Assessment of Response to Providing Health-related Information in a Community Psychiatry Outpatient Setting. J Psychiatr Pract 2016 Jul;22(4):344-7
Date
07/20/2016Pubmed ID
27427848DOI
10.1097/PRA.0000000000000168Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84978880596 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 2 CitationsAbstract
The objective of this study was to assess the subjective responses of patient and staff to the provision of health-related information in an outpatient psychiatric clinic. Simple educational information on healthy eating, exercising, and smoking cessation was provided in the waiting area of a clinic over the course of a year. This information took the form of educational handouts, educational DVDs, and monthly "special events" such as a poster competition for smoking cessation. In addition, patients were given an opportunity to attend free nutritional counseling sessions. Also, when needed, staff assisted patients in making appointments with primary care physicians. At the end of the year, a survey was distributed to patients and staff to assess the perceived benefits of the initiative. The majority of the 79 patients who completed the survey (n=60, 76%) had used the information provided, 95% of whom (n=57) had made some behavioral change, with 13% of the total survey respondents indicating that they had quit smoking. Ninety percent of the surveyed providers (18/20) felt that the initiative had had a positive impact on their patients. These results suggest that simple, low cost health and wellness initiatives in conjunction with an enthusiastic expenditure of a relatively small amount of staff time have the potential to have a positive impact on individuals attending an outpatient psychiatric clinic.
Author List
Pawar D, Mojtabai R, Goldman A, Batkis D, Malloy K, Cullen BAuthor
Deepa S. Pawar MD Assistant Professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultCommunity Mental Health Services
Female
Humans
Male
Mental Disorders
Outpatients
Patient Education as Topic
Risk Reduction Behavior
