(July 30, 2019) Research Roundup is a monthly public service of the Office of Research and Public Affairs. Each edition describes a striking new data point about serious mental illness and summarizes recently published research reports or developments.
DATAPOINT of the Month
- 37,679 state hospital beds remaining for patients whose treatment is not being, or cannot be, adequately addressed in a community setting.
In 2016, the Treatment Advocacy Center published its latest state psychiatric hospital bed survey, which still remains the most up-to-date, accurate count of last-resort public inpatient hospital beds for people with serious mental illness. The shortage of inpatient psychiatric hospital beds, a vital component of a fully-functioning system of care for people with serious mental illness, results in a myriad of consequences for individuals and their loved ones due to the lack of access to timely and effective treatment.
RESEARCH of the Month
- Privacy and social media for people with serious mental illness.
Social media is considered a new tool of engagement for people with serious mental illness, with research suggesting people use it to connect with others who have similar conditions and provide support as well as seek information. However, any social media-based mental health intervention needs to protect the individuals using it and minimize harm, especially when it comes to participants’ privacy of information.
According to a qualitative analysis of survey responses published in Psychiatric Services, individuals with serious mental illness who utilize social media for mental health support were concerned about threats to their employment due to the disclosure of their personal information. Other themes that emerged from the analysis included concerns about being judged due to their illness, the impact the disclosure of their mental illness may have on personal relationships, and fear of being harassed online. Importantly, the authors found that individuals with serious mental illness were more likely to have privacy concerns about using social media for mental health support if they had higher levels of education, such as a college degree. This is consistent with previous findings that people with higher levels of education have more digital literacy, or the understanding of the benefits and harms of the digital world. It is therefore important to consider the degree to which individuals with serious mental illness understand the risks involved in participating in social media mental health interventions when enrolling participants.
Naslund, J. A., et al. (2019). Risks to privacy with use of social media: Understanding the views of social media users with serious mental illness. Psychiatric Services.
- 10-year cognitive changes after first onset of psychosis.
Cognitive impairments are a well-known symptom of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, with varying severities and types depending on the individual, their treatment access and availability of support. Conversely, little is known about the longer-term trajectory of cognitive impairments for individuals with psychotic disorders, especially after a first episode of psychosis. Research published this month in The American Journal of Psychiatry examined patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders 10 years after their first episode of psychosis. They found that individuals with schizophrenia had significant declines in level of IQ and memory, but processing speed and executive function impairments present at the first episode did not significantly decline. Individuals without a psychotic disorder who had a lower IQ did not show a decline over the 10-year period, indicating the decline in IQ is specific to psychosis and its effect on the brain.
Zanelli, J. (2019). Cognitive change in schizophrenia and other psychoses in the decade following the first episode. The American Journal of Psychiatry.
- Power of suicide prediction algorithms still limited.
Technological advances have the potential to completely transform the way in which mental health care is delivered. However, as new research published this month in JAMA Psychiatry suggests, these technologies still have their limitations. To better understand the real-world applicability of a particular mental health innovation, researchers conducted a systematic review and data simulation of various statistical algorithms used to predict suicide attempts and death by suicide. The analysis comprised 64 different suicide prediction algorithms of study from 17 different published research articles, including algorithms being developed for the United States Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs and Kaiser Permanente. Analysis of the evidence from the research studies and simulations of the different algorithms found that, overall, these tools had low predictive value. The authors conclude that although promising, there remains serious concerns over the use and application of suicide prediction algorithms in real health care settings.
Belsher, B. E., et al. (2019). Prediction models for suicide attempts and deaths: A systematic review and simulation. JAMA Psychiatry.
Elizabeth Sinclair
Director of Research
Treatment Advocacy Center
Research Weekly is a summary published as a public service of the Treatment Advocacy Center and does not necessarily reflect the findings or positions of the organization or its staff. Full access to research summarized may require a fee or paid subscription to the publications.