Hamed Akhlaghi, Kelly Mullins, Sam Freeman, Shradha Sherry Vasan, Greta Moon, Yvonne Bonomo, Jonathan Karro
{"title":"Evaluation of the ED MHAOD Hub at St Vincent's hospital.","authors":"Hamed Akhlaghi, Kelly Mullins, Sam Freeman, Shradha Sherry Vasan, Greta Moon, Yvonne Bonomo, Jonathan Karro","doi":"10.1177/10398562251316201","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10398562251316201","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>In response to the 2021 Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System, the Victorian government established six purpose-built Mental Health Alcohol and Other Drug (MHAOD) emergency department (ED) Hubs. This study evaluates the MHAOD Hub at St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne (SVHM), which opened in March 2022 as metropolitan Melbourne's first multidisciplinary Mental Health and Drug or Alcohol Hub integrated into the St Vincent's Emergency Department.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective analysis covers patient admissions to the MHAOD Hub from March 2022 to June 2024, documenting demographics, clinical characteristics and outcomes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>8553 MHAOD admissions were recorded. The Hub admitted a high proportion of vulnerable populations, including 8.4% Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders and 36.5% homeless individuals. 76.5% of presentations to the Hub were categorised as Australasian Triage Category (ATS) 1, 2 or 3. The most common discharge diagnosis was alcohol-related diagnosis (18.95%) followed by suicidality (14.71%) and psychosis (5.66%). 17.1% of presentations were admitted to the psychiatric ward.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study highlights the effectiveness of MHAOD Hub care in improving timely access to care and addressing the needs of vulnerable populations. Future research should focus on qualitative assessments to capture the nuanced patient and staff experiences and further evaluate long-term outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":8630,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":"10398562251316201"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Australasian PsychiatryPub Date : 2025-02-01Epub Date: 2024-09-24DOI: 10.1177/10398562241285984
Ernest Hunter
{"title":"Reckoning with rights: the Voice Referendum.","authors":"Ernest Hunter","doi":"10.1177/10398562241285984","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10398562241285984","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are dismayed by the rejection of the 2023 Voice Referendum and its amplification of social divisions. This article considers a recent article in Australasian Psychiatry in which matters of motivation, process and outcome are raised that provides the scaffolding to explore these issues.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The breakdown of bipartisan political support and subsequent politicisation of the Referendum process resulted in claims regarding the reasons for and consequences of the Referendum that were not consistent with the process leading to the Uluru Statement. The outcome has been socially divisive and a cause of significant distress for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, the majority of whom voted in support of the Voice.</p>","PeriodicalId":8630,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":"21-24"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142340196","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Australasian PsychiatryPub Date : 2025-02-01Epub Date: 2024-11-21DOI: 10.1177/10398562241300887
Paul A Maguire, Jeffrey Cl Looi
{"title":"Diagnostic testing in psychiatry: insights and examples from a Bayesian perspective.","authors":"Paul A Maguire, Jeffrey Cl Looi","doi":"10.1177/10398562241300887","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10398562241300887","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To demonstrate the application of Bayes' theorem to diagnostic testing in clinical settings, especially with respect to rare diseases, enhancing an understanding of pre-test probability and its implications.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Bayes' theorem enables the revision of the conditional probabilities of an event occurring when new information is acquired. It demonstrates that when the prevalence of a disease is very low, there are a high number of false positives, thereby reducing the clinical utility and cost benefit profile of the diagnostic test, even in the presence of relatively high sensitivities and specificities of the chosen test.</p>","PeriodicalId":8630,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":"162-167"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11804144/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142685832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Australasian PsychiatryPub Date : 2025-02-01Epub Date: 2024-10-30DOI: 10.1177/10398562241291335
Antoine Sawares, James Olver, Marco Morcos, Trevor Norman
{"title":"Oxytocin in old age psychiatry: A systematic review of the safety of using intranasal oxytocin in older adults.","authors":"Antoine Sawares, James Olver, Marco Morcos, Trevor Norman","doi":"10.1177/10398562241291335","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10398562241291335","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To examine the literature for evidence of adverse events associated with the use of intranasal oxytocin in older adults (60+).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic review was undertaken according to PRISMA guidelines. Peer-reviewed literature was searched for studies involving intranasal oxytocin use in older populations. The Joanna Briggs Institute's (JBI) critical appraisal tool was used to assess the quality of included studies.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The search identified nine randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the effects of intranasal oxytocin on a total sample size of 331 older participants. Adverse effects associated with oxytocin administration were predominantly mild and varied inconsistently between studies. Compared to placebo intranasal oxytocin was not significantly associated with severe adverse outcomes in doses ranging from 24 to 72 IU after single dose and or repeated doses in the short-term.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In a population of older adults, intranasal oxytocin is devoid of serious adverse events. Although this review offers valuable insights, it may not fully reflect the potential adverse events associated with the long-term administration of intranasal oxytocin such as would be expected in its clinical application if approved for the treatment of dementia.</p>","PeriodicalId":8630,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":"33-44"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11804147/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142543380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Australasian PsychiatryPub Date : 2025-02-01Epub Date: 2024-11-21DOI: 10.1177/10398562241302200
Katie Jones, Carolyn Gillespie, Sarah J Wilson
{"title":"Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing's response to <i>The corrosion of adult mental healthcare in Australia: Can we meet the needs of those who need the most?</i>","authors":"Katie Jones, Carolyn Gillespie, Sarah J Wilson","doi":"10.1177/10398562241302200","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10398562241302200","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":8630,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":"171-173"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142680561","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Australasian PsychiatryPub Date : 2025-02-01Epub Date: 2024-10-14DOI: 10.1177/10398562241292209
John Kasinathan, Annie Parsons
{"title":"Radicalisation in adolescents: mental health considerations for violent extremism.","authors":"John Kasinathan, Annie Parsons","doi":"10.1177/10398562241292209","DOIUrl":"10.1177/10398562241292209","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To outline current understanding and recommended mental health and psychiatric considerations for radicalisation and violent extremism among adolescents.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Overview of recent research regarding violent extremism in adolescents and relationships with mental illness and other psychosocial determinants. Relevant international and Australasian research is outlined, with an emphasis on adolescents. Psychiatric considerations, intervention and policy implications will be explored.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Adolescents who become radicalised form a heterogenous group with complex, multifaceted needs from mental disorder, familial, societal and/or environmental contributions. Thus, assessment and management need to be individualised. Mental health clinicians working with at-risk and radicalised adolescents should maintain a high index of suspicion for mental illness (particularly psychosis and depressive disorder) and neurodevelopmental disorder. Identified psychiatric conditions warrant prioritised mental health treatment. There may be a relationship between specific psychopathology and certain ideological beliefs and behaviours.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Radicalised adolescents pose challenges with risk of serious harm to others, presentation complexity, multifactorial contributors and associations with varied psychopathology. All adolescents at risk of radicalisation or who are radicalised, should receive comprehensive mental health assessment and prompt assertive treatment of identified psychiatric conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":8630,"journal":{"name":"Australasian Psychiatry","volume":" ","pages":"57-63"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11804141/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142456924","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}