Mental Wellbeing Impact Assessment (MWIA) in the workplace.

PURPOSE: The Mental Wellbeing Impact Assessment (MWIA) is an evidence-based tool that guides decision makers, such as policy makers and service managers, about the potential impacts of a new programme or policy change. It was initially used in urban regeneration but has subsequently been used in housing, children's centres and education. The purpose of this paper is to report, for the first time, on the strengths and weaknesses of using the MWIA in the workplace. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Feedback was collected from staff who participated in stakeholder workshops as part of the MWIA process at two different public sector organisations. FINDINGS: The MWIA can be used as an effective workplace assessment tool and is valuable as both a diagnostic tool and as an intervention in its own right. The MWIA generates tailored action plans focussed on addressing the organisation or team-specific issues. The weaknesses of the MWIA in the workplace are mainly focussed around management cooperation and commitment to the process which should be screened for prior to engaging in the full stakeholder workshop. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This is the first report of MWIA's use in the workplace but suggests that it is a useful tool which can be used to support workplace wellbeing, especially in relation to a policy or organisational change. Further studies should be carried out to fully understand the impact of the MWIA in the workplace.

WELLFOCUS PPT - modified positive psychotherapy to improve well-being in psychosis: study protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The promotion of well-being is an important goal of recovery oriented mental health services. No structured, evidence-based intervention exists that aims to increase the well-being in people with severe mental illness such as psychosis. Positive psychotherapy (PPT) is a promising intervention for this goal. Standard PPT was adapted for use with people with psychosis in the UK following the Medical Research Council framework for developing and testing complex interventions, resulting in the WELLFOCUS Model describing the intended impact of WELLFOCUS PPT. This study aims to test the WELLFOCUS Model, by piloting the intervention, trial processes, and evaluation strategy. METHODS/DESIGN: This study is a non-blinded pragmatic pilot RCT comparing WELLFOCUS PPT provided as an 11-session group therapy in addition to treatment as usual to treatment as usual alone. Inclusion criteria are adults (aged 18-65 years) with a main diagnosis of psychosis who use mental health services. A target sample of 80 service users with psychosis are recruited from mental health services across the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Participants are randomised in blocks to the intervention and control group. WELLFOCUS PPT is provided to groups by specifically trained and supervised local therapists and members of the research team. Assessments are conducted before randomisation and after the group intervention. The primary outcome measure is well-being assessed by the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale. Secondary outcomes include good feelings, symptom relief, connectedness, hope, self-worth, empowerment, and meaning. Process evaluation using data collected during the group intervention, post-intervention individual interviews and focus groups with participants, and interviews with trial therapists will complement quantitative outcome data. DISCUSSION: This study will provide data on the feasibility of the intervention and identify necessary adaptations. It will allow optimisation of trial processes and inform the evaluation strategy, including sample size calculation, for a future definitive RCT. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN04199273 - WELLFOCUS study: an intervention to improve well-being in people with psychosis, Date registered: 27 March 2013, first participant randomised on 26 April 2013.

Conceptualising and measuring the well-being of people with psychosis: systematic review and narrative synthesis.

Well-being has become a prominent term in the political arena in recent years. However, in research the concept and use of well-being has been unclear, especially in the context of severe mental illness such as psychosis. This systematic review aims to characterise the evidence base relating to well-being in people with psychosis, by reviewing how well-being is measured, developing a new conceptual framework, and summarising empirical evaluations of psychosocial interventions to improve well-being. We conducted a systematic review and narrative synthesis of controlled trials of interventions investigating well-being in people with psychosis. The 28 studies meeting the inclusion criteria used 20 different measures of well-being. Five dimensions of well-being emerged: non-observable, observable, proximal, distal, and self-defined. Interventions to improve well-being vary widely. The investigated interventions have been targeted at non-observable, observable and proximal levels, while evaluation measures span all five dimensions. This review offers an evidence based conceptual framework of well-being which can provide an empirical basis for organising future well-being research in psychosis. The review also shows that the evidence base for interventions is small and methodologically weak. Recommendations are made for choosing well-being measures for future research.