Katherine Rittenbach

Initial Findings from a Novel School-Based Program, EMPATHY, Which May Help Reduce Depression and Suicidality in Youth

We describe initial pilot findings from a novel school-based approach to reduce youth depression and suicidality, the Empowering a Multimodal Pathway Towards Healthy Youth (EMPATHY) program. Here we present the findings from the pilot cohort of 3,244 youth aged 11–18 (Grades 6-12). They were screened for depression, suicidality, anxiety, use of drugs, alcohol, or tobacco (DAT), quality-of-life, and self-esteem. Additionally, all students in Grades 7 and 8 (mean ages 12.3 and 13.3 respectively) also received an 8-session cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) based program designed to increase resiliency to depression. Following screening there were rapid interventions for the 125 students (3.9%) who were identified as being actively suicidal, as well as for another 378 students (11.7%) who were felt to be at higher-risk of self-harm based on a combination of scores from all the scales. The intervention consisted of an interview with the student and their family followed by offering a guided internet-based CBT program. Results from the 2,790 students who completed scales at both baseline and 12-week follow-up showed significant decreases in depression and suicidality. Importantly, there was a marked decrease in the number of students who were actively suicidal (from n=125 at baseline to n=30 at 12-weeks). Of the 503 students offered the CBT program 163 (32%) took part, and this group had significantly lower depression scores compared to those who didn’t take part. There were no improvements in self-esteem, quality-of-life, or the number of students using DAT. Only 60 students (2% of total screened) required external referral during the 24-weeks following study initiation. These results suggest that a multimodal school-based program may provide an effective and pragmatic approach to help reduce youth depression and suicidality. Further research is required to determine longer-term efficacy, reproducibility, and key program elements. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02169960

Academic Productivity in Psychiatry: Benchmarks for the H-Index

ObjectiveBibliometrics play an increasingly critical role in the assessment of faculty for promotion and merit increases. Bibliometrics is the statistical analysis of publications, aimed at evaluating their impact. The objective of this study is to describe h-index and citation benchmarks in academic psychiatry.MethodsFaculty lists were acquired from online resources for all academic departments of psychiatry listed as having residency training programs in Canada (as of June 2016). Potential authors were then searched on Web of Science (Thomson Reuters) for their corresponding h-index and total number of citations.ResultsThe sample included 1683 faculty members in academic psychiatry departments. Restricted to those with a rank of assistant, associate, or full professor resulted in 1601 faculty members (assistant = 911, associate = 387, full = 303). h-index and total citations differed significantly by academic rank. Both were highest in the full professor rank, followed by associate, then assistant. The range in each, however, was large.ConclusionsThis study provides the initial benchmarks for the h-index and total citations in academic psychiatry. Regardless of any controversies or criticisms of bibliometrics, they are increasingly influencing promotion, merit increases, and grant support. As such, benchmarking by specialties is needed in order to provide needed context.

Depression Outcomes in Adults Attending Family Practice Were Not Improved by Screening, Stepped-Care, or Online CBT during a 12-Week Study when Compared to Controls in a Randomized Trial

There is uncertainty regarding possible benefits of screening for depression in family practice, as well as the most effective treatment approach when depression is identified. Here, we examined whether screening patients for depression in primary care, and then treating them with different modalities, was better than treatment-as-usual (TAU) alone. Screening was carried out for depression using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), with a score of ≥10 indicating significant depressive symptoms. PHQ-9 scores were given to family physicians prior to patients being seen (except for the Control group). Patients (n = 1,489) were randomized to one of four groups. Group #1 were controls (n = 432) in which PHQ-9 was administered, but results were not shared. Group #2 was screening followed by TAU (n = 426). Group #3 was screening followed by both TAU and the opportunity to use an online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) treatment program (n = 440). Group #4 utilized an evidence-based Stepped-care pathway for depression (n = 191, note that this was not available at all clinics). Of the study sample 889 (60%) completed a second PHQ-9 rating at 12 weeks. There were no statistically significant differences in baseline PHQ-9 scores between these groups. Compared to baseline, mean PHQ-9 scores decreased significantly in the depressed patients over 12 weeks, but there were no statistically significant differences between any groups at 12 weeks. Thus, for those who were depressed at baseline Control group (Group #1) scores decreased from 15.3 ± 4.2 to 4.0 ± 2.6 (p < 0.001), Screening group (Group #2) scores decreased from 15.5 ± 3.9 to 4.6 ± 3.0 (p < 0.001), Online CBT group (Group #3) scores decreased from 15.4 ± 3.8 to 3.4 ± 2.7 (p < 0.01), and the Stepped-care pathway group (Group #4) scores decreased from 15.3 ± 3.6 to 5.4 ± 2.8 (p < 0.05). In conclusion, these findings from this controlled randomized study do not suggest that using depression screening tools in family practice improves outcomes. They also suggest that much of the depression seen in primary care spontaneously resolves and do not support suggestions that more complex treatment programs or pathways improve depression outcomes in primary care. Replication studies are required due to study limitations.

Long-term Results from the Empowering a Multimodal Pathway Toward Healthy Youth Program, a Multimodal School-Based Approach, Show Marked Reductions in Suicidality, Depression, and Anxiety in 6,227 Students in Grades 6–12 (Aged 11–18)

Here, we report on findings from a 15-month follow-up of a school-based program called Empowering a Multimodal Pathway Toward Healthy Youth (EMPATHY). This was primarily intended to reduce suicidal thinking in pre-teens, adolescents, and youth students aged 11–18 in middle schools (Grades 6–8) and high SCHOOLS (Grades 9–12). It also aimed to reduce depression and anxiety. The EMPATHY multimodal program consisted of repeated data collection, identification of a high-risk group, a rapid intervention for this high-risk group including offering supervised online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program, a universal CBT intervention for those in Grades 6–8, a variety of interactions with trained staff (“Resiliency Coaches”), and referral to external medical and psychiatric services where appropriate. There were four time-points at which assessments were made: baseline, 3, 7, and 15 months. Here, we report cross-sectional findings over 15 months in a total of 6,227 students who were assessed at least once during the study period. Additionally, we report longitudinal findings from the 1,884 students who completed all 4 assessments. Our results found highly statistically significant decreases in suicidality rates, with the percentage of the total school population who were actively suicidal decreasing from 4.4% at baseline (n = 143 of 3,244) to 2.8% at 15 months (n = 125 of 4,496) (p < 0.001). There were also highly statistically significant reductions in depression and anxiety scores at each time-point. Thus, Mean Depression scores at baseline for the entire student population were 3.73 ± 3.87 (n = 3,244) at baseline and decreased to 3.22 ± 3.52 (n = 4,496) (p < 0.001). Since most students were not depressed, whole population changes such as this may indicate impact in many areas. In the longitudinal analysis of students who completed all four assessments, there were also highly statistically significant improvements in depression and anxiety scores at all time-points. For example, depression scores decreased from a mean of 3.43 ± 3.67 (n = 1,884) at baseline to 2.95 ± 3.53 (n = 1,884) at 15-months (p < 0.001), while the number who were actively suicidal decreased from 69 to 37. These results suggest that school-based multimodal programs, utilizing a combination of interventions, can have meaningful benefits across entire school populations.

Are Complex Multimodal Interventions the Best Treatments for MentalHealth Disorders in Children and Youth

There is a pressing need for effective interventions to treat mental health disorders in children and youth. There is evidence for increasing incidence rates across a wide range of conditions, and these can lead to very significant long-term impacts. They include depression, anxiety, abuse of drugs and alcohol, and the impacts of a variety of traumas. Recently we have carried out a number of studies in which complex and multimodal interventions were either introduced and then studied, or were on-going but hadn’t previously been rigorously tested for efficacy. Here we present a review based upon some of these multimodal programs which examined outcomes in: (1) a schoolbased program to reduce depression and suicidal thinking in youth aged 11-17 years old in which all students were screened on an electronic tablet using standard scales for depression and suicidal thinking followed by the option of an internet-based cognitive behavioural program; (2) a screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) program to help youth aged 11-17 years old who had significant drug and/or alcohol abuse in which initial screening for drug and alcohol use was followed by the options of an internet-based cognitive behavioural program and referral to child and adolescent specialists; and (3) outcomes following trauma experienced by children aged 5-12 years old in two separate programs in which a complex intervention was used involving 2-3 hours of weekly interventions for both the child and a primary care-giver. The depression, suicidal thinking, and drug and alcohol results were from a large school-based program involving over 6,200 youth termed the Empowering a Multimodal Pathway Towards Healthy Youth (EMPATHY) program, for which 15-month outcomes are recently available. The other two programs treated child victims of trauma. These were firstly in an intensive 8-12 month outpatient intervention program with 50 children aged 5-11 years old who developed an attachment disorder following trauma, given in a dyad model involving their primary caregiver. Secondly, in a 12-month program for 40 children aged 8-12 years old who were victims of childhood sexual abuse, which included intermittent residential treatment. The details of the programs varied greatly, but all involved multimodal methods of treatment. In terms of outcomes, all of these programs found significant longer-term improvements in multiple areas. In conclusion, our findings from this review suggest that future research and clinical programs should consider multimodal approaches for the treatment of mental health disorders in children and youth, and future research should directly compare such programs to individual therapeutic approaches.

Enhancing peer support experience for patients discharged from acute psychiatric care: protocol for a randomised controlled pilot trial

Introduction This study will evaluate the effectiveness of an innovative peer support programme. The programme incorporates leadership training, mentorship, recognition and reward systems for peer support workers, and supportive/reminder text messaging for patients discharged from acute (hospital) care. We hypothesise that patients enrolled in the peer support system plus daily supportive/reminder text messages condition will achieve superior outcomes in comparison to other groups. Methods and analysis This is a prospective, rater-blinded, four-arm randomised controlled trial. 180 patients discharged from acute psychiatric care in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada will be randomised to one of four conditions: (1) enrolment in a peer support system; (2) enrolment in a peer support system plus automated daily supportive/reminder text messages; (3) enrolment in automated daily supportive/reminder text messages alone; or (4) treatment as usual follow-up care. Patients in each group will complete evaluation measures (eg, recovery, general symptomatology and functional outcomes) at baseline, 6 months and 12months. Patient service utilisation data and clinician-rated measures will also be used to gauge patient progress. Patient data will be analysed with descriptive statistics, repeated measures and correlational analyses. The peer support worker experience will be captured using qualitative methods. Ethics and dissemination The study will be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (Hong Kong Amendment) and Good Clinical Practice (Canadian Guidelines). The study has received ethical clearance from the Health Ethics Research Board of the University of Alberta (Ref # Pro00078427) and operational approval from our regional health authority (AHS- (PRJ) #35293). All participants will provide informed consent prior to study inclusion. The results will be disseminated at several levels, including patients/peer supports, practitioners, academics/researchers, and healthcare organisations. Trial registration number NCT03404882; Pre-results.

Patient engagement, treatment preferences and shared decision-making in the treatment of opioid use disorder in adults: a scoping review protocol

Introduction Opioid use disorder (OUD) is characterised by the fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual as a problematic pattern of opioid use (eg, fentanyl, heroin, oxycodone) that leads to clinically significant impairment. OUD diagnoses have risen substantially over the last decade, and treatment services have struggled to meet the demand. Evidence suggests when patients with chronic illnesses are matched with their treatment preferences and engaged in shared decision-making (SDM), health outcomes may improve. However, it is not known whether SDM could impact outcomes in specific substance use disorders such as OUD. Methods and analysis A scoping review will be conducted according to Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and by recommendations from Levac et al. The search strategy was developed to retrieve relevant publications from database inception and June 2017. MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database for Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database for Systematic Reviews and reference lists of relevant articles and Google Scholar will be searched. Included studies must be composed of adults with a diagnosis of OUD, and investigate SDM or its constituent components. Experimental, quasi-experimental, qualitative, case–control, cohort studies and cross-sectional surveys will be included. Articles will be screened for final eligibility according to title and abstract, and then by full text. Two independent reviewers will screen excluded articles at each stage. A consultation phase with expert clinicians and policy-makers will be added to set the scope of the work, refine research questions, review the search strategy and identify additional relevant literature. Results will summarise whether SDM impacts health and patient-centred outcomes in OUD. Ethics and dissemination Scoping review methodology is considered secondary analysis and does not require ethics approval. The final review will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal, disseminated at relevant academic conferences and will be shared with policy-makers, patients and clinicians.

The psychiatry resident research experience

BackgroundResearch activity is especially critical in the field of psychiatry as it is evolving rapidly thanks to advances in neuroscience.ResultsWe administered a 34-item survey regarding research experiences targeted at psychiatry residents and postgraduate residency program directors in Canada. One hundred and nineteen participants answered the survey (16 program directors, 103 residents) allowing for a margin of error of 8.4% at a 95% confidence interval. Research was rated as important in informing clinical practice (87.0% yes, 13.0% no), but only 28.7% of respondents reported that it was taught well at their home institution (33.0% no, 38.3% neutral). Only a small proportion was enthusiastic or very enthusiastic about participating in research (21.7%).ConclusionsWhile the importance of research is recognized, there is little consensus with respect to whether a standardized research practicum component is included in the resident curriculum.