What do we know about one-to-one peer support for adults with a burn injury? A scoping review.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a broad examination of the central themes and concepts associated with one-to-one peer support for adult patients with a burn injury. The aim of the synthesis was to examine 1) what is reported in the literature regarding the impact of peer support for patients or peers and 2) what methods or elements were considered important with regard to the program design and structure. The synthesis undertaken for this study followed scoping review methodology. A systematic search of the literature was undertaken to identify articles of relevance. Four databases were searched: MEDLINE (medicine), Embase (medicine), PsychINFO (psychology), and SWAbstracts (social work). Information pertaining to program design and structure, recruitment and screening requirements, and perceived benefits and risks associated with peer support were extracted from the included articles. Nine key themes pertaining to program design and structure, and 10 key themes relating to the impact of peer support for patients or peers were identified and discussed. One-to-one peer support for adults with burns trauma has the potential to be a unique support option with earnest attributes. The preliminary data representing the effects of peer support for adults with a burn injury as presented in this literature review shows an emerging pattern of benefit for givers and receivers of peer support. Further work is needed in this field and recommendations are made for future studies.

Implementing routine outcome measures in child and adolescent mental health services: from present to future practice.

BACKGROUND: Routine outcome measurement (ROM) in CAMHS is supported by U.K. Government policy. However, little is known about how measures are used in practice. METHOD: Data describing use of ROM, knowledge and attitudes regarding implementation were collected using a regional case-note audit, online survey and stakeholder workshop. RESULTS: While the principle of ROM was supported by stakeholders, baseline and follow-up outcome measurement occurred in less than a fifth of cases. Barriers to implementation included lack of training and resources, clinicians' perceptions of the limitations of existing measures and lack of regular feedback of outcome data. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of ROM may be facilitated by session-by-session measures with immediate feedback to clinicians and patients.

Meta-review of the effectiveness of computerised CBT in treating depression.

BACKGROUND: Several computerised cognitive behaviour therapy (cCBT) packages are now available to treat mild to moderate depression with or without anxiety. These have been usually been reviewed alongside cCBT for a wide range of psychological problems. Here, we single out the results of these reviews for the most common mental disorder, mild to moderate depression. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the quality of existing reviews and to enable reliable comparisons of alternative computer packages for the same patient group. METHODS: A thorough search and analysis of reviews of efficacy of cCBT published between 1999 and February 2011. RESULTS: The search yielded twelve systematic reviews from ten studies covering depression. Their methodology is appraised and selected findings are presented here. CONCLUSIONS: The meta-review supports the efficacy of cCBT for treatment of depression; however there is limited information on different approaches, whose relative cost-effectiveness remains to be demonstrated. Suggestions are made for future studies in the field.