Australian Psychiatrists' Support for Psychiatric Advance Directives: Responses to a Hypothetical Vignette

Advance Statements for Black African and Caribbean people (AdStAC): protocol for an implementation study

BACKGROUND

The UK government committed to legislating for Advance Choice Documents/Advance Statements (ACD/AS) following their recommendation by the Independent Review of the MHA (2018). ACDs/AS are yet to be implemented in routine practice despite evidence and high demand; they are associated with improved therapeutic relationships and a reduction (25%, RR 0.75, CI 0.61-0.93) in compulsory psychiatric admission. Barriers to their implementation are well documented, ranging from low knowledge levels to logistical challenges in accessing the content during episodes of acute care. In the UK this is an issue for Black people, who experience detention rates disproportionately (over three times) higher than those of White British people and have poorer care experiences and outcomes. ACDs/AS allow for Black people to have their concerns heard by mental health professionals in a care system where they often feel their views are ignored. AdStAC aims to improve Black service users' experiences in mental health services in South London by co-producing and testing an ACD/AS implementation resource with Black service users, mental health professionals and carers/supporters of Black service users.

METHODS/DESIGN

The study will take place in South London, England over three phases: 1) formative work through stakeholder workshops; 2) co-production of resources through a consensus development exercise and working groups; and 3) testing of the resources using quality improvement (QI) methods. A lived experience advisory group, staff advisory group and project steering committee will support the study throughout. The implementation resources will comprise: advance choice document/advance statement (ACD/AS) documentation, stakeholder trainings, a manual for mental health professionals to facilitate the processes of creating and revising advance statements, and informatics development.

DISCUSSION

The implementation resources will help increase the likelihood of the new mental health legislation in England being implemented effectively; through aligning evidence-based medicine, policy and law to effectively provide positive clinical, social and financial outcomes for Black people, the National Health Service (NHS) and wider society. This study will likely benefit a wider group of people with severe mental illness, as when marginalised groups who are least engaged, can be supported with these strategies, then the strategies are likely to work for others.

Psychiatric advance directives and consent to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in Australia: A legislative review and suggestions for the future

Psychiatric Advance Directives (PADs) have been adopted in many jurisdictions around the world and in most Australian states and territories. They are seen as a less restrictive and patient-centered approach to the provision of mental health care. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a restricted treatment in most jurisdictions in Australia and across the world. This paper explores the history, regulation and use of ECT and PADs and the intersections between them. It provides an overview of the legislative framework in each Australian state and territory and explores some of the issues which have arisen such as complexity of the regulatory framework, making PADs binding for refusing and consenting to ECT, involving treating teams in how PADs are made, using restrictive interventions to implement PADs, and the role of the Tribunal. While PADs are often framed as an important legal tool for allowing patients to refuse psychiatric treatment (especially ECT), the paper emphasizes that they can also be an innovative way for people to consent to psychiatric treatment in advance and an empowering option to access mental health care. It then makes some suggestions for future reform.

Clinician knowledge and attitudes of mental health advance statements in Victoria, Australia

Embedded into Victoria's mental health legislation as part of the 2014 Mental Health Act suite of reforms, advance statements are designed to convey an individuals' preferences for treatment during times when the ability to communicate or make decisions may be impaired. This study investigated Victorian mental health clinicians' knowledge and attitudes of advance statements as well as their experience with training and implementation. We used an online Qualtrics survey of Victorian mental health clinicians (n = 190) to achieve this aim. Instrument validity was determined using the Content Validity Index (CVI) with field experts rating each item for relevance. A value of 80% or higher was sought and computed for each individual item on the scale, as well as for the overall scale. The Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was conducted to determine internal consistency reliability with a value of α = 0.721 for the survey, suggesting that the scale had acceptable internal consistency and reliability. Despite widespread support and positive attitudes towards advance statements existing among mental health clinician participants, the level of knowledge and perception of barriers continues to significantly affect the wide-spread uptake of advance statements. The quality and extent of training in legal and clinical aspects of advance statement varied widely among the study participants, with the quality and benefits of the training affecting participant reported confidence level as well as their practical experience with advance statements. Three recommendations can be made: that advance statements are embed into routine mental health practice to identify individuals who have existing advance statements and support those who do not to prepare one; that regular co-produced and facilitated training be provided to increase understanding, promotion, and overall use and uptake of advance statements; and finally, for local mental health service to develop a culture for positive engagement and promotion of autonomy through inclusive practices around decision-making.

What do we know about the experience of seclusion in a forensic setting? An integrative literature review

Seclusion is used in forensic and general mental health settings to protect a person or others from harm. However, seclusion can result in trauma-related harm and re-traumatization with little known about the experience of seclusion for consumers in forensic mental health settings from their perspectives. This article explores consumer experiences of seclusion in forensic mental health settings and explores the differences between female and male experiences of seclusion. Five electronic databases were systematically searched using keywords and variations of experience, attitude, seclusion, coercion, forensic mental health, and forensic psychiatry. Inclusion criteria were original peer-reviewed studies conducted in adult forensic mental health settings reporting data on the experiences of or attitudes towards seclusion. Seven studies met the criteria for inclusion and a quality assessment was undertaken. Results found consumers in forensic mental health settings perceive seclusion to be harmful, a punishment for their behaviour, and largely a negative experience that impacts their emotional health. Some consumers report positive experiences of seclusion. Differences in the experience of seclusion for females and males are unclear. Further research is required to understand the experience of seclusion for women in forensic mental health settings. Identification and consideration of differences in the experience of seclusion for males and females may assist in identifying sex-specific interventions and may inform policy and practices to eliminate or reduce the trauma associated with seclusion use.

Mental Health Professionals' Positions in Relation to Advance Statements: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis

Advance Statements enable mental health patients to have their preferences considered in treatment decisions in the event of losing capacity, but their uptake is poor. This is for complex and often conflicting reasons and factors related to service user, clinician, and institutional priorities, which influence clinical practice. A Foucauldian discourse analysis approach was used to explore how 13 mental health clinicians positioned their role in relation to Advance Statements. Five positions emerged from the data: taking account of peoples' wishes, enabling people to have their say (to a point), we know what's best, firefighting with risk, and leverage and liability. Discursive practices demonstrated and reinforced power relations between patients, clinicians, and wider systems. These findings highlight the challenge of legitimizing the knowledge of patients and need for a cultural shift at a systems level, which recognizes the ways Advance Statements meet the needs of all stakeholders.

Advance Statements within the Victorian Mental Health Setting: A Contextual and Legislative Global Comparison

This article provides context to the establishment of advance statements within the Australian mental health setting, in the state of Victoria. A movement to legislate for a more humane and liberal approach to mental health consumer care resulted in changes to the Victorian Mental Health Act (2014a). This Act mirrored legislative changes across the western world and resulted in a socially progressive movement embracing recovery focussed care and consumer clinician partnerships. Thus, we purport that an identified need for a more liberal way to work with individuals who have a diagnosis of mental ill health was a major aim of this law reform. The advance statement model is seen as a tool in addressing a growing recognition of how mental health providers engage consumers of mental health services, and value their preferences to care received. This article arises from a larger study which has aimed to explore the role and scope of advance statements. This research has sought to demonstrate how advanced statements can be used within mental health services by providing recommendations for the mental health nursing workforce in relation to the implementation and deliverables for training.

The content of Mental Health Advance Preference statements (MAPs): An assessment of completed advance directives in one New Zealand health board

BACKGROUND

Mental health advance directives support service users' autonomy and provide a voice in their care choices when they may not have capacity to give informed consent. New Zealand's Southern District Health Board has recently introduced advanced directives in mental health services.

METHOD

Completed advance directives (n = 53) and additional demographic data were accessed from clinical records.

ANALYSIS

Each advance directive was read and analysed by three members of the research team. The advance directive instrument has eight possible fields which could be completed, covering such topics as who should be contacted in a crisis; people service users do, or do not, want involved in their treatment; what service users would, or would not like to have happen should they become unwell; management of personal affairs; other specific preferences; and provision of further relevant information. The number of preferences stated in each field was also calculated.

RESULTS

The advance directives provided expressions of preferences which were personally meaningful for service users and provided practical guidance for clinicians. Service users expressed mainly positive preferences, though some expressed negative treatment preferences, and many service users expressed preferences relating to personal affairs. Friends, family members and clinicians were nominated as preferred contacts in a crisis.

CONCLUSIONS

Service users will engage with advance directives if supported to do so. This study's results should help promote the wider availability of advance directives in New Zealand and the current reform of our mental health legislation.

Supported decision-making from the perspectives of mental health service users, family members supporting them and mental health practitioners

BACKGROUND

Supporting the decision-making of mental health service users fulfils professional, ethical and moral obligations of mental health practitioners. It may also aid personal recovery. Previous research on the effectiveness of supported decision-making interventions is limited.

AIMS

The study aims to explore from several perspectives the barriers and facilitators to supported decision-making in an Australian context. Supported decision-making was considered in terms of interpersonal experiences and legal supported decision-making mechanisms.

METHODS

In all, 90 narrative interviews about experiences of supported decision-making were conducted and analysed. Participants were mental health service users who reported diagnoses of schizophrenia, psychosis, bipolar disorder and severe depression; family members supporting them and mental health practitioners, including psychiatrists. The data were analysed thematically across all participants.

RESULTS

Negative interpersonal experiences in the mental health care system undermined involvement in decision-making for people with psychiatric diagnoses and family carers. Mental health practitioners noted their own disempowerment in service systems as barriers to good supported decision-making practices. All groups noted the influence of prevailing attitudes towards mental health service users and the associated stigma and discrimination that exist in services and the broader community. They believed that legal supported decision-making mechanisms facilitate the participation of mental health service user and their family supporters in supported decision-making.

CONCLUSIONS

Enabling supported decision-making in clinical practice and policy can be facilitated by (1) support for good communication skills and related attitudes and practices among mental health practitioners and removing barriers to their good practice in health and social services and (2) introducing legal supported decision-making mechanisms.

Psychiatric advance directives in Australian mental-health legislation

OBJECTIVE

Following the recent widespread reform of mental-health legislation in Australia, psychiatric advance directives (PADs) have now been incorporated in four jurisdictions. We contextualise the potential role for PADs within the Australian legal framework and note their varying introduction across jurisdictions, with a focus on progressive legislation in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

CONCLUSION

The formal recognition of PADs effectively shifts the trajectory of mental-health law towards a stronger recognition of consumer autonomy, albeit to varying degrees across jurisdictions. The most inspiring of these changes may be seen in the ACT Act, where an innovative framing of PAD provisions creates a safe space for clinicians and patients to engage, build therapeutic alliances and develop appropriate frameworks for further change.