Personalised care for people with excessive alcohol use following an episode of self-harm: a mixed methods community case study in a psychiatric liaison team
BackgroundExcessive alcohol use is common among people presenting to emergency departments with self-harm; however, this group face barriers accessing appropriate support. This study aimed to evaluate a rapid access personalised face-to-face service developed to address this gap and explore wider im...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1608804/full |
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| author | Sarah Wigham Elizabeth Titchener Katherine Jackson Eileen Kaner Eilish Gilvarry Eilish Gilvarry Amy O’Donnell |
| author_facet | Sarah Wigham Elizabeth Titchener Katherine Jackson Eileen Kaner Eilish Gilvarry Eilish Gilvarry Amy O’Donnell |
| author_sort | Sarah Wigham |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundExcessive alcohol use is common among people presenting to emergency departments with self-harm; however, this group face barriers accessing appropriate support. This study aimed to evaluate a rapid access personalised face-to-face service developed to address this gap and explore wider implementation opportunities.MethodsWe conducted a service evaluation with a mixed methods convergent design. An NHS data custodian extracted and anonymised electronic health records data prior to sharing with the research team for analysis using descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients and clinicians and analysed thematically. Quantitative and qualitative data were integrated, and meta-inferences drawn.ResultsPatients accessing the service (n=68) were mostly female (61.8%), white (83.9%), mean age 35 years (range 19-69), and most experienced additional mental health conditions alongside excessive alcohol use. Preliminary exploratory calculations comparing baseline to follow-up Recovery Quality of Life (ReQoL-20) scores suggested positive change. Three themes were identified from interviews with patients (n=11) and clinicians (n=7): (1) what the service added: rapidly plugging a recognised care gap for people using alcohol excessively but who are non-dependent and have poor mental health (2) what worked well: tailored relational support that builds recovery positive social networks and personal coping strategies (3) what could be improved: opportunities/challenges to sustaining and scaling-up the service.ConclusionsThe findings contribute to an evidence gap in appropriate care for patients with excessive alcohol use, self-harm and poor mental health. Whilst limited to one service, the findings highlight what patients valued, opportunities for implementation in other contexts, and thus have relevance internationally. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-83fcc926b5bd4d4aaa1946a6b58774c3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj-art-83fcc926b5bd4d4aaa1946a6b58774c32025-08-22T09:41:55ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402025-08-011610.3389/fpsyt.2025.16088041608804Personalised care for people with excessive alcohol use following an episode of self-harm: a mixed methods community case study in a psychiatric liaison teamSarah Wigham0Elizabeth Titchener1Katherine Jackson2Eileen Kaner3Eilish Gilvarry4Eilish Gilvarry5Amy O’Donnell6Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United KingdomPopulation Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United KingdomPopulation Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United KingdomPopulation Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United KingdomPopulation Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United KingdomCumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, United KingdomPopulation Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United KingdomBackgroundExcessive alcohol use is common among people presenting to emergency departments with self-harm; however, this group face barriers accessing appropriate support. This study aimed to evaluate a rapid access personalised face-to-face service developed to address this gap and explore wider implementation opportunities.MethodsWe conducted a service evaluation with a mixed methods convergent design. An NHS data custodian extracted and anonymised electronic health records data prior to sharing with the research team for analysis using descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients and clinicians and analysed thematically. Quantitative and qualitative data were integrated, and meta-inferences drawn.ResultsPatients accessing the service (n=68) were mostly female (61.8%), white (83.9%), mean age 35 years (range 19-69), and most experienced additional mental health conditions alongside excessive alcohol use. Preliminary exploratory calculations comparing baseline to follow-up Recovery Quality of Life (ReQoL-20) scores suggested positive change. Three themes were identified from interviews with patients (n=11) and clinicians (n=7): (1) what the service added: rapidly plugging a recognised care gap for people using alcohol excessively but who are non-dependent and have poor mental health (2) what worked well: tailored relational support that builds recovery positive social networks and personal coping strategies (3) what could be improved: opportunities/challenges to sustaining and scaling-up the service.ConclusionsThe findings contribute to an evidence gap in appropriate care for patients with excessive alcohol use, self-harm and poor mental health. Whilst limited to one service, the findings highlight what patients valued, opportunities for implementation in other contexts, and thus have relevance internationally.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1608804/fullalcoholnon-dependentrapid accessinterventionself-harm |
| spellingShingle | Sarah Wigham Elizabeth Titchener Katherine Jackson Eileen Kaner Eilish Gilvarry Eilish Gilvarry Amy O’Donnell Personalised care for people with excessive alcohol use following an episode of self-harm: a mixed methods community case study in a psychiatric liaison team Frontiers in Psychiatry alcohol non-dependent rapid access intervention self-harm |
| title | Personalised care for people with excessive alcohol use following an episode of self-harm: a mixed methods community case study in a psychiatric liaison team |
| title_full | Personalised care for people with excessive alcohol use following an episode of self-harm: a mixed methods community case study in a psychiatric liaison team |
| title_fullStr | Personalised care for people with excessive alcohol use following an episode of self-harm: a mixed methods community case study in a psychiatric liaison team |
| title_full_unstemmed | Personalised care for people with excessive alcohol use following an episode of self-harm: a mixed methods community case study in a psychiatric liaison team |
| title_short | Personalised care for people with excessive alcohol use following an episode of self-harm: a mixed methods community case study in a psychiatric liaison team |
| title_sort | personalised care for people with excessive alcohol use following an episode of self harm a mixed methods community case study in a psychiatric liaison team |
| topic | alcohol non-dependent rapid access intervention self-harm |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1608804/full |
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