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Tom Meehan

Publications and source records attributed to Tom Meehan.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Reducing aggressive behaviour and staff injuries: a multi-strategy approach.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a multi-strategy approach on the management of patient aggression and staff injury rates at a stand-alone mental health facility. METHODS: A multi-strategy aggression management program was developed and introduced over a 2-year period. The program had four components; staff education/training, a staff support program, risk assessment tools, and a computerised incident monitoring system. Aggressive incidents by patients, staff injuries due to patient aggression and compensation payments to staff for the 2-year period before implementation of the aggression management program were compared with the 3-year period following implementation of the program. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in the number of staff injuries reported in the 3-year period following the implementation of the aggression management program. Although the number of aggressive incidents reported did decrease over the study period, the decrease was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the increasing acuity of the clients at the study facility, there was a significant decrease in staff injuries due to aggressive behaviour. The strategies implemented seem to offset the potential for violence. It is likely that the combined impact of the strategies is greater than the impact of individual strategies implemented consecutively.

Aggression↗
PubMed2004

Type of housing predicts rate of readmission to hospital but not length of stay in people with schizophrenia on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

Accommodation is considered to be important by institutions interested in mental health care both in Australia and internationally Some authorities assert that no component of a community mental health system is more important than decent affordable housing. Unfortunately there has been little research in Australia into the consequences of discharging people with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia to different types of accommodation. This paper uses archival data to investigate the outcomes for people with schizophrenia discharged to two types of accommodation. The types of accommodation chosen are the persons own home and for-profit boarding house. These two were chosen because the literature suggests that they are respectively the most and least desirable types of accommodation. Results suggest that people with schizophrenia who were discharged to boarding houses are significantly more likely to be readmitted to the psychiatric unit of Gold Coast Hospital, although their length of stay in hospital is not significantly different.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Staff and patient perceptions of seclusion: has anything changed?

BACKGROUND: Seclusion continues to be widely used in the management of disturbed behaviour in hospitalized patients. While early research on the topic highlighted significant differences in staff and patient perceptions, there are few recent data to indicate if these differences still exist. AIM: This paper reports a study exploring the perceptions of both nursing staff and patients towards the reasons for seclusion; its effects; patients' feelings during seclusion; and possible changes to the practice. METHODS: Sixty nursing staff and 29 patients who had experienced seclusion at three inpatient units in Queensland, Australia completed Heyman's Attitudes to Seclusion Survey. RESULTS: The findings indicate that the two groups differed significantly on a number of the dimensions assessed. Nurses believed seclusion to be very necessary, not very punitive and a highly therapeutic practice that assisted patients to calm down and feel better. Patients, on the other hand, believed that seclusion was used frequently for minor disturbances and as a means of staff exerting power and control. Patients also believed that seclusion resulted in them feeling punished, and had little therapeutic value. CONCLUSION: The disagreement between staff and patients highlights the need for greater dialogue between these groups. While nursing staff require greater understanding of how patients feel about seclusion, patients require information on why and how seclusion is implemented.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2002

Development and evaluation of a training program in peer support for former consumers.

While mental health policy in Australia promotes the involvement of mental health consumers in service planning, implementation and evaluation, little has been reported on the training required for the new roles that consumers are being expected to undertake. In this study, 10 former consumers of mental health services participated in a 16-week training program in peer support. The impact of the program on the psychological well-being of the participants was assessed using a battery of self-evaluation questionnaires and focus group interviews. Findings suggest that exposure to people with acute mental health problems (i.e. inpatients), did not, in this instance, adversely impact on the psychological well-being of the participants. Barriers to consumer participation in the mental health field are discussed and recommendations for the content and structure of future consumer peer support training initiatives are proposed.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Outcomes for elderly patients with mental illness following relocation from a stand-alone psychiatric hospital to community-based extended care units.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the outcomes for a group of elderly patients with mental illness following their discharge from a stand-alone psychiatric facility to seven extended care units (ECUs). METHOD: All patients (n=60) who were relocated to the ECUs were assessed using a number of standardized clinical and general functioning instruments at 6 months and 6 weeks pre-move, and again at 6 weeks, 6 months and 18 months post-move. RESULTS: By 18 months post-discharge, 13 of the 60 patients (21.7%) had died and seven others had been transferred to nursing homes. Those who died were older and had significantly higher levels of physical ill health when compared to those who did not die. Changes on measures of clinical and behavioural functioning in those who remained in the study did not reach statistical significance by 18 months post-move. However, participants did demonstrate improvements in quality of life with significantly higher scores on measures of social contact and community access. CONCLUSIONS: The mortality observed in the follow-up period is likely to be related to physical ill health and old age rather than the trauma associated with relocation. While overall functioning did not improve following relocation, patients had more independence and greater access to community-based activities.

Aftercare↗