study. A descriptive study design was adopted. The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) instrument with six domains including 23 items was used to assess the quality of the guideline, whereas a vignette was implemented to describe how staff would use the guideline in hypothetical cases in daily practice. The analysis of AGREE II was based on rating each of the 23 items on a seven-point scale and calculating a quality score for the six domains. To describe the utilization of the guideline, eight key recommendations of the guideline were deductively rated out of the respondents’ answers.Results: The results showed that the “scope and purpose” of the guideline were well described, but “applicability” was insufficient. The overall quality of the guideline was high (73%). Almost one fifth of the respondents were in agreement with key recommendations.Conclusion: The overall quality of Guideline for Schizophrenia was good, but its “applicability” and utilization should be improved.<br /

Patient Aggression and the Wellbeing of Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study in Psychiatric and Non-Psychiatric Settings

Wellbeing of nurses is associated with patient aggression. Little is known about the differences in these associations between nurses working in different specialties. We aimed to estimate and compare the prevalence of patient aggression and the associations between patient aggression and the wellbeing of nurses in psychiatric and non-psychiatric specialties (medical and surgical, and emergency medicine). A sample of 5288 nurses (923 psychiatric nurses, 4070 medical and surgical nurses, 295 emergency nurses) participated in the study. Subjective measures were used to assess both the occurrence of patient aggression and the wellbeing of nurses (self-rated health, sleep disturbances, psychological distress and perceived work ability). Binary logistic regression with interaction terms was used to compare the associations between patient aggression and the wellbeing of nurses. Psychiatric nurses reported all types of patient aggression more frequently than medical and surgical nurses, whereas nurses working in emergency settings reported physical violence and verbal aggression more frequently than psychiatric nurses. Psychiatric nurses reported poor self-rated health and reduced work ability more frequently than both of the non-psychiatric nursing groups, whereas medical and surgical nurses reported psychological distress and sleep disturbances more often. Psychiatric nurses who had experienced at least one type of patient aggression or mental abuse in the previous year, were less likely to suffer from psychological distress and sleep disturbances compared to medical and surgical nurses. Psychiatric nurses who had experienced physical assaults and armed threats were less likely to suffer from sleep disturbances compared to nurses working in emergency settings. Compared to medical and surgical nurses, psychiatric nurses face patient aggression more often, but certain types of aggression are more common in emergency settings. Psychiatric nurses have worse subjective health and work ability than both of the non-psychiatric nursing groups, while their psychiatric wellbeing is better and they have less sleep problems compared to medical and surgical nurses. Psychiatric nurses maintain better psychiatric wellbeing and experience fewer sleep problems than non-psychiatric nurses after events of exposure to patient aggression. This suggest that more attention should be given to non-psychiatric settings for maintaining the wellbeing of nurses after exposure to patient aggression

The Impact of a Web-Based Course Concerning Patient Education for Mental Health Care Professionals: Quasi-Experimental Study

Background: Continuing education has an important role in supporting the competence of health care professionals. Although Web-based education is a growing business in various health sectors, few studies have been conducted in psychiatric settings to show its suitability in demanding work environments.Objective: We aimed to describe the impact of a Web-based educational course to increase self-efficacy, self-esteem, and team climate of health care professionals. Possible advantages and disadvantages of the Web-based course are also described.Methods: The study used nonrandomized, pre-post intervention design in 1 psychiatric hospital (3 wards). Health care professionals (n=33) were recruited. Self-efficacy, self-esteem, and team climate were measured at 3 assessment points (baseline, 8 weeks, and 6 months). Possible advantages and disadvantages were gathered with open-ended questions at the end of the course.Results: Our results of this nonrandomized, pre-post intervention study showed that health care professionals (n=33) had higher self-efficacy after the course, and the difference was statistically significant (mean 30.16, SD 3.31 vs mean 31.77, SD 3.35; P=.02). On the other hand, no differences were found in the self-esteem or team climate of the health care professionals before and after the course. Health care professionals found the Web-based course useful in supporting their work and relationships with patients. The tight schedule of the Web-based course and challenges in recruiting patients to use the patient education program with health care professionals were found to be the disadvantages.Conclusions: Web-based education might be a useful tool to improve the self-efficacy of health care professionals even in demanding work environments such as psychiatric hospitals. However, more studies with robust and sufficiently powered data are still needed

Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Impacts of Web-Based Patient Education on Patients With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder: Quasi-Experimental Cluster Study

Background: Web-based interventions are promising tools for increasing the understanding of illness and treatment among patients with serious mental disorders.Objective: This study aimed to test the feasibility and acceptability of a Web-based patient education intervention using a quasi-experimental cluster design to report feedback on patient education sessions and the website used and to report preliminary evidence of the intervention's impact on patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder.Methods: A single-blind, parallel, quasi-experimental cluster study over a 6-month period comparing Web-based education (n=33) with a nonequivalent control group (treatment as usual, n=24) for people with schizophrenia spectrum disorder was conducted. Participants (N=57) were recruited from one psychiatric hospital (6 wards). Feasibility was assessed by participants' commitment (refusal rate, dropout rate) to the study. Acceptability was assessed as participants' commitment to the intervention. Patient education sessions and website feedback were assessed by the patients and health care professionals. The preliminary impact of the sessions on patients' self-efficacy, self-esteem, illness cognition, and knowledge level was measured at baseline and follow-ups (8 weeks, 6 months) with self-rated questionnaires.Results: The refusal rate among patients was high with no statistically significant difference (69% [74/107] in the intervention group, 76% [76/100] in the control group; P =.21). The same result was found for the dropout rates (48% [16/33] vs 58% [14/24]; P=. 46). The acceptability of the intervention was good; 31 participants out of 33 (94%) completed all five sessions. Feedback on the intervention was mainly positive; three out of four subscales of session were rated above the midpoint of 4.0. Feedback on the website was also positive, with a grade of good for content (69%, 20/29 patients; 75%, 21/28 professionals), layout (62%, 18/29 patients; 61%, 17/28 professionals), and usability (62%, 18/29 patients; and 68%, 19/28 professionals). The patients using the intervention had significantly higher scores 6 months after the sessions in self-efficacy (baseline mean 26.12, SD 5.64 vs 6-month mean 29.24, SD 6.05; P=.003) and regarding knowledge level about schizophrenia (mean 11.39, SD 4.65 vs 6-month mean 15.06, SD 5.26; P=. 002), and lower scores in the subscale of helplessness in illness cognition (mean 2.26, SD 0.96 vs 6-month mean 1.85, SD 0.59; P=.03). Differences from the control group were not significant. No differences were found in patients' self-esteem or other subscales in illness cognition.Conclusions: The patients were reluctant to participate in the study and tended to drop out before the follow-ups. Once they had participated, their acceptance of the intervention was high. A more effective recruitment strategy and monitoring method will be needed in future studies. To assess the impact of the intervention, a more rigorous study design with an adequately powered sample size will be used in cooperation with outpatient mental health services

Trends in the use of coercive measures in Finnish psychiatric hospitals: a register analysis of the past two decades

BackgroundCoercive measures is a topic that has long been discussed in the field of psychiatry. Despite global reports of reductions in the use of restraint episodes due to new regulations, it is still questionable if practices have really changed over time. For this study, we examined the rates of coercive measures in the inpatient population of psychiatric care providers across Finland to identify changing trends as well as variations in such trends by region.MethodsIn this nationwide registry analysis, we extracted patient data from the national database (The Finnish National Care Register for Health Care) over a 20-year period. We included adult patients admitted to psychiatric units (care providers) and focused on patients who had faced coercive measures (seclusion, limb restraints, forced injection and physical restraints) during their hospital stay. Multilevel logistical models (a polynomial model of quadratic form) were used to examine trends in prevalence of any coercive measures as well as the other four specified coercive measures over time, and to investigate variation in such trends among care providers and regions.ResultsBetween 1995 and 2014, the dataset contained 226,948 inpatients who had been admitted during the 20-year time frame (505,169 treatment periods). The overall prevalence of coercive treatment on inpatients was 9.8%, with a small decrease during 2011–2014. The overall prevalence of seclusion, limb restraints, forced injection and physical restraints on inpatients was 6.9, 3.8, 2.6 and 0.8%, respectively. Only the use of limb restraints showed a downward trend over time. Geographic and care provider variations in specific coercive measures used were also observed.ConclusionsDespite the decreasing national level of coercive measures used in Finnish psychiatric hospitals, the overall reduction has been small during the last two decades. These results have implications on the future development of structured guidelines and interventions for preventing and more effectively managing challenging situations. Clinical guidelines and staff education related to the use of coercive measures should be critically assessed to ensure that the staff members working with vulnerable patient populations in psychiatric hospitals are ethically competent.</p

Study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of user-driven intervention to prevent aggressive events in psychiatric services

BackgroundPeople admitted to psychiatric hospitals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia may display behavioural problems. These may require management approaches such as use of coercive practices, which impact the well-being of staff members, visiting families and friends, peers, as well as patients themselves. Studies have proposed that not only patients’ conditions, but also treatment environment and ward culture may affect patients’ behaviour. Seclusion and restraint could possibly be prevented with staff education about user-centred, more humane approaches. Staff education could also increase collaboration between patients, family members and staff, which may further positively affect treatment culture and lower the need for using coercive treatment methods.MethodsThis is a single-blind, two-arm cluster randomised controlled trial involving 28 psychiatric hospital wards across Finland. Units will be randomised to receive either a staff educational programme delivered by the team of researchers, or standard care. The primary outcome is the incidence of use of patient seclusion rooms, assessed from the local/national health registers. Secondary outcomes include use of other coercive methods (limb restraint, forced injection, and physical restraint), service use, treatment satisfaction, general functioning among patients, and team climate and employee turn-over (nursing staff).DiscussionThe study, designed in close collaboration with staff members, patients and their relatives, will provide evidence for a co-operative and user-centred educational intervention aiming to decrease the prevalence of coercive methods and service use in the units, increase the functional status of patients and improve team climate in the units. We have identified no similar trials.</div

Quality and utilization of the Finnish clinical practice guideline in schizophrenia: evaluation using AGREE II and the vignette approach

Anu V&auml;h&auml;niemi,1,2 Maritta V&auml;lim&auml;ki,1,3,4 Virve Pekurinen,1 Minna Anttila,1 Tella Lantta1 1Department of Nursing Science, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; 2Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, City of Tampere, Tampere, Finland; 3Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland; 4School of Nursing, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, SAR, China Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the quality of the Finnish clinical practice guideline related to schizophrenia care and how it can be utilized in psychiatric services. Participants and methods: The data were collected from one psychiatric ward and seven psychiatric outpatient units situated in two cities in Southern Finland. A total of 49 professionals working in these sites participated in this study. A descriptive study design was adopted. The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) instrument with six domains including 23 items was used to assess the quality of the guideline, whereas a vignette was implemented to describe how staff would use the guideline in hypothetical cases in daily practice. The analysis of AGREE II was based on rating each of the 23 items on a seven-point scale and calculating a quality score for the six domains. To describe the utilization of the guideline, eight key recommendations of the guideline were deductively rated out of the respondents&rsquo; answers. Results: The results showed that the &ldquo;scope and purpose&rdquo; of the guideline were well described, but &ldquo;applicability&rdquo; was insufficient. The overall quality of the guideline was high (73%). Almost one fifth of the respondents were in agreement with key recommendations. Conclusion: The overall quality of Guideline for Schizophrenia was good, but its &ldquo;applicability&rdquo; and utilization should be improved. Keywords: mental health, psychiatric care, care quality, inpatient, outpatient, professional

Work stress and satisfaction with leadership among nurses encountering patient aggression in psychiatric care : a cross-sectional survey study

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