Core Principles Of Mental Health Research PDF

**[Core Principles Of Mental Health Research]** **[What Do We Measure In Mental Health?]** **[Prep Talk]** [Learning Objectives: ] - Introduce main domains of measurement in mental health research - Familiarise students with pros and cons of these measures [Selecting a measure for mental h...

**[Core Principles Of Mental Health Research]** **[What Do We Measure In Mental Health?]** **[Prep Talk]** [Learning Objectives: ] - Introduce main domains of measurement in mental health research - Familiarise students with pros and cons of these measures [Selecting a measure for mental health research:] 1. Formulate a very clear research question 2. Identify as precisely as possible the concepts involved in this question 3. Find the best measures you can of these concepts OR design your own [Outline:] Contexts in which scales are used: - Research studies: we use measures to: - Describe participants, including diagnosis - Measure outcomes of interventions - Measure potential aetiological variables, or other variable that may influence outcomes - In clinical practice: Measures used to: - Chart individual progress and assess individual needs - Audit or evaluate services - Assess needs within a service [Some Major Types of Measure: ] - Diagnosis - Symptoms - Psychological characteristics & cognitive functioning - Social functioning & disability - Quality of life & needs - Measures that matter to service users e.g., recovery and well-being [What is the purpose of making a research diagnosis?] - Epidemiology: cannot compare rates without all meeting similar criteria - Treatment Studies: need to understand who is being treated to understand outcomes - Alternatives: dimensional measurements [Types of Measures used in diagnosis:] Semi-Structured Interviews: - Allows exploration of symptoms in depth - Allows participants to tell their story rather than ticking boxes - Gold standard assessment - But relatively expensive and elaborate Structured Interviews: - Reasonable correlation with full diagnostic assessment - Don't require clinician/extensive training - Harder to adapt to participants e.g., with cognitive difficulties [Diagnostic Assessments: ] - Shorter scales or rating scales focused on a specific disorder: - Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI) - Conners' Adult ADHD Diagnostic Interview for DSM (CAADID) - Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) - Global scales leading to a full range of diagnoses: - Clinical interview schedule (CIS) - Scales for Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN) - Structured clinical interview for DSM-IV (SCID) - Mini international Neuropsychiatric interview (MINI) [Symptom Measures:] 1. Overall screening measures of psychological "caseness" (e.g., the GHQ) 2. Measures covering a range of symptoms of psychiatric disorder (e.g., the BPRS) 3. Measures developed specifically for a particular disorder (e.g., BDI) [Psychological Measures: ] - Many measures of psychological characteristics find application in mental health research e.g., - Personality traits relevant to mental health problems - Coping strategies & cognitive style - Cognitive functioning - Relationships and attachment: Adult Attachment interview, Camberwell family interview for expressed emotion [Social Functioning & Disability:] - Social functioning -- carrying out daily living activities and social roles -- from personal care to work - Disability -- limitations on activities that result from a physical impairment - Scales often informant-rates (clinicians, relatives) e.g., Social Functioning Questionnaire, Life Skills Profile - Interaction between illness/impairment and society: how much illness restricts social functioning depends both on social role expectations and on how much society helps you overcome the impairment [Social Functioning & Disability: ] Scales include: - GAF - WHODAS - SFQ [Quality of life:] - Two types of measures 1. Objective measures used in health economic analyses e.g., calculating how much a year's good quality life costs 2. Subjective measures where people asked to rate their satisfaction with various aspects of life - Correlation between objective and subjective quality of life is often low [Outcomes that service users value:] - When asked what's most important, service users are quite uninterested in symptoms - PROMS -- Patient-Rated Outcome Measures - Measures of self-rated recovery and hope reflect recovery movement in mental health (focus on a personal journey in which achieve own goals) - Measures of well-being are valued for capturing positive aspects of how people feel - Usefulness in measuring recovery from mental health problems not fully clear - Service users also often place high value on social relations. Focus of measures includes social network size, objective and subjective social support, loneliness, social capital