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Approach to treatment of mental illness and substance dependence in remote Indigenous communities: Results of a mixed methods study.
- Source :
-
Australian Journal of Rural Health . Aug2009, Vol. 17 Issue 4, p174-182. 9p. 2 Diagrams, 4 Charts, 1 Graph. - Publication Year :
- 2009
-
Abstract
- Objective: To develop and evaluate a culturally adapted brief intervention for Indigenous people with chronic mental illness. Design: A mixed methods design in which an exploratory phase of qualitative research was followed by a nested randomised controlled trial. Setting: Psycho-education resources and a brief intervention, motivational care planning (MCP), were developed and tested in collaboration with aboriginal mental health workers in three remote communities in northern Australia. Participants: A total of 49 patients with mental illness and 37 carers were recruited to a randomised controlled trial that compared MCP (n = 24) with a clinical control condition (treatment as usual, n = 25). Intervention: The early treatment group received MCP at baseline and the late treatment group received delayed treatment at six months. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was mental health problem severity as measured by the health of the nation outcome scales. Secondary measures of well-being (Kessler 10), life skills, self-management and substance dependence were chosen. Outcome assessments were performed at baseline, six-month, 12-month and 18-month follow up. Results: Random effects regression analyses showed significant advantage for the treatment condition in terms of well-being with changes in health of the nation outcome scales (P < 0.001) and Kessler 10 (P = 0.001), which were sustained over time. There was also significant advantage for treatment for alcohol dependence (P = 0.05), with response also evident in cannabis dependence (P = 0.064) and with changes in substance dependence sustained over time. Conclusions: These results suggest that MCP is an effective treatment for Indigenous people with mental illness and provide insight into the experience of mental illness in remote communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 10385282
- Volume :
- 17
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Australian Journal of Rural Health
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 43394179
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1584.2009.01060.x