Liaison mental health services for older people: a literature review, service mapping and in-depth evaluation of service models
Award Number
08/1504/100Programme
Health and Social Care Delivery ResearchStatus / Stage
CompletedDates
2 April 2006 -31 December 2008
Duration (calculated)
02 years 08 monthsFunder(s)
NIHRFunding Amount
£399,981.00Funder/Grant study page
NIHRContracted Centre
University of LeedsPrincipal Investigator
Dr John HolmesPI ORCID
0000-0002-5383-432XWHO Catergories
Methodologies and approaches for risk reduction researchModels across the continuum of care
Disease Type
Dementia (Unspecified)CPEC Review Info
| Reference ID | 181 |
|---|---|
| Researcher | Reside Team |
| Published | 12/06/2023 |
Data
| Award Number | 08/1504/100 |
|---|---|
| Status / Stage | Completed |
| Start Date | 20060402 |
| End Date | 20081231 |
| Duration (calculated) | 02 years 08 months |
| Funder/Grant study page | NIHR |
| Contracted Centre | University of Leeds |
| Funding Amount | £399,981.00 |
Abstract
Mental health problems are common in older people in general hospitals, with adverse effects on many important outcomes. To address this, some providers have developed specific mental health services for older people in general hospital settings, called liaison mental health services. These differ from the usual provision in being general hospital based and focused, and in spending time educating and training general hospital colleagues in the management of common mental health problems encountered in older people. Several different service models are possible, each with strengths and weaknesses. Not enough is known about the prevalent service configurations, clinical and educational activity and impact on outcomes of these liaison mental health services for older people. The overall aims of this proposal are to establish what service models are being used to improve the care of older people with mental health problems in general hospitals, and what impact these service models might have on outcomes, with the objective of informing both service development and the design of an evaluation of these services in a trial setting. Our proposal has three phases: Phase 1. Literature review. We will search and synthesise the available literature (including grey literature) on liaison mental health services for older people, using systematic search strategies in appropriate databases and on the internet. This will provide descriptions of the different models of mental health liaison for older people, including staffing and skill mix, service activity, effectiveness and applicability to the NHS, and will also establish the strength of the evidence (or lack of evidence) for effectiveness. Phase 2. Service mapping. We will map the provision of liaison mental health services for older people across the UK. We will survey clinicians (old age psychiatrists and care of the elderly physicians) to detect the presence of any liaison service, and will determine a lead contact to obtain further information from, including the staffing and skill-mix, activity, workload, referral pathways, speed of response and other details. This will produce a typology of different service types and their prevalence, together with a range of services to be selected for in-depth evaluation in the next phase. Phase 3. Service evaluation. We will provide an in-depth pragmatic evaluation of a sample of liaison mental health services for older people, describing in detail the staffing, activity, management and administrative structures, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and other relevant information. We will also include sites where the traditional, community-focused model is in place to assess the added value of any liaison component. We will employ fieldworkers trained to use standardised methods to evaluate services. Successful completion of this phase will produce the detailed knowledge that will inform service development and also place us in the position to be able to design a trail-based formal evaluation of liaison mental health services for older people. Our findings will be disseminated widely to all stakeholders, including providers, commissioners, policy makers, voluntary providers, services user and carer groups and other interested parties, in appropriate forms; we will also make our findings freely available on the internet.
Aims
The overall aims of this proposal are to establish what service models are being used to improve the care of older people with mental health problems in general hospitals, and what impact these service models might have on outcomes, with the objective of informing both service development and the design of an evaluation of these services in a trial setting.