BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a common, lifelong inflammatory skin disease, the severity of which can range from limited disease involving a small body surface area to extensive skin involvement. It is associated with high levels of physical and psychosocial disability and a range of comorbidities, including cardiovascular disease, and it is currently incurable…
A results and replication dataset for an AQoL-6D utility mapping study. Contains model catalogues and model meta-data that can be used in conjunction with the youthu R package to predict AQoL-6D in clinical youth mental health samples…
An R package that provides tools for authoring R Markdown programs and subroutines that implement or report mental helath modelling analysis developed with ready4 framework tools…
A dataset of synthetic (fake) data to illustrate the outputs of applying TTU R package methods to a synthetic dataset of EQ-5D and mental health measures…
An R program to replicate all steps from an AQoL-6D utility mapping study from original data ingest through analysis, reporting and results dissemination…
A dataset of synthetic (fake) data to illustrate the outputs of applying TTU R package methods to a synthetic dataset of AQoL-6D and mental health measures…
An R package that contains tools for creating model catalogues and scientific summaries for utility mapping studies and uploading study outputs to online repositories…
An R program that provides a worked example of how AQoL-6D mapping models intended for use in clinical youth mental health samples can be used to make health utility predictions using new data…
An R program to generate a synthetic (fake) dataset similar to that used to map a range of psychological measures to AQoL-6D health utility in a clinical sample of young people…
This is the first study to describe psychometric properties of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) in a large cohort of help-seeking young people presenting to primary mental health care services. The aim was to determine whether the K6 was appropriate for monitoring outcomes in such settings. 1067 young people were recruited from Australian headspace services…
Background Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) are often used in economic evaluations, yet utility weights for deriving them are rarely directly measured in mental health services. Objectives We aimed to: (i) identify the best Transfer To Utility (TTU) algorithms and predictors for adolescent weighted Assessment of Quality of Life - six dimensions (AQoL-6D) health utility and (ii) assess ability of TTU algorithms to predict longitudinal change. Methods We recruited 1107 young people attending Australian primary mental health services, collecting data at two time points, three months apart. Five linear and three generalised linear models were explored to identify the best TTU algorithm…
BACKGROUND: headspace centres provide enhanced primary mental healthcare for young people. A priority is to provide services for all young people irrespective of a range of social disadvantages or social exclusion…
Objective The objective of the Entourage project was to develop an innovative digital mental health intervention addressing key barriers experienced by young people in accessing evidence?? based therapy for social anxiety. In particular, Entourage takes a specific focus on reaching young men, given their lower rates of service engagement. Method This article discusses the theoretical underpinnings, therapeutic mechanisms, persuasive technology elements, and development process of a novel approach incorporating graphic medicine, clinical and peer support, and social networking.Results Based on an integrated cognitive model of social anxiety disorder and consistent with the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), a novel digital intervention for social anxiety was developed (Entourage)…
<h4>Background: </h4> Suicide is the leading cause of death among young Australians, accounting for one-third of all deaths in those under 25. Schools are a logical setting for youth suicide prevention activities, with universal, selective and indicated approaches all demonstrating efficacy…
PURPOSE: Headspace services provide treatment options to young people seeking mental healthcare. To obtain a better understanding of needs and characteristics of this population, and effectively evaluate services, we require novel youth-specific outcome measures…
AIM: People diagnosed with mental disorders experience higher rates of unemployment than those without. Career adaptability, defined as the ability to respond flexibly and make informed career decisions in work and throughout career transitions, is becoming increasingly important as the nature of work changes rapidly…
Aim People diagnosed with mental disorders experience higher rates of unemployment than those without. Career adaptability, defined as the ability to respond flexibly and make informed career decisions in work and throughout career transitions, is becoming increasingly important as the nature of work changes rapidly…
The exact transmission route of many respiratory infectious diseases remains a subject for debate to date. The relative contribution ratio of each transmission route is largely undetermined, which is affected by environmental conditions, human behaviour, the host and the microorganism…
Objective The primary objective was to determine the acceptability, feasibility and safety of a novel digital intervention (Entourage) for young people with prominent social anxiety symptoms, with a particular focus on the engagement of young men. The secondary aim was to explore whether the intervention was associated with clinically significant improvements to clinical and social variables known to co-occur with social anxiety…
Aim Approximately 15 years ago, four youth access clinics (YACs) were established in the Gippsland region to improve mental and general healthcare for young people living in the region. The aim of the study was to examine the barriers and enablers for young people accessing the YACs in Gippsland…
Cognitive compensatory interventions aim to alleviate psychosocial disability by targeting functioning directly using aids and strategies, thereby minimizing the impact of cognitive impairment. The aim was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of cognitive compensatory interventions for psychosis by examining the effects on functioning and symptoms, and exploring whether intervention factors, study design, and age influenced effect sizes.Electronic databases (Ovid Medline, PsychINFO) were searched up to October 2018…
Aim A growing number of quantitative studies have investigated the utility of neuropsychological assessment in mental health settings. However, to the best of our knowledge, no previous study has qualitatively explored youth mental health providers' perceptions of neuropsychological assessment services…
Recent studies have shown that neuropsychological assessment is a scarce resource in youth mental health settings. The need for neuropsychological assessment might differ in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas due to characteristics inherent to these different regions…
Objective To determine the perceived met and unmet need for clinical neuropsychological assessment (CNA) in headspace youth mental health services Australia wide. Method Brief online survey of headspace service providers exploring the number and types of clients seen, confidence in identifying neurocognitive impairments, and need, availability and usefulness of CNA…
Objectives: To explore the potential utility of clinical stage and mental disorder categories as a basis for determining which attributes of youth mental health care should be offered to which groups of young people. Methods: In June 2017, we conducted an online survey of youth mental health clinicians that collected information on the participants' background and areas of expertise, then presented vignettes describing young people with different stages of six mental disorders (disorder-based vignettes were matched to participants' area of expertise)…
Objective: To identify attributes of youth mental health care for which there is evidence of potential cost-effectiveness. Study design: We performed a literature review of economic evaluations that examined both costs and outcomes for attributes of youth mental health care other than pharmacological or individual psychological therapies for full-threshold disorders…
A suggested policy framework for addressing mental health reform in Australia. Addresses the failure to resource and integrate mental health into the mainstream of the health care system…
Background Psoriasis is a common long-term, immune-mediated skin condition associated with behavioural factors (e.g. smoking, excess alcohol, obesity), which increase the risk of psoriasis onset, flares and comorbidities. Motivational interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based approach to health-related behaviour change that has been used successfully for patients with long-term conditions…
Aim Implementation of targeted e-mental health interventions offers a promising solution to reducing the burden of disease associated with youth depression. A single-group pilot study was conducted to evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, usability and safety of a novel, moderated online social therapy intervention (entitled Rebound) for depression relapse prevention in young people…
Mortality from mental illnesses is increasing and, because they frequently occur early in the life cycle, they are the largest source of disability and reduced economic productivity of all non-communicable diseases. Successful mental health reform can reduce the mortality, morbidity, growing welfare costs and losses in economic productivity caused by mental illness…
The design, testing and scaling up of youth mental health service reforms in Australia over the past decade provides valuable lessons for the future of health reform in Australia. In particular, the initial successes of headspace in improving access, service satisfaction and outcomes for young people with emerging mental illnesses has established a platform for reorienting mental health care towards earlier, more holistic care that is increasingly being delivered in multi-disciplinary enhanced primary care settings…
Psoriasis is a common, life-long inflammatory skin condition associated with high levels of physical, psychological and social disability as well as co-morbidities including psoriatic arthritis, the metabolic syndrome, Crohn’s disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Psoriasis is also associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), however the relationship is not yet wholly understood and is confounded by common co-occurrence of unhealthy lifestyle behaviours such as smoking, drinking excess alcohol or being overweight or sedentary…
Background Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair aims to prevent premature death from AAA rupture. Elective repair is currently recommended when AAA diameter reaches 5.5 cm (men) and 5.0 cm (women)…
Background Psoriasis frequently requires lifetime control and current therapies vary significantly in price. High-quality economic evaluations are necessary to determine if higher-cost treatments are value for money…