Biomedical subjects

Kate Walters

Publications and source records attributed to Kate Walters.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Teaching undergraduate psychiatry in primary care: the impact on student learning and attitudes.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the impact of undergraduate psychiatry placements in primary care settings on students' learning and attitudes to mental illness. DESIGN: Questionnaire survey and qualitative in-depth interviews. SETTING: A primary care-based psychiatry undergraduate teaching programme at Royal Free and University College Medical School, London. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 145/183 (79.2%) students attending the primary care-based programme over 2 academic years completed a questionnaire survey. In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 students, 12 general practitioner (GP) tutors and 20 patients participating in the course. RESULTS: In the questionnaire survey, 121/144 (84.0%) students valued the primary care-based teaching highly. In total, 87/139 (62.6%) students felt their attitudes to mental illness had changed as a result of the course. In-depth interviews demonstrated 4 key benefits of the teaching programme: increasing breadth of experience, understanding the patients' experience, learning about mental illness from a GP's perspective and changing students' attitudes towards mental illness. The students' attitudinal shift comprised 2 main dimensions; 'normalisation' of mental illness and increased empathy. CONCLUSIONS: Learning psychiatry in primary care settings offers students a broader experience of a range of patients than in hospital settings and encourages a 'person-centred' approach, which in turn can have a positive impact on their attitudes to mental illness, reducing stereotyping and increasing empathy.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Local area deprivation and urban-rural differences in anxiety and depression among people older than 75 years in Britain.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the association of depression and anxiety with "area deprivation" (neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation) and population density among people older than 75 years in Britain. METHODS: Postal codes were used to link census area information to individual data on depression and anxiety in 13349 people aged 75 years and older taking part in a trial of health screening. RESULTS: Living in the most socioeconomically deprived areas was associated with depression (OR=1.4), but this relation disappeared after adjusting for individual deprivation characteristics. There was no association with anxiety. Living in the highest density and intermediate low-density areas was associated with depression (OR=1.6 and 1.5) and anxiety (OR=1.5 and 1.3) compared with the lowest density areas. CONCLUSIONS: An association between area deprivation and depression in older people was explained by individual health, demographic, and socioeconomic factors. Higher population density was consistently associated with increased depression and anxiety.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

The development of a short instrument to identify common unmet needs in older people in general practice.

BACKGROUND: No structured needs assessment tool exists that is appropriate for older people and also suitable for use in routine consultations in general practice. AIMS: To engage older people in the development of a brief, valid, practical, and acceptable instrument to help identify common unmet needs suitable for use in routine clinical practice in primary care. DESIGN OF STUDY: User involvement in a multi-stages approach to heuristic development. SETTING: General practices, voluntary groups, and community organisations in north and central London. METHOD: Subjects included patients aged 65 years and over in purposively selected practices, voluntary organisations for older people in the same localities, community organisations involving older people, general practitioners and community nurses. Data were collected through mixed methodology interviews using a structured assessment tool (Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly), a postal questionnaire, and focus groups. Synthesis and interpretation of results was done through a consensus conference followed by a Delphi process involving primary care professionals. RESULTS: Five domains of unmet need were identified as priority areas by all three data collection methods, the consensus conference, and the Delphi process: senses (vision and hearing), physical ability (mobility and falls), incontinence, cognition, and emotional distress (depression and anxiety) (SPICE). CONCLUSIONS: Public involvement in the design of clinical tools allowed the development of a brief assessment instrument that could potentially identify common, important, and tractable unmet needs in older people.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

Teaching as therapy: cross sectional and qualitative evaluation of patients' experiences of undergraduate psychiatry teaching in the community.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the impact of participating in undergraduate teaching in general practice for patients with common mental disorders. DESIGN: Questionnaire survey and qualitative in-depth interviews. SETTING: Community based undergraduate teaching programme for fourth year students at a London medical school doing a psychiatry attachment. PARTICIPANTS: Questionnaire survey: all patients involved in the teaching programme over one academic year. In-depth interviews: 20 patients, 14 students, and 12 general practitioner tutors participating in the programme. RESULTS: The questionnaire showed high levels of satisfaction with teaching encounters for participating patients, which were corroborated in the interviews. Many patients and general practitioners reported specific therapeutic benefits for patients from contact with students, including raised self esteem and empowerment; the development of a coherent "illness narrative"; new insights into their problems; and a deeper, more balanced, and understanding doctor-patient relationship. For a few patients the teaching caused some distress, which may relate to a lack of insight into their condition or deficits in students' interviewing skills. CONCLUSIONS: Participation in teaching can have additional positive therapeutic outcomes for selected patients with common mental disorders, although a small minority report negative effects. Testing in a larger sample is needed to determine the characteristics of patients in these two subgroups and establish whether these effects persist.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Twelve tips for potential distance learners.

Distance learning courses are becoming popular among medical professionals due to their flexibility, allowing minimal disruption to personal and professional commitments. The ability to continue professional duties, allied to the reduced cost of distance learning courses, also makes them attractive to institutions looking to develop the skills of their staff. However the nature of distance learning courses means that they are often of long duration and many students fail to maintain motivation while working in isolation. This is reflected by high non-completion rates. This article outlines issues that all students planning a distance learning course should consider, relating to choice of course, time management, funding and adjusting to the different nature of distance learning. The authors advise developing a support network for distance learning students, either in person or electronically, to increase motivation and completion.

Journal Article↗