SC DMH Client Advocacy Report February 2016

The Client Advocacy Office at the South Carolina Department of Mental Health publishes a monthly report with information on complaints resolved at agency centers and other statistics on the Client Advocacy Office.

Mental health facility design: The case for person-centred care

There is a schism between a growing chorus for person-centred models of care and the prevalent paradigms for the design of mental health facilities. This argument proposes that architectural solutions have traditionally been geared around staff-centred concerns like ease of patient management. It suggests that the demands for person-centred models of care are important because evidence suggests that the physical environment is a causal factor in mental illness, and that even minor concessions towards person-centred models of care consistently exert a disproportionate and sustained positive influence on the behaviour of mental health patients. While the traditional mental health unit layout is unsatisfactory for person-centred care and effective recovery, other approaches that have been well tested and found to be effective is described along with a statement about subtle details that will improve facilities for all users.

Increasing the sensitivity of the AQoL inventory for the evaluation of interventions affecting mental health

This paper presents the rationale and psychometric analysis for extending the inventory of the Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL)-6D instrument. The resulting AQoL-8D has an 8 dimensional, 35 item inventory with greater sensitivity in the domain of mental health.The paper briefly reviews the existing QoL instruments used for economic evaluation of health programs. It outlines the steps adopted in developing the AQoL descriptive inventories and, specifically, the methods adopted for data collection and analysis for the AQoL-8D inventory.Three instruments are presented. The first, PsyQoL, is a 22 item instrument which represents the best statistical fit for the measurement of mental health related quality of life. The second, PsyQoL-Brief is a reduced form instrument which is combined with AQoL-6D as the basis for the third instrument, the AQoL-8D. Psychometric properties of the first instrument are excellent and the second are good. The full AQoL-8D has satisfactory properties. Results from a comparison with the original AQoL-6D are reported. The mental health content of AQoL-8D is unique amongst MAU instruments and, along with other AQoL instruments, unique in its derivation from psychometric analysis. Its application to mental health patients and the public demonstrates its ability to discriminate between the groups with greater sensitivity than the previous AQoL-6D instrument.

The association between mental health and hypertension in the 2005 Department of Defense Population Survey

Major objectives within Healthy People 2010 include improving hypertension and mental health management of the American population. Both mental health issues and hypertension exist in the military which may decrease the health status of military personnel and diminish the ability to complete assigned missions. Some cases may be incompatible with military service even with optimum treatment. In the interest of maintaining a fit fighting force, the Department of Defense regularly conducts a survey of health related behaviors among active duty military personnel. The 2005 DoD Survey was conducted to obtain information regarding health and behavioral readiness among active duty military personnel to assess progress toward selected Healthy People 2010 objectives. ^ This study is a cross-sectional prevalence design looking at the association of hypertension treatment with mental health issues (either treatment or perceived need for treatment) within the military population sampled in the 2005 DoD Survey. There were 16,946 military personnel in the final cross-sectional sample representing 1.3 million active duty service members. The question is whether there is a significant association between the self-reported occurrence of hypertension and the self-reported occurrence of mental health issues in the 2005 DoD Survey. In addition to these variables, this survey examined the contribution of various sociodemographic, occupational, and behavioral covariates. An analysis of the demographic composition of the study variables was followed by logistic analysis, comparing outcome variables with each of the independent variables. Following univariate regression analysis, multivariate regression was performed with adjustment (for those variables with an unadjusted alpha level less than or equal to 0.25). ^ All the mental health related indicators were associated with hypertension treatment. The same relationship was maintained after multivariate adjustment. The covariates remaining as significant (p < 0.05) in the final model included gender, age, race/ethnicity and obesity. There is a need to recognize and treat co-morbid medical diagnoses among mental health patients and to improve quality of life outcomes, whether in the military population or the general population. Optimum health of the individual can be facilitated through discovery of treatable cases, to minimize disruptions of military missions, and even allow for continued military service. ^

Examining the relationship between risk assessment and risk management in mental health

Risk assessment is crucial for developing risk management plans to prevent or minimize mental health patients' risks that will impede their recovery. Risk assessments and risk management plans should be closely linked. Their content and the extent to which they are linked within one Trust is explored. There is a great deal of variability in the amount and detail of risk information collected by nurses and how this is used to develop risk management plans. Keeping risk assessment information in one place rather than scattered throughout patient records is important for ensuring it can be accessed easily and linked properly to risk management plans. Strengthening the link between risk assessment and management will help ensure interventions and care is tailored to the specific needs of individual patients, thus promoting their safety and well-being. Thorough risk assessment helps in developing risk management plans that minimize risks that can impede mental health patients' recovery. Department of Health policy states that risk assessments and risk management plans should be inextricably linked. This paper examines their content and linkage within one Trust. Four inpatient wards for working age adults (18-65 years) in a large mental health Trust in England were included in the study. Completed risk assessment forms, for all patients in each inpatient ward were examined (n= 43), followed by an examination of notes for the same patients. Semi-structured interviews took place with ward nurses (n= 17). Findings show much variability in the amount and detail of risk information collected by nurses, which may be distributed in several places. Gaps in the risk assessment and risk management process are evident, and a disassociation between risk information and risk management plans is often present. Risk information should have a single location so that it can be easily found and updated. Overall, a more integrated approach to risk assessment and management is required, to help patients receive timely and appropriate interventions that can reduce risks such as suicide or harm to others. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing.

The Proceedings of the South Carolina Historical Association

Annually, the association publishes a journal, The Proceedings, which consists of papers presented at the annual meeting. The Bryan-Chamorro Treaty by Rebecca M. Anderson – Greenwood High School Notes on the History of Public Health in South Carolina, 1670-1800 by St. Julien Ravenel Childs – The Citadel Samuel Slater, Father of American Manufactures by D.H. Gilpatrick – Furman University William Prynne, A Portrait by Laura Ellen Howard – Coker College Some Observations of Travelers on South Carolina, 1820-1860 by J. Rion McKissick – University of South Carolina

Legislative news

The South Carolina Department of Mental Health publishes on a bi-weekly basis Legislative News, with information on bills that are introduced which may impact the agency, mental health or health care issues, and employee issues.

2011 annual report

The South Carolina Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children publishes an annual report for the governor and the General Assembly with information on topics of concern about the well-being of children in the state and policy recommendations. The Annual Report contains selected data which present a compelling overview of those children in need and more specifically focuses on the children who have been placed in the custody of the State. Central to this theme are services for child protection and welfare, juvenile justice, and mental health.

Annual report 2012

The South Carolina Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children publishes an annual report for the governor and the General Assembly with information on topics of concern about the well-being of children in the state and policy recommendations. The Annual Report contains selected data which present a compelling overview of those children in need and more specifically focuses on the children who have been placed in the custody of the State. Central to this theme are services for child protection and welfare, juvenile justice, and mental health.

2012 ANNUAL REPORT JOINT CITIZENS AND LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The South Carolina Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children publishes an annual report for the governor and the General Assembly with information on topics of concern about the well-being of children in the state and policy recommendations. The Annual Report contains selected data which present a compelling overview of those children in need and more specifically focuses on the children who have been placed in the custody of the State. Central to this theme are services for child protection and welfare, juvenile justice, and mental health.

2013 Annual Report

The South Carolina Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children publishes an annual report for the governor and the General Assembly with information on topics of concern about the well-being of children in the state and policy recommendations. The Annual Report contains selected data which present a compelling overview of those children in need and more specifically focuses on the children who have been placed in the custody of the State. Central to this theme are services for child protection and welfare, juvenile justice, and mental health.

2014 annual report

The South Carolina Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children publishes an annual report for the governor and the General Assembly with information on topics of concern about the well-being of children in the state and policy recommendations. The Annual Report contains selected data which present a compelling overview of those children in need and more specifically focuses on the children who have been placed in the custody of the State. Central to this theme are services for child protection and welfare, juvenile justice, and mental health.

2015 annual report

The South Carolina Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children publishes an annual report for the governor and the General Assembly with information on topics of concern about the well-being of children in the state and policy recommendations. The Annual Report contains selected data which present a compelling overview of those children in need and more specifically focuses on the children who have been placed in the custody of the State. Central to this theme are services for child protection and welfare, juvenile justice, and mental health.

BabyNet Program CONSOLIDATED Financial Activity Report

This is the state’s interagency BabyNet financial statement, depicting the BabyNet revenues and expenditures of: South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness, The South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, The South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind, The South Carolina Department of Mental Health, The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, The South Carolina Department of Social Services

BabyNet Program CONSOLIDATED Financial Activity Report For the Year Ended: June 30, 2014 (FY 2014)

This is the state’s interagency BabyNet financial statement, depicting the BabyNet revenues and expenditures of: South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness, The South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, The South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind, The South Carolina Department of Mental Health and The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.