Acceptance and commitment therapy in a psychiatric day hospital-A longitudinal naturalistic effectiveness trial.

Objectives: Despite the transdiagnostic approach and the good cross-professional applicability, only few studies have examined the effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in a naturalistic clinic setting. This study aims to help closing this gap by investigating the effects of ACT in a psychiatric day hospital during COVID pandemic. It was investigated whether psychopathological symptomology decreased, and quality of life and general functioning improved with the treatment. Additionally, longitudinal effects were tested. Methods: Participants in this follow-up-design were 92 patients (64.1% female) of a psychiatric day hospital. Survey data of clinical symptoms, quality of life and global functioning were assessed at three time points (with admission, discharge, and 3 months after treatment). Differences between time points were tested using two-sided paired samples t-tests. Additionally, the reliability of change index (RCI) was calculated. Results: From pre-treatment to post-treatment, symptomology decreased significantly (d = 0.82-0.99, p < 0.001), and global functioning as well as quality of life increased significantly (d = 0.42-1.19, p < 0.001). The effects remained relatively stable, with no significant change between post-treatment and follow-up. The difference between pre-treatment and follow-up was significant for clinical symptoms, physical and psychological wellbeing, and global quality of life (d = 0.43-0.76, p < 0.007). Conclusion: The significant and sustained improvement in all measures indicates that patients are benefiting from the treatment. Since the trial was neither randomized nor controlled, effects have to be interpreted with caution. Possible influences of the pandemic are discussed. Clinical trial registration: http://www.drks.de/DRKS00029992, identifier DRKS00029992.

The Effectiveness of Day Hospitals in the Personal Recovery of Mental Disorder Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, a new recovery model has gained ground in which recovery is understood as a process of change where individuals are able to improve their health and wellbeing, lead self-sufficient lives and strive to achieve their maximum potential (personal recovery). Despite the existence of data regarding the effectiveness of mental health day hospitals (MHDHs) in reducing relapses in terms of hospital admissions and emergencies, no studies have to date assessed how this change affected the new personal recovery model. OBJECTIVES: To verify the effectiveness of MHDHs in improving personal recovery processes among people with mental disorders (MDs). METHODS: A prospective cohort study. A group of patients receiving follow-up at MHDHs was compared with another group of patients receiving follow-up in other therapeutic units over a period of three months. RESULTS: Patient recovery at the MHDHs, assessed using the Individual Recovery Outcomes Counter (I.ROC), was found to be significantly better than that of patients attended in other units. CONCLUSIONS: MHDHs can contribute to the recovery of people with MDs. This is particularly important at a time when some patients may have experienced impediments to their recovery processes due to the pandemic.

SENSORINEURAL HEARING LOSS: PREVALENCE AND FEATURES OF THE ORGANIZATION OF MEDICAL CARE

Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a form of hearing loss, which today has medical, social and economic significance. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), today there is a rapid increase in the number of patients suffering from SNHL. As it is known, the success in the treatment of such patients depends on the beginning of the treatment time. Accordingly, it is very important to orga-nize the medical care efficiently and in time, but it is not always possible to ensure this. For this, it is necessary to improve the otorhinolaryngological service and the health care system. Purpose. Based on the analysis of literature sources, consider the issues of the incidence of SNHL and present the main stages and problems of organizing medical care for patients with sensorineural hearing loss. Materials and methods. A search and analysis of scientific data on the research topic was carried out. The collection was carried out in Russian and foreign electronic data systems: eLIBRARY.ru, PubMed, cyberleninka.ru, Google Scholar, glav-otolar.ru, who.int/ru, rosstat.gov.ru. Conclusion. The data we found in the course of studying the scientific literature indicate the growing interest in this problem. Sensorineural hearing loss is a complex disease, due to the variety of possible etiological factors and the absence of a single etiopathogenesis. The procedure for organizing medical care for patients with SNHL at each stage of its provision is regulated by regulatory and legal acts. The study of morbidity, assessment of the quality of medical care makes it possible to determine the ways to improve the provision of medical care to patients suffering from SNHL. © 2022, Science and Innovation Center Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Mental Health Day Hospitals and Lockdown Due to COVID-19 in Spain.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced changes in patient care in Mental Health Day Hospitals (MHDHs). Objectives: To study the interventions performed in MHDHs during the pandemic in comparison with those performed in other facilities and to analyze the new hospital admissions in both groups. Method: A retrospective multicenter cohort study comparing the interventions received by a group of 161 patients admitted in MHDHs during the lockdown period in Spain with the interventions of another group of 109 patients who were treated at other facilities during lockdown. Results: MHDHs reduced their face-to-face interventions during lockdown just as much as other facilities but implemented telematic intervention methods to a greater extent. Patients attached to MHDHs during lockdown were admitted significantly less and presented fewer urgent consultations in the following 6 months. Conclusion: The use of telepsychiatry made it feasible to adapt MHDHs to periods of lockdown, being useful to improve the continuity of care during the pandemic. In addition, it was possible to maintain a reduction in hospital admissions in patients treated at MHDHs.

Telehealth Treatment of Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder in a Partial Hospital Setting During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparative Safety, Patient Satisfaction, and Effectiveness of In-Person Treatment.

There are no studies of the safety and effectiveness of telehealth psychiatric treatment of partial hospital level of care, in general, and for borderline personality disorder (BPD) in particular. In the present report from the Rhode Island Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services (MIDAS) project, the authors compared the effectiveness of their partial hospital treatment program in treating patients with BPD. For both the in-person and telehealth partial hospital level of care, patients with BPD were highly satisfied with treatment and reported a significant reduction in symptoms from admission to discharge. Both groups reported a significant improvement in functioning, coping ability, positive mental health, and general well-being. A large effect size of treatment was found in both treatment groups. No patients attempted suicide. Telehealth partial hospital treatment was as effective as in-person treatment in terms of patient satisfaction, symptom reduction, and improved functioning and well-being for patients with BPD.

The GeriPACT Initiative to Prevent All-Cause 30-Day Readmission in High Risk Elderly.

BACKGROUND: Suboptimal care transitions increases the risk of adverse events resulting from poor care coordination among providers and healthcare facilities. The National Transition of Care Coalition recommends shifting the discharge paradigm from discharge from the hospital, to transfer with continuous management. The patient centered medical home is a promising model, which improves care coordination and may reduce hospital readmissions. METHODS: This is a quality improvement report, the geriatric patient-aligned care team (GeriPACT) at Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS) participated in ongoing quality improvement (Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA)) cycles during teamlet meetings. Post home discharge follow-up for GeriPACT patients was provided by proactive telehealth communication by the Registered Nurse (RN) care manager and nurse practitioner. Periodic operations data obtained from the Data and Statistical Services (DSS) coordinator informed the PDSA cycles and teamlet meetings. RESULTS: at baseline (July 2018-June 2019) the 30-day all-cause readmission for GeriPACT was 21%. From July to December 2019, 30-day all-cause readmissions were 13%. From January to June 2020, 30-day all-cause readmissions were 15%. CONCLUSION: PDSA cycles with sharing of operations data during GeriPACT teamlet meetings and fostering a shared responsibility for managing high-risk patients contributes to improved outcomes in 30-day all-cause readmissions.

Mobile-Health Technologies for a Child Neuropsychiatry Service: Development and Usability of the Assioma Digital Platform.

We developed an m-Health platform to support clinical pathways in a child and adolescent neuropsychiatry unit. The Assioma platform was created for tablets, smartphones and PCs, to support data collection and clinical workflow, to promote constant communication between patients, caregivers and clinicians, and to promote active family involvement in day hospital (DH) procedures. Through the Assioma application for tablets, caregivers filled out an anamnestic questionnaire and explored contents on the DH procedures and neurodevelopmental conditions. The application for smartphones included an agenda function for the DH pathways. Through the application for desktops, clinicians could export anamnestic information in text and Excel formats, send real-time notifications, and push relative contents to families' account. We tested the usability and satisfaction of the Assioma platform in a group of children, caregivers (N = 24) and clinicians (N = 6). Both families and clinicians gave high scores to almost all usability items. The overall satisfaction reached the highest levels at 50% satisfied for families and at 33% for clinicians. Our results indicate that the Assioma platform has the potential to optimize clinical pathways, increasing compliance and clinical efficiency, and to reduce in-person contacts supporting social distancing for clinical pathways, a crucial need during the COVID-19 pandemic.