Biomedical subjects

Alexis D Henry

Publications and source records attributed to Alexis D Henry.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Inpatient hospitalizations and emergency service visits among participants in an Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model program.

Supported employment (SE) is considered an "evidence-based" practice for people with serious mental illness. We examined inpatient hospitalizations and emergency service visits among clients in a SE program based on the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model in comparison to a propensity score matched group of clients who did not participate in IPS. A significant interaction showed that only IPS/SE clients who were also high in regular mental health services had fewer hospitalizations and emergency service visits than matched controls. The interaction effect was moderate, even when we controlled for client functioning. These findings provide support for the integration of mental health and vocational rehabilitation services, a key feature of evidence-based SE services.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Evaluation of an Individual Placement and Support model (IPS) program.

While randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have helped to establish Individual Placement and Support (IPS) programs as an evidence-based practice, it is important to evaluate whether "real world" IPS programs can be implemented with fidelity and achieve outcomes comparable to programs evaluated in RCTs. The current evaluation examined retrospectively employment outcomes for go participants from an IPS-model Services for Employment and Education (SEE) program in Massachusetts over a 4.5-year period. Evaluators accessed demographic, functioning, and employment data from three sources--SEE program records/database, clinical records, and the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health Client Tracking system. Results indicate that the SEE program maintained high IPS fidelity and achieved employment outcomes comparable or superior to other SE and IPS model programs described in the literature.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Facilitators and barriers to employment: the perspectives of people with psychiatric disabilities and employment service providers.

This study examined the perspectives of people with psychiatric disabilities and employment service providers regarding factors that most directly help or hinder consumer efforts to obtain and maintain employment. Forty-four adults with serious mental illness (SMI) (consumers) and 30 providers participated in 12 focus groups across Massachusetts. We began both consumer and provider groups by posing two broad questions: 1) what factors most help people with SMI get and keep jobs (facilitators), and 2) what factors most prevent people with SMI from getting and keeping jobs (barriers)? Data were analyzed qualitatively and both person and environmental factors were highlighted. Among facilitators, participants agreed that quality consumer-provider relationships and individualized employment services are most instrumental in helping consumers achieve employment goals. Participants identified a range of environmental barriers, including issues related to the service system, entitlement programs, non-human resources, and social stigma. Implications for services are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Achieving the goal of evidence-based psychiatric rehabilitation practices for mothers with mental illnesses.

There is a growing commitment to evidence-based practices in mental health. There is no well-articulated evidence base for interventions for mothers with mental illnesses. Parenthood is common among women with mental illnesses. Women themselves report motherhood is an important role. The risks of parental mental illness to children have been demonstrated; the challenges that motherhood brings to people with mental illnesses have been described. Because outcomes for both children and adults are multiply determined, there are many intervention opportunities. Recommendations for intervention are drawn from a focus group study and from the existing literature on parent training and support, exemplary programs for mothers with mental illnesses, and other evidence-based psychosocial interventions. The value of a psychiatric rehabilitation approach is highlighted. Challenges in documenting and testing interventions for mothers with mental illness include resource allocation and research innovation.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Creating job opportunities for people with psychiatric disabilities at a university-based research center.

The consumer empowerment movement has led to an increase in opportunities for people with psychiatric disabilities to take on roles in the development and delivery of mental health services. However, to date there has been less involvement of people with psychiatric disabilities in services research. In this paper, we describe our experiences creating employment opportunities for people with psychiatric disabilities in a university-based mental health services research center. Working with two local clubhouse programs we developed research assistant positions using both transitional and supported employment approaches. We describe the development of the jobs, employee characteristics, the orientation and training provided to new employees, job characteristics and typical responsibilities, supports and accommodations provided to employees, boundary issues we encountered, and the perspectives of employees on rewards and challenges of the jobs. We offer recommendations to mental health researchers wishing to create these types of opportunities for people with psychiatric disabilities.

Academic Medical Centers↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Psychometric properties of the scorable self-care evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine evidence for the reliability and validity of the Scorable Self-Care Evaluation (SSCE), an 18-item assessment of observed and perceived self-care performance commonly used with persons with psychiatric disabilities. METHOD: As part of a longitudinal study, 70 adults with psychiatric disabilities were administered two cognitive measures, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the Logical Memory subscales of the Weschler Memory Scale, at baseline, and the SSCE at follow-up. After transforming the weighted item scores, intraclass correlation coefficients were used to examine inter-rater reliability and Rasch analysis was used to examine internal consistency of the SSCE. Spearman rank-order correlations were used to examine construct validity. RESULTS: High interrater reliabilities were found for the four subscale scores (ICCs ranging from .96 to 1.00, p < .001) and the total scores (ICC = .98, p < .001) of the SSCE. Rasch analysis indicated that no items misfit; however, some items showed a weak distribution across all possible scores. The SSCE subscale and total scores correlated to varying degrees with the cognitive measures. CONCLUSION: The SSCE has the potential to be a reliable and valid clinical measure, as demonstrated by the results of the current study. However, these results were only achieved using a transformation of the current scoring system for the SSCE, pointing to the need for further revision of the test items and scoring system.

Activities of Daily Living↗