Ceri Wilson

Attentional Bias and Slowed Disengagement from Food and Threat Stimuli in Restrained Eaters Using a Modified Stroop Task

This experiment examined fast (orientation) and slow (disengagement) components of attention to food and interpersonal threat words in high and low restrained eaters using a modified Stroop task. Target words (food, interpersonal ego threat, neutral) were presented prior to a sequence of four matched neutral words. Participants were slow to disengage from food and ego threat words, and this pattern was particularly striking for the high restraint group. Findings show no evidence of an orientation bias but indicate that slowed disengagement from these stimuli can be demonstrated consistently using the Stroop task. However, restraint was not a significant predictor, and slowed disengagement was also found in the neutral condition, suggesting a categorical effect. This study provides important suggestions for modifications of Stroop tasks designed to target both attention bias and disengagement. Implications of slowed disengagement from disorder-relevant stimuli are discussed in relation to the development of disordered eating.

The impact of the arts in healthcare on patients and service users: A critical review

This review provides an updated evaluation of the emerging body of literature on the value of the arts in healthcare settings. Internationally, there is growing interest in the use of the arts in the healthcare context supported by the number of research studies reported in the nursing and medical literature. There is evidence that arts interventions have positive effects on psychological and physiological outcomes on patients in a hospital environment. A critical review of the literature between 2011 and 2016 was undertaken. The following databases were searched: MedLine, CINAHL, AMED, Web of Science and ASSIA. Searches included words from three categories: cultural activities, outcomes and healthcare settings. Initial searches identified 131 potentially relevant articles. Following screening and review by the research team, a total of 69 studies were included in the final review. The majority of studies examined the effect of music listening on patients/service users (76.8%). These studies were primarily quantitative focusing on the measurable effects of music listening in a surgical context. Overall, the studies in the review support the growing evidence base on the value of the arts in a variety of healthcare settings for patients/service users. The review findings suggest that now is the time for different voices and art forms to be considered and represented in the research on arts in healthcare. Further research is also required to strengthen the existing evidence base.

PROGRESS: The PROMISE Governance Framework to Decrease Coercion in Mental Healthcare

Reducing physical intervention in mental health inpatient care is a global priority. It is extremely distressing both to patients and staff. PROactive Management of Integrated Services and Environments (PROMISE) was developed within Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) to bring about culture change to decrease coercion in care. This study evaluates the changes in physical intervention numbers and patient experience metrics and proposes an easy-to-adopt and adapt governance framework for complex interventions. PROMISE was based on three core values of: providing a caring response to all distress; courage to challenge the status quo; and coproduction of novel solutions. It sought to transform daily front-line interactions related to risk-based restrictive practice that often leads to physical interventions. PROactive Governance of Recovery Settings and Services, a five-step governance framework (Report, Reflect, Review, Rethink and Refresh), was developed in an iterative and organic fashion to oversee the improvement journey and effectively translate information into knowledge, learning and actions. Overall physical interventions reduced from 328 to 241and210 across consecutive years (2014, 2015–2016 and 2016–2017, respectively). Indeed, the 2016–2017 total would have been further reduced to 126 were it not for the perceived substantial care needs of one patient. Prone restraints reduced from 82 to 32 (2015–2016 and 2016–2017, respectively). During 2016–2017, each ward had a continuous 3-month period of no restraints and 4 months without prone restrains. Patient experience surveys (n=4591) for 2014–2017 rated overall satisfaction with care at 87%. CPFT reported fewer physical interventions and maintained high patient experience scores when using a five-pronged governance approach. It has a summative function to define where a team or an organisation is relative to goals and is formative in setting up the next steps relating to action, learning and future planning.

Promoting mental wellbeing and social inclusion through art: six month follow-up results from Open Arts Essex

Abstract Previous evaluations have demonstrated improvements in well-being and social inclusion for people with mental health difficulties after participating in Open Arts’ introductory participatory arts courses. This evaluation aimed to ascertain whether improvements are maintained long-term. Course participants completed measures of well-being and social inclusion at the beginning and end of their course and after three and six months. At initial follow-up participants rated their experience of their course, and at three and six months they reported activities taken up after attending. Scores significantly increased from baseline to first follow-up and remained significantly higher than at baseline at three and six months. End-of-course ratings were positive and most participants continued their art work. Other activities included education/training and voluntary/paid work. Further studies are needed to examine whether improvements can be attributed with confidence to arts participation, but these results add to a growing weight of evidence pointing to that conclusion.

Does negative mood interact with eating style to predict attention bias towards and slowed disengagement from food stimuli

This study aimed to investigate whether trait eating behaviour interacts with negative mood to predict attention bias towards, and slowed disengagement from food. It was explored whether such biased attention predicts greater wanting of and actual consumption of high-fat snacks. Females completed the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire, and completed either a negative or neutral mood induction (listening to a piece of sad/neutral music whilst recalling an unhappy/neutral memory). Participants completed dot probe tasks with food/neutral picture pairs and a modified Stroop task with words presented in sequences of a food word followed by six neutral words (slowed colour-naming of food words indicating an orientation bias, slowed colour-naming of the neutral word following the food word indicating slowed disengagement). Preliminary analyses indicate no evidence of biased attention processing of food in the dot probe, regardless of restrained or emotional eating score or mood induction condition. In the food Stroop, response times were significantly longer for food words than all other word positions, with response times to food words being significantly positively correlated with emotional and external eating. Those in the negative condition displayed significantly greater wanting of crisps, and consumed significantly more chocolate fingers and Pringles in a ‘taste test’ than those in the neutral condition. Despite finding evidence of an orientation bias towards food, attention bias does not seem to mediate the negative mood/eating relationship, as task performance did not significantly predict consumption.