Dataset Information

Factors Influencing Professional Help-Seeking Behavior During First Episode Psychosis in Schizophrenia: An Exploratory Study on Caregivers' Perspective.

ABSTRACT: Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that leads to significant productivity loss and is listed in the top 15 global burdens of disease. One important contributor to the high disease burden is duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) which can be shortened with promotion of professional help-seeking behavior. This study explored caregivers' perspective on factors influencing professional help-seeking behavior during first episode psychosis (FEP) in schizophrenia in Malaysia. The results of this study would inform the development of intervention strategies targeted at promoting professional help-seeking behavior in caregivers of individuals experiencing first episode psychosis (FEP). This is a thematic exploratory study which employed purposive sampling using focus group discussion (FGD). These interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Basic thematic approach was used in analyzing the transcribed interviews. Two main themes identified were adequacy of knowledge and stigma. These two factors were found to co-influence each other. Stigma undermined the impact of knowledge on professional help-seeking; likewise, the reverse was also observed. Intervention strategies for promoting help-seeking behavior during FEP should simultaneously focus on improving knowledge about schizophrenia and reducing the stigma attached to it.

SUBMITTER: Wong DTL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7033507 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Factors Influencing Professional Help-Seeking Behavior During First Episode Psychosis in Schizophrenia: An Exploratory Study on Caregivers' Perspective.

Wong Daniel Teck Lung DTL Tong Seng Fah SF Daud Tuti Iryani Mohd TIM Aziz Salina Abdul SA Midin Marhani M

Frontiers in psychiatry 20200214

Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that leads to significant productivity loss and is listed in the top 15 global burdens of disease. One important contributor to the high disease burden is duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) which can be shortened with promotion of professional help-seeking behavior. This study explored caregivers' perspective on factors influencing professional help-seeking behavior during first episode psychosis (FEP) in schizophrenia in Malaysia. The results of this ...[more]

PMID: 32116809

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Project description:BackgroundLong duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is associated with poor outcomes and low quality of life at first contact with mental health services. However, long DUP is common. In order to inform initiatives to reduce DUP, we investigated service users' and carers' experiences of the onset of psychosis and help-seeking in two multicultural, inner London boroughs and the roles of participants' social networks in their pathways to care.MethodIn-depth interviews were conducted with service users and carers from an early intervention service in North London, purposively sampled to achieve diversity in sociodemographic characteristics and DUP and to include service users in contact with community organisations during illness onset. Interviews covered respondents' understanding of and reaction to the onset of psychosis, their help-seeking attempts and the reactions of social networks and health services. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts was conducted.ResultsMultiple barriers to prompt treatment included not attributing problems to psychosis, worries about the stigma of mental illness and service contact, not knowing where to get help and unhelpful service responses. Help was often not sought until crisis point, despite considerable prior distress. The person experiencing symptoms was often the last to recognise them as mental illness. In an urban UK setting, where involved, workers in non-health community organisations were frequently willing to assist help-seeking but often lacked skills, time or knowledge to do so.ConclusionEven modest periods of untreated psychosis cause distress and disruption to individuals and their families. Early intervention services should prioritise early detection. Initiatives aimed at reducing DUP may succeed not by promoting swift service response alone, but also by targeting delays in initial help-seeking. Our study suggests that strategies for doing this may include addressing the stigma associated with psychosis and community education regarding symptoms and services, targeting not only young people developing illness but also a range of people in their networks, including staff in educational and community organisations. Initiatives to enhance the effective involvement of staff in community organisations working with young people in promoting help-seeking merit research.

Project description:BackgroundIntervening at an early stage of psychosis improves the chances of recovery from first-episode psychosis. However, people who are experiencing distress and early psychotic symptoms generally seem to delay seeking help. Therefore, multifaced information campaigns targeting help-seeking behavior of potential patients and their network are considered important tools within early detection and intervention strategies. In this study, we aimed to explore which discursive meaning content, including roles and actors, such information campaigns build on and construct. Our intention was not to provide objective answers, but to contribute to a discursive debate about potential conflicts in messages conveyed in such campaigns.MethodsA broad sample of information material utilized by TIPS Stavanger University Hospital (Norway) was examined. The material consisted of posters, booklets and brochures, newspaper ads, Facebook ads, and TIPS Info's website, representing various campaigns from 1996 to April 2018. A narrative discursive approach was applied at an epistemological level. At a practical level, a team-based thematic analysis was utilized to identify patterns across data.ResultsDiversity and several changes in strategy were recognized throughout the information material. Furthermore, three main themes and four subthemes were found to constitute the meaning content built in the information campaigns: knowledge is key; (almost) an illness among illnesses; and we all have a responsibility (comprising of the subthemes; to respond quickly; to step in; to provide an answer; and to tag along).ConclusionOur findings pointed to common dilemmas in mental health services: How to combine professional expert knowledge with collaborative practices that emphasize shared decision-making and active roles on behalf of patients? How to combine a focus on symptoms and illness and simultaneously express the importance of addressing patients' recourses? And how can we ask for societal responsibility in help-seeking when professionals are placed in expert positions which may not be optimal for dialogue with potential patients or their network? We discuss whether highlighting practices with more weight on resources and active roles for patients and their surroundings in information campaigns could promote earlier help-seeking.

Project description:BackgroundAdolescents and young adults often suffer from depression, but tend to avoid seeking professional help. The aim of this study was to explore the reasons for non-professional-help-seeking in a sample of young adults resident in Catalonia with depressive symptoms through a qualitative study. In addition, the subjects were invited to offer their recommendations for making mental health care services more accessible.MethodsWe recruited 105 young persons (17-21 years of age) who had participated in a national survey on adolescents. The sample was divided into thirds, with 37 who had a previous diagnosis of depression, 33 who had self-perceived emotional distress, and 35 controls. The participants were interviewed in depth about their reasons for avoiding professional mental health care services, and the interview results were analyzed using both qualitative and cultural domain techniques and corroborated through comparison with the results of three focus groups.ResultsParticipants' reasons for avoidance varied both by gender and according to prior experience with health services. Male study participants and female controls mainly understood depressive symptoms as normal and therefore not requiring treatment. Female participants with self-perceived distress were more likely to cite problems of access to treatment and fear of speaking to an unknown person about their problems. Females with a diagnosis expressed lack of trust in the benefits of treatment and fear of the social consequences of help-seeking. In their recommendations for best practices, the study participants suggested educational initiatives, as well as changes in the organization of mental health care services.ConclusionsA better understanding of the views of young people and a greater effort to involve them as active participants is important for facilitating help-seeking in this age group, and for adapting mental health care services to adolescent users and their social context.

Project description:Background:A large number of Chinese suffer from common mental disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder), but treatment seeking is typically low in this population. It is unclear what barriers influence professional mental health help-seeking behavior within the Chinese population. Identifying these barriers could assist in implementation science efforts to reach this population. Objective:This review systematically synthesizes findings related to the barriers to professional mental health help-seeking among Chinese adults. Methods:Two English language databases (PubMed and PsycINFO) and two Chinese databases (WANFANGDATA and CNKI) were searched to find relevant studies. Quality assessment was conducted in identified studies. Quantitative findings were tabulated and frequently reported barriers were ranked. Primary data obtained from qualitative studies were thematically analyzed. Results:Of 6,933 citations identified, 17 met inclusion criteria. There were 11 (64%) studies that reported quantitative methods; 3 (18%) employed qualitative research, and 3 (18%) mixed methods. Results indicated that frequently reported barriers to mental health help seeking among Chinese adults included a preference on self-reliance, seeking help from alternative sources, low perceived need toward help-seeking, a lack of affordability, negative attitude toward, or poor experiences with help-seeking. Less frequently mentioned barriers included stigma, families' opposition, limited knowledge about mental illness, a lack of accessibility, unwillingness to disclose mental illness, and fear of burdening family. Conclusions:The current review identified a number of key barriers to help-seeking behavior. Effective strategies are needed to promote professional help-seeking among Chinese adults. Additional factors influencing professional mental health help-seeking need to be further investigated, as they may contribute to a better understanding the help-seeking behavior among Chinese.

Dataset Information

Factors Influencing Professional Help-Seeking Behavior During First Episode Psychosis in Schizophrenia: An Exploratory Study on Caregivers' Perspective.

Publications

Factors Influencing Professional Help-Seeking Behavior During First Episode Psychosis in Schizophrenia: An Exploratory Study on Caregivers' Perspective.

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