Advocacy in Mental Health - Essay Example

Advocacy in Mental Health Introduction Mental illness accounts for a vast proportion of the overall disease burden in the UK (Clark, Field & Layard 2315), costing the National Health Service nearly £10.4 billion annually; it is currently estimated that nearly 11 million people of the working age population suffer mental health illnesses while about 5.5 million others suffer from a common mental disorder. Over the years, there has been increased advocacy on the issue of mental health with a number of empirical research findings on the subject emerging annually; this paper will highlight a number of key articles that influence policy in relation to mental health. Precisely, this paper will give an account of all the research done on the subject of mental health summarizing the main arguments, points, as well as scope of each source while evaluating them on their merits and making comparisons. Annotated Bibliography Fear, Nicola T., et al. "What are the Consequences of Deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan on the Mental Health of the UK Armed Forces? A Cohort Study." The Lancet 375.9728 (2010): 1783-97. This article voices its advocacy in the field of mental health by examining the consequences of deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan on the mental health of the UK armed forces through a cohort study following the increased concerns over the possible psychological effects of continued exposure to combat as well as successive deployments on service men and women. This study establishes that the UK service men and women are more likely to present with symptoms of common mental disorders as well as alcohol misuse than they are with symptoms of probable post-traumatic stress disorders (Fear 1783). More so, this study indicates that the overall incidence of mental disorder in the UK service men and women remained constant between 2003 and 2009, despite the prolonged deployments to Afghanistan as well as Iraq in the same period, thereby underscoring the fact that the mental health of UK army personnel has not changed. These findings are extremely reassuring especially in the context of the anticipated tidal wave of mental health complications as a result of increased deployments and prolonged exposure to combat. The research methodology data utilized in this research is not only objective but also valid since it is obtained and analyzed through empirical research methods and it is appropriate to the topic because it is based on a sample population from the UK cohort study. This research is very helpful to policy in mental health in particular since it informs or shapes argument regarding army deployments and levels of exposure of service men to combat, besides underscoring the significance of regular health surveillance in the UK military personnel. For instance, this research supports the suitability of the UK military’s harmony guidelines that stipulate the endorsed number of deployments as well as the length of time between subsequent deployments. Overall, this research informs or shapes mental health policy by highlighting that the time difference between military deployments rather than the number of deployments is the single most critical factor influencing the mental health of the UK military service personnel. Giuseppe, Carrà & Sonia, Johnson. “Variations in rates of comorbid substance use in psychosis between mental health settings and geographical areas in the UK.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 44.6 (2009): 429-47.  In the same spirit of advocacy for mental health, this article also examines the differences in the rates of comorbid substance use in psychosis between the settings of mental health and physical locations in the UK through a systemic review. Like their previous colleagues, these two make remarkable contributions to the field of mental health by arriving at the conclusion that rates of substance abuse in psychosis are strongly related to the service setting, population composition, as well as geography (Giuseppe & Sonia 429). This research argues that knowledge of the clinical populations that are highly predisposed to comorbid substance misuse in psychosis is essential for the establishment of an informed approach to the planning of service delivery, particularly because such dual diagnosis is strongly linked to numerous clinical, social, as well as legal issues. This research investigates comorbid alcohol and drug misuse rates among population with proven psychosis in varying mental health and addiction settings in the UK in addition to the differences in these rates among different population groups. Precisely, a key point of particular concern in this research is the finding that comorbid drug and alcohol misuse problems persist among people with established schizophrenia among other severe psychoses since these populations are closely associated with poorer clinical and social outcomes. This source is adequately researched and its broad focus guarantees a wider perspective on the topic of dual diagnosis in the psychosis population; it is extremely helpful since it highlights the specific clinical populations that are highly predisposed to comorbid substance misuse in psychosis thereby enabling establishment of an informed approach to the planning of service delivery. The research methodology data used in this research is valid to the topic of mental health in the UK because it highlights the issue of dual diagnosis among people with schizophrenia among other serious psychoses. Overall, this research is objective because it bases its arguments on findings and evidences from previous empirical studies through a systemic review of literature, and it does shift thinking concerning promotion of health and the health promotion practice in general. Hannigan, Ben & Allen, Davina. "Complexity and Change in the United Kingdoms System of Mental Health Care." Social Theory & Health 4.3 (2006): 244-63.  This article advocates for mental health in the UK by focusing on the complex and dynamic nature of work systems; the UK’s mental health care system is complex and has been changing over the years. This article argues that by focusing on the whole systems management approach and promoting competence in the provision of health and social care services, policymakers risk being ignorant of the complex and dynamic nature of work systems (Hannigan & Allen 244). This study exploits the sociological perspectives of the distinction of tasks to reinforce numerous case studies in the historical evolution through to the present situations in the ecology of the UK mental health care. The main argument in this literature is that the world of work is not only complex and dynamic, but also an interrelated system, which explains the highly diverse range of case studies in the historical evolution of mental health care in the UK, as well as the distinctive present characteristics of the mental health care. This research is appropriate to the topic of mental health since it highlights the need of policymakers to bear in mind that systems of work are always modernizing by developing in unpredictable as well as unmanageable ways even as they shift to the relatively under conceptualized systemic view of management. This research is critical to thinking in the promotion of international health, and practice besides shaping argument in perspectives of public health because it highlights that the area of mental health is complex and liable to change, thereby increasing awareness among policymaker, practitioners, as well as other stakeholders in the field of health and social care. Mcguire-Snieckus, Rebecca, et al. “A new scale to assess the therapeutic relationship in community mental health care: STAR.” Psychological Medicine, 37.1 (2007): 85-95.  This article applies the psychometric principles for test construction to establish a new measure of the clinician-patient therapeutic relationship in community psychiatry, particularly because this relationship is at the core of care offering in community mental health services. This research highlights that the quality of the clinician therapeutic relationship is strongly related to the level of treatment adherence as well as outcomes in a number of patient diagnoses and diversified treatment contexts (Mcguire-Snieckus et al 85). The main argument in this research is that scales meant for conventional psychotherapy are highly ineffective for the assessment of therapeutic relationship particularly because the treatment of mental illnesses is unique from that of psychotherapy at so many levels. For instance, they highlight that the psychiatric area has numerous organizational settings such as in/out-patient clinics, community mental health centers, as well as patients’ homes, and the duration of treatment is eclectic while the specialized responsibilities are heterogeneous. Overall, this research is highly significant to policy and practice in the field of mental health problems in the UK because it recommends the application of an empirical measure in the assessment of the quality of therapeutic relationship in the psychiatric setting. Morgan, Z, Brugha Traolach, Fryers, Tom, & Stewart-Brown, Sarah. “The effects of parent-child relationships on later life mental health status in two national birth cohorts.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 47.11 (2012): 1707-15.  Like the others, this article contributes to the on-going advocacy in the field of mental health by drawing inspirations from the documented evidence of a strong connection between abusive as well as neglectful childrearing with adulthood mental illnesses to examine the connection between mental health in adulthood and the parent-child relationship. They argue that given the heightened focus on mental illnesses today, it is equally important to assess the possibility of parent-child relationship as a potential risk factor for later age mental health. This study highlights that, just like abusive or neglectful parenting, problematic parent-child relationships do contribute to later life mental health problems (Morgan, Brugha, Fryers & Brown 1707); consequently, this study is significant to the topic of mental health since it highlights that parenting support interventions are effective strategies for preventing the pervasiveness of mental illnesses in later life. This research is helpful since it influences policy formulation in the area of health promotion while influencing general perspectives in public health; for instance, policymakers are increasingly recognizing the need to promote parenting support programmes while reducing child poverty to promote future mental health. The data used in this study is both valid and objective since it is based on empirical studies through empirical methods of investigation and data analyses thereby underpinning the conclusion that poor parent-child relationships are strongly related with high prevalence of mental health problems in later life. Rutter Paul, Taylor Denise & Branford Dave. "Mental Health Curricula at Schools of Pharmacy in the United Kingdom and Recent Graduates Readiness to Practice." American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 77.7 (2013): 147. This article contributes to the prevailing advocacy for mental health by assessing the content in the UK mental health curricular, particularly in pharmacy schools as well as the levels of preparedness of outgoing graduates for practice in actual life situations. This research highlights that the common mental health conditions such as depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, as well as the Parkinson disease are covered by the curriculum, except the more advanced specialties such as autism as well as personality disorder (Rutter, Taylor, & Branford 147). This research argues that the mental health section of UK’s undergraduate Pharmacy curricular is largely theoretical and pharmacy graduates do not get adequate practical experience since they are not exposed to mental health patients. This research is valid and appropriate to the topic because it highlights a crucial systemic weakness in the preparation of Pharmacy graduates; this research does influence planning in the health education and perspectives in public health. Taylor, Cath et al. “Changes in mental health of UK hospital consultants since the mid-1990s.” The Lancet, 366.9487 (2005): 742-4.  This article assess the mental health shifts in the UK hospital consultants by examining surveys done in the mid-1990s and in 2000, which yields the findings that the number of consultants with psychiatric morbidity increased from 235 in 1994 to 414 in 2002. Similarly, these surveys also showed that the rate of emotional exhaustion went up from 32% in 1994 to 41% in 2002 while multivariate analyses indicated that high levels of work-related stress coupled with commensurate decline in job satisfaction were strongly related with the deteriorating mental health, particularly in clinical and surgical oncologists (Taylor et al 742). According to this study, the deterioration of mental health among the UK consultants, as a result of work-related stress and lack of job satisfaction, is a crucial concern not only for the group itself, but also for their patients as well as families; precisely, this research argues that the changes in the National Health Service (NHS) that aim to promote outcomes for patients on one hand seem to be having a negative impact on the lives of consultants on the other hand. The research methodology data is valid and appropriate to this topic since it addresses the emerging deterioration in the mental health of consultants partly as a result of the numerous changes in the NHS; this research is objective because it draws insights from quantitative surveys in the defined periods while utilizing qualitative data analyses and interpretation tools to arrive at its conclusions. This research is very useful since it provides significant insights on the deteriorating mental health of consultants, thereby underscoring the need for immediate policy action to enhance the working lives of consultants. Consequently, this research does influence thinking in relation to the practice of health promotion, health education research, as well as perspectives in the public health debates among other fields accordingly. Ultimately, a vast proportion of the literature covered in this review have addressed relevant concerns in relation to the issue of mental health care, provision, and policy in the UK, thereby underpinning the significance of this area in the overall social care framework. Similarly, these sources are highly beneficial since each one of them highlights critical areas of focus with regards to the issue of mental health in the UK thereby consequently affecting thinking and arguments in health promotion across the world, and in health promotion practice in particular. Nonetheless, the effects of these resources trickle down to the area of health education research by contributing valuable knowledge to the health education journals while transforming general perspectives in the public health domain respectively. Works Cited Clark David, Field Steve & Layard Richard. "Mental Health Loses Out in the National Health Service." The Lancet 379.9834 (2012): 2315-6. Fear, Nicola T., et al. "What are the Consequences of Deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan on the Mental Health of the UK Armed Forces? A Cohort Study." The Lancet 375.9728 (2010): 1783-97. Giuseppe, Carrà & Sonia, Johnson. “Variations in rates of comorbid substance use in psychosis between mental health settings and geographical areas in the UK.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 44.6 (2009): 429-47.  Hannigan, Ben, & Allen, Davina. "Complexity and Change in the United Kingdoms System of Mental Health Care." Social Theory & Health 4.3 (2006): 244-63.  Mcguire-Snieckus, Rebecca, et al. “A new scale to assess the therapeutic relationship in community mental health care: STAR.” Psychological Medicine, 37.1 (2007): 85-95.  Morgan, Z, Brugha Traolach, Fryers, Tom, & Stewart-Brown, Sarah. “The effects of parent-child relationships on later life mental health status in two national birth cohorts.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 47.11 (2012): 1707-15.  Rutter, Paul, Taylor, Denise & Branford, Dave. "Mental Health Curricula at Schools of Pharmacy in the United Kingdom and Recent Graduates Readiness to Practice." American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 77.7 (2013): 147. Taylor, Cath et al. “Changes in mental health of UK hospital consultants since the mid-1990s.” The Lancet, 366.9487 (2005): 742-4.  Read More