Exploring the impact of suicide care experiences and post-intervention supports sought among community pharmacists: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: There is a need to appropriately train, support and remunerate pharmacists for their expanding roles in mental healthcare. Pharmacists often care for people experiencing mental health crises, including suicidal thoughts and behaviours, but little is known about pharmacists' suicide care experiences. AIM: This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the impact of professional experiences with people at risk of suicide and support accessed, among community pharmacists. METHOD: A survey exploring pharmacists' experiences with people at risk of suicide and post-intervention support-seeking was disseminated through Australian and Canadian professional associations, conferences and social media (June 2016-May 2017). Quantitative data were analysed using Chi-squared, Fisher's exact and independent t-tests, where appropriate. Qualitative data exploring the impact of these experiences were thematically analysed, and reasons for not seeking help post-intervention were identified. RESULTS: Among 378 respondents, 84% had encountered patients at risk of suicide and 28% had lost patients to suicide. Some were negatively affected personally and/or professionally (11%), of which 88% did not seek professional support, mainly due to uncertainty about available services. Pharmacists were significantly more negatively affected if they had a personal mental health diagnosis (p = 0.017) and previous suicide care experiences (p = 0.001). Qualitative themes included: expanding knowledge and skills, role limitation and emotional impact and response. CONCLUSION: A large proportion of pharmacists have interacted with suicidal patients and are impacted by these experiences, yet few seek help due to lack of awareness and access. There is a need to recognize pharmacists' roles in suicide care, and develop pharmacist-specific post-intervention support.

Mental Health First Aid training and assessment among university students: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the literature describing the delivery and assessment of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training among university students. DATA SOURCES: The databases MEDLINE, PreMEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, ERIC, and PsycINFO were searched to identify publications describing MHFA training and assessment among university students since 2000. STUDY SELECTION: All studies, regardless of design, that described the delivery and assessment of MHFA training among university students, at any level, were included in this systematic review. DATA EXTRACTION: The discipline and level of students; the version, length, and integration of MHFA training; and the constructs used to assess students post-MHFA training were extracted from each study. RESULTS: Of the initial 1662 records, 12 were included. Eight studies were conducted in Australia, 3 in the United States, and 1 in the United Kingdom. Most students were enrolled in health care or social work degree programs across all years of their program with 4 studies involving pharmacy students. Three studies described integrating compulsory MHFA training for university students. Most studies reported on the delivery of the Standard or Adult version of MHFA training; no study reported on MHFA for Tertiary Students. Post-MHFA training, students were assessed on mental health knowledge, literacy, intentions, confidence, stigma, and skills application. Only 2 studies described assessment methods involving direct observation of behaviors, whereas the rest relied on self-reported measurements. CONCLUSION: Despite the spread of MHFA to over 25 countries and the availability of tertiary student-specific training, the studies included in this systematic review were conducted in only 3 countries and mainly involved Standard and Adult MHFA training. Most assessments relied on self-reported measures. Future studies involving different versions of MHFA training, and the exploration of novel competency-based assessment methods among a diverse range of students from different countries are warranted.

Spray-Dried Particles of Nitric Oxide-Modified Glutathione for the Treatment of Chronic Lung Infection.

Antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria has emerged as a big challenge to human and animal health and significant economy loss worldwide. Development of novel strategies to tackle antibiotic resistance is of the utmost priority. In this study, we combined glutathione (GSH), a master antioxidant in all mammalian cells, and nitric oxide, a proven biofilm-dispersing agent, to produce GSNO. The resazurin biofilm viability assay, crystal violet biofilm assay, and confocal microscopy techniques showed that GSNO disrupted biofilms of both P. aeruginosa PAO1 and multidrug resistant A. baumaunii (MRAB 015069) more efficiently than GSH alone. In addition, GSNO showed a higher reduction in biofilm viability and biomass when combined with antibiotics. This combination treatment also inhibited A. baumaunii (MRAB 015069) growth and facilitated human foreskin fibroblast (HFF-1) confluence and growth simultaneously. A potentially inhalable GSNO powder with reasonable aerosol performance and antibiofilm activity was produced by spray drying. This combination shows promise as a novel formulation for treating pulmonary bacterial infections.