Transforming the journey together: Baseline findings from a longitudinal, co-designed study on psychiatry trainee experiences of training and wellbeing.

OBJECTIVE: Junior doctors have high rates of burnout resulting in downstream impacts on patient care. The aim of this study is to capture cross-sectional data on a cohort of psychiatry trainees. These data will be used to inform a wider project investigating psychiatry trainee mental health and wellbeing. METHOD: This paper reports on the 2019 baseline data of psychiatry trainees enrolled in a formal education course at the University of Sydney, Australia. The data were collected with an online survey using a range of validated mental health and wellbeing scales. This descriptive study involved psychiatry trainees as co-designers. RESULTS: Our research findings are in keeping with the existing literature on the poor mental health and wellbeing of doctors with significantly higher levels of anxiety and exhaustion found in female trainees and carers. Despite this, the cohort had high scores on the flourishing scale. CONCLUSIONS: Concern around the wellbeing of junior doctors in Australia appears justified. We need to move beyond focussing on individual action to systems-based approaches to improving wellbeing and ongoing sustainability of the psychiatry trainee workforce in NSW.

Workplace mental health training for managers and its effect on sick leave in employees: a cluster randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Mental illness is one of the most rapidly increasing causes of long-term sickness absence, despite improved rates of detection and development of more effective interventions. However, mental health training for managers might help improve occupational outcomes for people with mental health problems. We aimed to investigate the effect of mental health training on managers' knowledge, attitudes, confidence, and behaviour towards employees with mental health problems, and its effect on employee sickness absence. METHODS: We did a cluster randomised controlled trial of manager mental health training within a large Australian fire and rescue service, with a 6-month follow-up. Managers (clusters) at the level of duty commander or equivalent were randomly assigned (1:1) using an online random sequence generator to either a 4-h face-to-face RESPECT mental health training programme or a deferred training control group. Researchers, managers, and employees were not masked to the outcome of randomisation. Firefighters and station officers supervised by each manager were included in the study via their anonymised sickness absence records. The primary outcome measure was change in sickness absence among those supervised by each of the managers. We analysed rates of work-related sick leave and standard sick leave seperately, with rate being defined as sickness absence hours divided by the sum of hours of sickness absence and hours of attendance. This trial was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12613001156774). FINDINGS: 128 managers were recruited between Feb 18, 2014, and May 17, 2014. 46 (71%) of 65 managers allocated to the intervention group received the intervention, and 42 (67%) of 63 managers allocated to the control group were entered in the deferred training group. Managers and their employees were followed up and reassessed at 6 months after randomisation. 25 managers (1233 employees) in the intervention group and 19 managers (733 employees) in the control group provided data for the primary analysis. During the 6-month follow-up, the mean rate of work-related sick leave decreased by 0·28 percentage points (pp) from a pre-training mean of 1·56% (SE 0·23) in the intervention group and increased by 0·28 pp from 0·95% (0·20) in the control group (p=0·049), corresponding to a reduction of 6·45 h per employee per 6 months. The mean percentage of standard sick leave increased by 0·48 pp from 4·97% (0·22) in the intervention group and by 0·31 pp from 5·27% (0·21) in the control group (p=0·169). INTERPRETATION: A 4-h manager mental health training programme could lead to a significant reduction in work-related sickness absence, with an associated return on investment of £9.98 for each pound spent on such training. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and test their applicability in other work settings. FUNDING: NSW Health and Employers Mutual Ltd.

A web-based preventive intervention program for bipolar disorder: outcome of a 12-months randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The Internet is used to deliver information on many psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder. This paper reports on the results of a 12-months randomised controlled trial, which examined the efficacy of an Internet-based preventive program for bipolar disorder, adjunctive to usual pharmacological management. METHODS: Participants were recruited by completing an online screening questionnaire accessed through the Black Dog Institute and Sentiens websites based in Australia. The treatment was predominantly psycho-educational with cognitive behavioral therapy optional elements. The attention control treatment comprised directing subjects to a variety of websites focused on 'healthy living'. Time to recurrence was determined using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. The main outcome measures were recurrence as defined by: (i) depressive and/or hypomanic symptomatology and functional capacity (using Beck Depression Inventory, Internal State Scale and Sheehan Disability Scale) and (ii) hospitalization. RESULTS: Two-hundred-and-thirty-three subjects were randomized to the active or control treatment groups. There were no significant differences between the active and control treatment groups on any of the definitions of recurrence. LIMITATIONS: Reliance on an online self-report tool to confirm diagnosis and hospitalization rates may have potentially allowed for inclusion of individuals with other diagnoses such as borderline personality disorder. The 'attention control' treatment may have included more 'active' components than intended. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report examining the efficacy of a randomized controlled web-based psychological intervention in a large sample of subjects with bipolar disorder. The potential reasons for failing to demonstrate a significant difference compared to the active control are discussed.

Considerations in the management of bipolar disorder in women.

OBJECTIVE: Recent research has emphasized important gender differences in the epidemiology, course, comorbidity and treatment of bipolar disorder. This article aims to provide an overview of these important findings in order to assist the clinician in treating women with bipolar disorder. Complex issues regarding the treatment of bipolar disorder during pregnancy and the post-partum period are discussed. METHOD: A literature review was undertaken using Medline (1966-current), PsychInfo and PubMed databases. Search terms used were gender, sex, women, bipolar disorder, suicide, epidemiology, rapid cycling, mixed episode, treatment, mood stabilizers, antidepressants, antipsychotics, pregnancy, post-partum, menopause, lactation and breast-feeding. RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence of bipolar I disorder is equal in men and women; however, bipolar II appears to be more common in women. Gender differences have been reported in the phenomenology, course and outcome of this condition. Some comorbid disorders, such as thyroid disease and anxiety disorders have more relevance to women. Increasingly, sex differences in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of medications used in bipolar disorder are being reported. CONCLUSIONS: There is increasing evidence for gender differences in a number of clinical features of bipolar disorder that have relevance to management. Although more studies are needed, it is important for clinicians to be aware of these issues to optimize treatment of women with this condition.