Maria Redahan, Catherine Rock, Michal Grudzien, Brendan Kelly
{"title":"A survey of attitudes and knowledge about advance healthcare directives amongst inpatient psychiatry service users in Ireland.","authors":"Maria Redahan, Catherine Rock, Michal Grudzien, Brendan Kelly","doi":"10.1017/ipm.2025.26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2025.26","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To investigate levels of knowledge and attitudes towards advance healthcare directives among inpatient psychiatry service users in Ireland.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A survey was completed among adult inpatient psychiatry service users (<i>n</i> = 47) in Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Just over one in ten (11%) inpatient psychiatry service users had heard of advance healthcare directives. None had created an advance healthcare directive, but over a quarter (25.5%) had written down or verbally told someone what they would like to happen when they became unwell. When asked 'if you were supported by your healthcare provider to make an advance healthcare directive, would you like to make one?', over two thirds responded either 'definitely yes' (34%) or 'probably yes' (34%). On multi-variable testing, future willingness to make an advance healthcare directive was significantly associated with younger age but not with ethnicity, gender, education, employment status, or prior knowledge of advance healthcare directives. All respondents would involve someone else in making an advance healthcare directive. There was high confidence that healthcare practitioners would respect an advance healthcare directive (87%).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>There are high levels of interest in advance healthcare directives, but low levels of knowledge and use among inpatient psychiatry service users in Ireland. Our findings indicate a need for educational initiatives and resources to increase awareness. Such efforts could usefully focus especially on appropriate use of advance healthcare directives in psychiatric care and seek to bridge the gaps between evidence of benefit, legislative reform, and their use in mental healthcare.</p>","PeriodicalId":46220,"journal":{"name":"IRISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144486551","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hannah Rudden, Jessica Bramham, Margo Wrigley, Dimitrios Adamis, Niamh Liddy, Bronwyn Smith, Carlos Sanchez Belmar, Christine Boyd, Furkan Basak, Kayleigh Gallagher, Marianne Keenan, Mohd Faisal, Muhammad Satti, Nkeiruka Nwaudoh, Petra McLoughlin, Ross Gallagher, Seán Byrne, Stephen Killilea, Yetunde Awolola, Aiveen Kirley
{"title":"Evaluation of the referral pathway to Irish specialist adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder services.","authors":"Hannah Rudden, Jessica Bramham, Margo Wrigley, Dimitrios Adamis, Niamh Liddy, Bronwyn Smith, Carlos Sanchez Belmar, Christine Boyd, Furkan Basak, Kayleigh Gallagher, Marianne Keenan, Mohd Faisal, Muhammad Satti, Nkeiruka Nwaudoh, Petra McLoughlin, Ross Gallagher, Seán Byrne, Stephen Killilea, Yetunde Awolola, Aiveen Kirley","doi":"10.1017/ipm.2025.25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2025.25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to evaluate the general practitioner (GP) referral pathway for adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) devised by the Irish Health Service Executive's (HSE) National Clinical Programme for Adult ADHD (NCPAA). Primary objectives were to (i) quantify GP referrals to community mental health teams (CMHTs) for adult ADHD screening, (ii) measure workload on CMHTs related to screening adult ADHD referrals without comorbid mental health problems, and (iii) quantify access to adult ADHD screening through CMHTs and subsequent assessment and treatment access through specialist adult ADHD teams.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>An observational cohort design was used to retrospectively analyse ADHD-related referral data collected by clinical staff across 11 Irish CMHTs, and three specialist adult ADHD teams from January to December 2023.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>There was high variability in adult ADHD referrals to CMHTs, ranging from 14 to 122 over one year. There was also high variability in the number of referrals seen by CMHTs, ranging from 9 to 82. From 304 referrals seen across 11 CMHTs, 25.3% required initial treatment for another mental health condition. Specialist adult ADHD teams received 3-4 times more referrals than they were able to assess during this timeframe.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The NCPAA has provided crucial services for adults with ADHD in Ireland. However, an increase in neurodiversity awareness and demand for services suggests that a range of referral pathways depending on complexity level may be required. Alternative models are proposed, which require allocation of resources and training through primary care, secondary mental health services and specialist teams.</p>","PeriodicalId":46220,"journal":{"name":"IRISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144477206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Delirium in hospitalized older adults with COVID-19: a cross-sectional cohort study.","authors":"Nida Munawar, Enas Mohamed, Cliona Ni Cheallaigh, Colm Bergin, Elaine Greene","doi":"10.1017/ipm.2025.19","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2025.19","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Older adults are more likely to develop delirium with COVID-19 infection. This cross-sectional cohort study was designed to explore the risk factors of delirium in hospitalized older adults with COVID-19 and to evaluate whether delirium is an independent predictor of mortality in this cohort of patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data were collected through a retrospective clinical chart review of patients aged 65 years or older who were admitted to St. James's Hospital between March 2020 and 2021 who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 261 patients (2.8 % of total admissions 65 years or older) were included in this study. Patients who developed delirium were older (80.8 <i>v.</i> 75.8 years, <i>p</i> < 0.001), more likely to have pre-existing cognitive impairment (OR = 3.97 [95% CI 2.11-7.46], <i>p</i> < 0.001), and were more likely to be nursing home residents (OR = 12.32 [95% CI 2.54-59.62], <i>p</i> = 0.0018). Patients who developed delirium had a higher Clinical Frailty score (mean 5.31 <i>v.</i> 3.67, <i>p</i> < 0.001) and higher Charlson Co-morbidity index (mean 2.38 <i>v.</i> 1.82, <i>p</i> = .046). There was no significant association between in-hospital mortality and delirium in the patient cohort (<i>p</i> = 0.13). Delirium was associated with longer hospital stay (40.5 days <i>v.</i> 21 days, <i>P</i> = 0.001) and patients with delirium were more likely to be discharged to nursing homes or convalescence instead of home (OR = 8.46 [95% CI 3.60-19.88], <i>p</i> < 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Delirium is more likely to occur in COVID-19 patients with pre-existing risk factors for delirium, resulting in prolonged admission and functional decline requiring increased support for discharge.</p>","PeriodicalId":46220,"journal":{"name":"IRISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE","volume":" ","pages":"1-6"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144286797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
C M Corradi-Webster, G Reis, E B V Brisola, C A Sampaio, C N P Araujo, L S Rufato, R A S Oliveira, R Éllen Cristina Ricci, W F de Oliveira, B R de Oliveira, C Bellamy, M Costa
{"title":"A reflection on the role of individuals with lived experience in shaping the Brazilian psychiatric reform.","authors":"C M Corradi-Webster, G Reis, E B V Brisola, C A Sampaio, C N P Araujo, L S Rufato, R A S Oliveira, R Éllen Cristina Ricci, W F de Oliveira, B R de Oliveira, C Bellamy, M Costa","doi":"10.1017/ipm.2025.20","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2025.20","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In the last ten years, the recovery movement has significantly influenced mental health services and workers, psychiatric reform, and the advocacy movement worldwide. Within Brazil's public mental health care system, operates a cohesive, powerful advocacy coalition empowering recovery-oriented practices. This article aims to highlight successful initiatives spearheaded by individuals with lived experience in Brazil. We will also present some challenges, and discuss possible recovery strategies to strengthen mental health services by empowering people with lived experience and promoting social justice. Efforts and initiatives to implement recovery strategies in Brazil are underway, aiming to improve population mental health and substance misuse both within and outside mental health services. These initiatives include peer support, advocacy, testimonies and empowerment, employment, and social, cultural, and artistic initiatives. Some of the challenges to greater participation of individuals with lived experience in this ongoing process of Brazilian psychiatric reform include the following aspects: barriers to the autonomy and independence of lived experience organizations; the longstanding history of racism in Brazilian society; disparities in social indicators such as education and income, between professionals and people with lived experience in mental health and substance misuse. Although progress in Brazil's psychiatric reform has advanced through recovery initiatives, challenges remain in ensuring leadership roles for people with lived experience. Ongoing success depends on their active involvement, alongside advocacy movements and involvement of broader society.</p>","PeriodicalId":46220,"journal":{"name":"IRISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144267590","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nandakumar Ravichandran, Emily Dillon, Geoff McCombe, Emils Sietins, John Broughan, Karen O' Connor, Gautam Gulati, Timmy Frawley, Brendan D Kelly, Allys Guérandel, Brian Osborne, Walter Cullen
{"title":"Prevalence of Mental Health Disorders in General Practice from 2014 to 2024: A literature review and discussion paper.","authors":"Nandakumar Ravichandran, Emily Dillon, Geoff McCombe, Emils Sietins, John Broughan, Karen O' Connor, Gautam Gulati, Timmy Frawley, Brendan D Kelly, Allys Guérandel, Brian Osborne, Walter Cullen","doi":"10.1017/ipm.2025.24","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2025.24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Many consultations in primary care involve patients with mental health problems, and primary care is typically the place where many such patients initially seek help. While considerable research has examined the prevalence of mental health disorders in primary care, relatively few papers have examined this issue in recent years. This study aims to address this gap by reviewing contemporary literature from 2014 to 2024 on the prevalence of mental health disorders among general practice patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A comprehensive search across PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar was conducted, adhering to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines for article selection and assessment, examining the prevalence of mental health disorders in general practice.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Studies varied in methodologies and healthcare settings, with reported prevalence rates of mental health disorders ranging from 2.4% to 56.3%. Demographic characteristics (female gender, older age) were associated with a higher prevalence of mental health disorders in the studies identified. Studies based on patient interviews reported broader prevalence (2.4-56.3%) compared to studies using electronic medical record reviews (12-38%). Prevalence also varied between countries. Notably, there has been a lack of post-COVID-19 studies, especially within Europe, examining the prevalence of mental health prevalence in primary care.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Mental health problems are still common among patients attending general practice; the approach to data collection (i.e., prospective interviews with patients), female gender and older age appear to be correlates of higher estimates. Further research involving a large-scale study with multiple sites is a priority.</p>","PeriodicalId":46220,"journal":{"name":"IRISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144182665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Co-production and mental health service provision: a scoping review.","authors":"Michael John Norton","doi":"10.1017/ipm.2025.16","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2025.16","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Co-production is a relatively new concept with a history spanning back just four decades. However, it is only in the past ten years that it has been applied to mental health. It is now observed as a recovery principle whose presence is necessary for recovery-orientated services to become a reality. Despite this, today, there is still much confusion as per the philosophical, empirical and practical basis within mental health service provision, with key areas lacking theoretical clarity, for example, its definition within the mental health domain along with its ontological and epistemological stance on how the social world should be viewed and, more importantly, interpreted. As such, this paper will examine the concept of co-production within mental health service provision.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A scoping review that was compliant with the PRISMA amendments for scoping reviews and followed Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework was conducted. The databases CINAHL, Cochrane Online Library, Jstor, Ovid SP, PsycINFO, PsycTESTS, PubMed, RCNi, Science Direct, Web of Science and Wiley Online Library were used to search the peer-reviewed literature. This was supported by a comprehensive search of repositories for grey literature on co-production.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Ten articles were eligible for inclusion in the study. Through the use of a summative content analysis approach, the results were constructed in order to form a narrative. This narrative would reflect the key aspects of each study as they pertained to one or more of the five headings created as part of phase four of Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework. These headings include <i>Co-Production Definition Used, Stated Advantages of Co-Production, Stated Disadvantages of Co-Production, Co-Production Types/Models</i> and <i>Implementing Co-Production.</i></p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The results of this review has added empirically to the literature base on co-production. The study highlights the lack of renumeration for those working in co-production activity that needs to be addressed. Most striking is the formal recognition, for the first time, of a philosophical war between co-production and that of evidence-based practice itself. This is an interesting but important development that requires further study in order to ensure that co-production as a recovery principle can be further enhanced and sustained into the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":46220,"journal":{"name":"IRISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144174904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michael John Norton, Paul Clabby, Belinda Coyle, Julie Cruickshank, Gavin Davidson, Katherine Greer, Martina Kilcommins, Claire McCartan, Emma McGuire, Sinéad McGilloway, Ciaran Mulholland, Mary O'Connell-Gannon, Derek Pepper, Ciaran Shannon, Calvin Swords, Jim Walsh, Paul Webb
{"title":"The role of peer support work in recovery-oriented services: a rapid scoping review.","authors":"Michael John Norton, Paul Clabby, Belinda Coyle, Julie Cruickshank, Gavin Davidson, Katherine Greer, Martina Kilcommins, Claire McCartan, Emma McGuire, Sinéad McGilloway, Ciaran Mulholland, Mary O'Connell-Gannon, Derek Pepper, Ciaran Shannon, Calvin Swords, Jim Walsh, Paul Webb","doi":"10.1017/ipm.2025.21","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2025.21","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The aim of this rapid scoping review was to provide a summary of the available evidence on the development and implementation of peer support work in mental health services. The specific objectives were: to undertake a comprehensive review of the literature on peer support work; and identify how such work may be best implemented.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A rapid scoping review was identified as the most appropriate approach to reviewing the literature mainly because the objectives of this review were relatively broad and there was a short timeframe. In a rapid scoping review the data extraction and reporting are focused and limited to provide an overview of existing evidence.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>From the initial database results of 7406 records, 663 were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria. The most relevant of these were then selected (<i>n</i> = 26) to be reported in this review with existing reviews of the research evidence (<i>n</i> = 7) being prioritised. The findings were organised into a number of sections: definitions, values and the role; development and implementation of peer support work; experiences of peer support workers; perceptions of others about peer support work; recruitment of peer support workers; training; supervision and support; and research on effectiveness.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>There are excellent sources of guidance, considerable qualitative research about experiences and some encouraging, but limited, findings about the impact of peer support work specifically on recovery-oriented outcomes. There is a need for further rigorous research on the key aspects and effectiveness of peer support work.</p>","PeriodicalId":46220,"journal":{"name":"IRISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144128999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Prevalence of personality disorder and psychiatric co-morbidity in an Irish inpatient setting.","authors":"Molly Bredin, Sorcha McManus, Gavin Rush","doi":"10.1017/ipm.2025.15","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2025.15","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Personality disorders, characterised by pervasive emotional and interpersonal dysfunction, are integral to psychiatric practice. This service review estimated the prevalence of personality disorders in a psychiatric inpatient setting and looked at various clinical and demographic factors of interest.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data were retrospectively collected from 526 patients discharged from St Patrick's University Hospital in 2019-2020 under the care of two consultant-led teams. Demographic and clinical data such as age of first mental health contact, number of previous admissions, and risk history were recorded as well as the use of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Personality Disorders (SCID-5-PD).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>37% of the sample had at least one personality disorder, with borderline (24.9%), avoidant (13.3%) and obsessive-compulsive (7.6%) being the most common subtypes. Notably, in 72.1% of cases the diagnosis was new. High comorbidity was observed, particularly with affective (47.7%) and anxiety disorders (28.4%). Patients with personality disorders exhibited high rates of self-harm (45%) and suicide attempts (40%).</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>The review highlighted potential delays in diagnosis, with an average of 15 years of mental health service contact prior to diagnosis. The findings underscore the need for specialised services and further research to better understand and manage personality disorders in the Irish psychiatric setting. Limitations include the specific sample from a private mental health facility and the high use of structured interviews, which may affect the generalisability of the results to other settings. This review contributes valuable data to the limited research on personality disorder prevalence in Irish psychiatric services.</p>","PeriodicalId":46220,"journal":{"name":"IRISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE","volume":" ","pages":"1-5"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144032379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A network analysis of depressive symptoms in adults with and without diabetes: findings from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing - CORRIGENDUM.","authors":"Brendan Byrne, Amy McInerney, Sonya S Deschênes","doi":"10.1017/ipm.2025.12","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2025.12","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46220,"journal":{"name":"IRISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144015040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Louise Gallagher, Laura Crane, Thomas Dinneen, Noha Ibrahim, Niamh Mulryan, Nadia Bolshakova, Adam Harris, Linda O'Rourke, Elizabeth Pellicano
{"title":"Examining the barriers and facilitators to mental health service provision for autistic people in Ireland: a survey of psychiatrists.","authors":"Louise Gallagher, Laura Crane, Thomas Dinneen, Noha Ibrahim, Niamh Mulryan, Nadia Bolshakova, Adam Harris, Linda O'Rourke, Elizabeth Pellicano","doi":"10.1017/ipm.2025.9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/ipm.2025.9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Autistic people have high levels of mental ill-health and an increased risk of suicide across the lifespan. Yet autistic people report difficulties communicating with healthcare professionals and accessing a range of healthcare services. At the same time, mental healthcare workers in other countries are reporting links between confidence when working with autistic patients and the degree of autism knowledge and training they can access.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We sought to examine what factors helped or hindered Irish mental healthcare colleagues when working with autistic healthcare service users. An online survey using quantitative and qualitative metrics was circulated among psychiatrists who are members of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland, both in training and at consultant level, from April 2021 to April 2022.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Knowledge of autism was high among psychiatrists (<i>n</i> = 140), but self-efficacy scores were variable, particularly in relation to care pathways. Self-efficacy was better among psychiatrists with caseloads of children and youth or individuals with co-occurring intellectual disabilities. Three key qualitative themes emerged relating to capacity and training of mental health professionals, ways to improve mental health services provision for autistic individuals and also the critical need for co-creation and neurodiversity affirmative care.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The study highlighted critical systemic and professional challenges in providing mental health care to autistic people in Ireland. We provide recommendations for reducing these challenges and for enabling the development of inclusive, evidenced-based care to autistic individuals.</p>","PeriodicalId":46220,"journal":{"name":"IRISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143781440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}