Pamela Wener

Mapping interventions that promote mental health in the general population: A scoping review of reviews.

Health policies and programs promoting mental health or preventing mental illness in the general public are under-recognized facets of primary prevention. Increasing awareness and adoption of such strategies could reduce the burden of mental illness in individuals, families, communities, and society as whole. We conducted a scoping review of reviews of interventions to promote mental health or prevent mental illness. We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, Cochrane CENTRAL, CINAHL and ERIC from 2004 to 2014. Reviews were included if the authors indicated a systematic approach in their literature searches, and if they comprised interventions in Westernized countries targeting the general population. We identified 39 reviews that met the inclusion criteria. Mental health intervention approaches and outcomes varied across age groups and settings, and included functional, social, and cognitive measures. Most interventions aimed to prevent a specific mental illness or symptoms (depression, anxiety, burnout, or stress). Cognitive-behavioral therapy and educational components were common. School-based programs focused on outcomes involving social and academic development. Interventions for families, especially for young or disadvantaged parents, taught parenting skills to help improve the well-being of children and their care-givers. In the workplace, the focus was on managing stress, while programs for the elderly emphasized quality of life determinants. This review summarizes a wide variety of interventions to promote mental health or prevent mental illness, but the literature is primarily focused on the individual or family unit. More information is required about interventions at the community and societal levels.

Use of a qualitative methodological scaffolding process to design robust interprofessional studies

Increasingly, researchers are using qualitative methodology to study interprofessional collaboration (IPC). With this increase in use, there seems to be an appreciation for how qualitative studies allow us to understand the unique individual or group experience in more detail and form a basis for policy change and innovative interventions. Furthermore, there is an increased understanding of the potential of studying new or emerging phenomena qualitatively to inform further large-scale studies. Although there is a current trend toward greater acceptance of the value of qualitative studies describing the experiences of IPC, these studies are mostly descriptive in nature. Applying a process suggested by Crotty (1998) may encourage researchers to consider the value in situating research questions within a broader theoretical framework that will inform the overall research approach including methodology and methods. This paper describes the application of a process to a research project and then illustrates how this process encouraged iterative cycles of thinking and doing. The authors describe each step of the process, shares decision-making points, as well as suggests an additional step to the process. Applying this approach to selecting data collection methods may serve to guide and support the qualitative researcher in creating a well-designed study approach.

Advancing the use of theory in occupational therapy: A collaborative process / Promouvoir l’application de la théorie en ergothérapie : un processus de collaboration

Background. Theory is important to the growth and evolution of occupational therapy. However, use of theory remains challenging for many therapists. Purpose. The aim was to develop a process that occupational therapists could apply to advance theory in practice. Method. Based on a review of the literature and using a qualitative instrumental case study design, 18 student occupational therapists and eight fieldwork educators completed online modules on the theory advancement concepts generated from the literature, wrote journals, and/or participated in online discussions during fieldwork. Following fieldwork, educators were interviewed and students participated in focus groups exploring their experiences. Directed content analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings. Based on the data collected, we developed the Theory Advancement Process (TAP). The TAP is composed of four primary contexts, a climate of collaborative relationships with four key elements, and four essential processes. Implications. The TAP presents a collaborative process for students, faculty, and therapists to work together to advance the use of theory in practice. Description. La théorie est essentielle à la croissance et l’évolution de l’ergothérapie. Toutefois, l’application de la théorie représente toujours un défi pour de nombreux ergothérapeutes. But. Élaborer un processus que les ergothérapeutes pourront utiliser pour appliquer la théorie à la pratique. Méthodologie. Dans le cadre d’une recension des écrits et d’une étude de cas instrumentale et qualitative, dix-huit étudiants en ergothérapie et huit enseignants cliniques ont effectué des modules en ligne sur les concepts de l’avancement de la théorie tirés de la littérature; les participants ont également tenu un journal de bord ou ont pris part à des discussions en ligne pendant les stages. Après les stages, les enseignants ont été interviewés et les étudiants ont participé à des groupes de discussion en vue d’explorer leurs expériences. Une analyse de contenu dirigée a été utilisée pour analyser les données. Résultats. En nous basant sur les données recueillies, nous avons conçu le Theory Advancement Process (TAP). Le TAP est composé de quatre contextes primaires, d’un climat de relations fondées sur la collaboration comportant quatre éléments clés et de quatre processus essentiels. Conséquences. Le TAP présente un processus de collaboration permettant aux étudiants faculté et aux thérapeutes de travailler ensemble en vue de promouvoir l’application de la théorie dans la pratique.

Collaborating in the context of co-location: a grounded theory study

BackgroundMost individuals with mental health concerns seek care from their primary care provider, who may lack comfort, knowledge, and time to provide care. Interprofessional collaboration between providers improves access to primary mental health services and increases primary care providers’ comfort offering these services. Building and sustaining interprofessional relationships is foundational to collaborative practice in primary care settings. However, little is known about the relationship building process within these collaborative relationships. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to gain a theoretical understanding of the interprofessional collaborative relationship-building process to guide health care providers and leaders as they integrate mental health services into primary care settings.MethodsForty primary and mental health care providers completed a demographic questionnaire and participated in either an individual or group interview. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were reviewed several times and then individually coded. Codes were reviewed and similar codes were collapsed to form categories using using constant comparison. All codes and categories were discussed amongst the researchers and the final categories and core category was agreed upon using constant comparison and consensus.ResultsA four-stage developmental interprofessional collaborative relationship-building model explained the emergent core category of Collaboration in the Context of Co-location. The four stages included 1) Looking for Help, 2) Initiating Co-location, 3) Fitting-in, and 4) Growing Reciprocity. A patient-focus and communication strategies were essential processes throughout the interprofessional collaborative relationship-building process.ConclusionsBuilding interprofessional collaborative relationships amongst health care providers are essential to delivering mental health services in primary care settings. This developmental model describes the process of how these relationships are co-created and supported by the health care region. Furthermore, the model emphasizes that all providers must develop and sustain a patient-focus and communication strategies that are flexible. Applying this model, health care providers can guide the creation and sustainability of primary care interprofessional collaborative relationships. Moreover, this model may guide health care leaders and policy makers as they initiate interprofessional collaborative practice in other health care settings.

A Scoping Approach to Systematically Review Published Reviews: Adaptations and Recommendations.

Knowledge translation is a central focus of the health research community, which includes strategies to synthesize published research to support uptake within health care practice and policy arenas. Within the literature concerning review methodologies, a new discussion has emerged concerning methods that review and synthesize published review articles. In this paper, our multidisciplinary team from family medicine, nursing, dental hygiene, kinesiology, occupational therapy, physiology, population health, clinical psychology, and library sciences contributes to this discussion by sharing our experiences in conducting 3 scoping reviews of published review studies. A brief discussion of Cochrane Collaboration overview reviews and Joanna Briggs Institute umbrella reviews foreshadows a discussion of insights from our experiences of conducting the 3 scoping reviews of published reviews. We address 6 adaptations along with our recommendations for each, which may guide other researchers with designing scoping review approaches to synthesize published reviews. The ability of researchers to publish research findings is growing, and our ability to effectively transfer findings into useful evidence for health care practice and policy is imperative to our work.

Contributing to the sustainability of Interprofessional Education for Collaborative Patient-Centred Practice (IECPCP): A teaching resource manual

As we look toward sustainability of Interprofessional Education for Collaborative Patient-Centred Practice (IECPCP), interprofessional education (IPE) is a key component(D’Amour & Oandasan, 2004; Royal College of Nursing, 2006). Building capacity toteach IPE is foundational to the sustainability process and thus producing an accessible,user-friendly teaching resource that catalogues the diverse resources available, is animportant tool to promote teaching of IPE at both the pre- and post- licensure levels. Thisreport describes the creation of a teaching resource manual (TRM) in the area of IECPCPthat was conducted as part of the development of a graduate studies course on IECPCP atthe University of Manitoba. The report focuses on the process undertaken to develop theteaching resource manual, presents the content areas covered, and explains how people mayuse the resource manual.A TRM, as defined by Scho¨nwetter and Taylor,(as cited in Scho¨nwetter, 2008), is ‘‘anannotated guide that lists essential resources for teaching from general teaching practices toinnovative teaching tips’’ (p. 4). Annotated bibliographies are commonly used by academicsand researchers, however, publishing of similar resources for teaching purposes is lesscommon (Scho¨nwetter, 2008). A review of 155 graduate courses taught to prepare studentsto teach in higher education found that very few of them required students to prepare anannotated bibliography or compile resources for teaching and those that included this type

Enhancing student occupational therapists' client-centred counselling skills.

Background. Client-centred practice is the cornerstone of the occupational therapy profession. However, there has been little focus on how to teach students to be client-centred practitioners while engaged in counselling. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the use of a client-completed rating scale on student occupational therapists’ client-centred counselling skills. Method. A time-series design was used to measure the changes in students’ counselling skills over time. Demographic information was collected prior to time one. An online questionnaire was administered after study completion to explore students’ experiences of using the Session Rating Scale. Findings. The impact of using the Session Rating Scale as a measure of students’ client-centred counselling skills performance significantly improved over time. Most students valued using the rating scale and would recommend its use for future students. Implications. The process of supporting students to learn how to engage clients in providing timely feedback and using this feedback to design treatment sets the stage for integration and application of client-centred practice.

De novo learning in creating a graduate studies course on Interprofessional Education for Collaborative Patient-Centred Practice (IECPCP)

De novo, Latin for ‘‘starting from the beginning’’, epitomized the experience of an Interprofessional Education for Collaborative Patient-Centred Practice (IECPCP) learning group at the University of Manitoba (UM), Canada, who undertook the creation of a graduate course on IECPCP – something from nothing. The course developers discovered their common interest in graduate studies in interprofessional education (IPE) through their involvement in the IECPCP UM projects funded by Health Canada in 2006. In pursuit of their doctoral studies and looking for a graduate course on IECPCP, they found such a course did not exist at the UM. This meant ‘‘starting from the beginning’’, but in lieu of just developing the course in IECPCP, the students also wanted to participate as learners in the course. The students were ‘‘taking the course’’ as well as developing it, thus the development stage and implementation stage occurred simultaneously; herein lays the de novo experience. A seminal learning outcome of the course was the development process with the course objective being ‘‘developing a graduate studies course on IECPCP’’. Initially (fall 2006), the working group of established, skilled and respected educators were confident the learning opportunity of course development would greatly support the sustainability of IECPCP at the UM. Recognizing they were ‘‘new’’ to graduate course development, the de novo learners secured a course coordinator, an education specialist to serve as a mentor. Central to the course coordinator’s job description was joining the group as an active learner, rather than solely as the content expert. All course participants saw the