How can you compare data about mental health and mental capacity law across borders? #BIGSPD24

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Alex Ruck-Keene reviews a recent study from the island of Ireland, which compares mental health and mental capacity law data across international borders.

There’s an accompanying podcast interview with the review authors, as we prepare for the #BIGSPD24 conference in Belfast in June 2024.

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Opening ward doors doesn’t make staff any more coercive

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John Baker summarises a new Norwegian trial published last week, which compares an open-door policy to treatment-as-usual in urban psychiatric inpatient wards.

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From subject to cause: can patients’ circumstances predict the use of coercion in psychiatric hospital admissions?

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Nima Cas Hunt explores a recent research study carried out at a mental health hospital in Switzerland, which tries to predict coercion during the course of psychiatric hospitalisations.

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Trauma informed care on acute inpatient units: reducing self harm and restrictive practices

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Dr Kirsten Lawson is back! In this blog, Kirsten explores a service evaluation of trauma informed care practices in acute inpatient units, looking specifically at reductions in self-harm and restraint practices.

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Care or punishment? Black service users’ experiences of inpatient mental health care under detention

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Ian Cummins summarises findings from a recent qualitative study by Solanki et al. (2023), which explores the experiences of individuals from Black Ethnic backgrounds detained under the Mental Health Act (1983).

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Trans and gender diverse youth more likely to be admitted to hospital for suicidality and self-harm, according to US study

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Sarah Carr reflects on a recent US study that “perhaps tells us something deeper about the discrimination and stigmatisation in mental health that needs to be tackled.”

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Intensive home treatment in crisis: a randomised controlled trial from the Netherlands

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Lucy Maconick and Sonia Johnson appraise a recent trial conducted in Amsterdam, which finds that intensive home treatment substantially reduces the use of hospital beds in acute psychiatry, without compromising patient safety.

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Peer support does not reduce hospital readmissions: the final word?

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Danielle Lamb reviews a recent large randomised controlled trial on peer support for discharge from inpatient mental health care versus care as usual in England (the ENRICH study).

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Is High Intensity Interval Training a HIIT for psychiatric inpatients?

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Suzy Ker and Garry Tew consider a qualitative study exploring patient, carer and staff perspectives on implementing High Intensity Interval Training for service users in inpatient mental health settings.

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Prediction of psychosis and bipolar disorder in children and adolescents: the role of CAMHS

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Matthew Broome considers a Finnish study on the potential of predicting psychosis and bipolar disorder in young people who have previously used child and adolescent mental health services.

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