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Objective: This study determined the cultural appropriateness of the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) as an acceptable tool for diagnosing mental illness among Indigenous people.Methods: De-identified qualitative feedback from participants and psychologists regarding the cultural appropriateness of the SCID-I for Indigenous people using open-ended anonymous questionnaires was gathered. Aboriginal Medial Service staff and Indigenous Support Workers participated in a focus group.Results: A total of 95.6% of participants felt comfortable during the 498 questionnaires completed. Psychologists also provided qualitative feedback for 502 (92.3%) interviews, of whom 40.4% established a good rapport with participants. Of the participants, 77.7% understood the SCID-I questions well, while 72.5% did not require any cultural allowances to reach a clinical diagnosis.Conclusion: When administered by a culturally safe trained psychologist, SCID-I is well tolerated in this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to systematically review the evidence-base for the effectiveness of culturally unadapted, culturally adapted and culture-based interventions for Indigenous adults with mental or substance use disorders. Methods: We conducted a systematic search of scientific databases, government websites and web-based Indigenous research repositories. We sought studies using designs comparing an intervention group to a control/comparator group or pre- and post-test designs, published between 2000 and 2015 examining interventions to improve individual-level outcomes (e.g. remission, symptoms, quality of life, functioning) or service-level outcomes (e.g. number of interventions delivered) for Indigenous adults with mental or substance use disorders in Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States. Results: A total of 16 studies met inclusion criteria. Virtually all North American studies (6 US and 1 Canadian) evaluated culturally unadapted interventions, all of which were interventions for substance use. Two-thirds of Australian and New Zealand studies evaluated culturally adapted interventions and included samples with mental disorders. Of eight culturally unadapted psychological/psychosocial, pharmacological and educational intervention studies, seven reported significant improvements on at least one measure of psychological well-being, mental health problem severity, or significantly reduced alcohol or illicit drug use. Of seven culturally adapted psychological/psychosocial intervention studies, all reported significant improvement on at least one measure of symptoms of mental illness, functioning, and alcohol use. One culture-based psychological/psychosocial intervention study significantly reduced problem severity in medical and psychiatric domains. Conclusion: There remains inconclusive evidence regarding interventions due to a small and methodologically weak evidence-base. The literature would be enhanced by intervention replication and outcome standardisation, validating the outcome instruments used in Indigenous populations, including sample size calculations and using stronger research designs (e.g. interrupted time-series designs). Robust implementation and outcomes research is needed to further progress evidence-based practice in Indigenous mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a review of literature to identify the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Australia's Indigenous populations. Topics include the use of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) model, the limited evidence on the occurrence of psychiatric disorders for indigenous Australians based on 17 articles that met the eligibility criteria, and why future research should focus on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among these people.