Literature Collection

The purpose of this study was to compare the utilization of primary care services and presence of mental health disorder diagnoses among children in foster care to children on Medicaid not in foster care in a large health system. The data for this study were analyzed from a clinical database of a multipractice pediatric health system in Houston, Texas. The sample included more than 95 000 children covered by Medicaid who had at least one primary care visit during the 2-year study period. The results of the study demonstrated that children not in foster care had a greater number of primary care visits and the odds of having >3 visits were significantly lower for children in foster care with a mental health disorder diagnosis. Additionally, more than a quarter of children in foster care had a diagnosis of a mental health disorder, compared with 15% of children not in foster care.

BACKGROUND: Pain and mental disorders frequently co-occur, yet the direction and specificity of their relationship remain uncertain due to limitations of observational studies. Mendelian randomization (MR) provides an opportunity to clarify causal links between distinct pain phenotypes and psychiatric outcomes. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive bidirectional MR analysis to investigate causal relationships between multiple pain conditions and mental and personality disorders. Multivariable MR was applied to assess the independence of these associations while accounting for common comorbidities. Robustness was evaluated using complementary sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: Forward analyses showed that several pain phenotypes - including back pain, headaches, neck or shoulder pain, stomach or abdominal pain, migraine, and trigeminal neuralgia-were associated with increased risk of specific mental disorders. Reverse analyses indicated that mental disorders also predispose individuals to certain pain conditions. Most associations remained robust after multivariable adjustment, although some were attenuated by obesity or substance use. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate structured, pain - type - specific bidirectional relationships between pain and mental disorders. Clinically, they support phenotype-informed screening and management strategies, including targeted assessment of depression and anxiety in patients with high-risk pain conditions and proactive evaluation of pain symptoms in patients with mental disorders, to facilitate earlier risk stratification and integrated care.

In recent years, research on TB multimorbidity has increasingly focused on integrated care delivery, particularly concerning common mental disorders (CMDs). Engagement with relevant stakeholders, including service users and providers, has highlighted the critical intersection of TB and CMD, which affects a substantial percentage of individuals. Studies have found that depression affects approximately 45% of TB patients, and anxiety affects around 40%. Moreover, there is a significant evidence and service gap in delivering CMD care, which emphasises the need for a comprehensive approach to address the dual burden of these health challenges.

At a time of ever increasing mental health problems in Australian society, the nursing profession is beset by problems of an insufficient workforce specialising in this area. Not only is there a shortage of suitable trained specialist mental health nurses, but undergraduate nursing programs inadequately prepare students for practical mental health nursing. Fewer students are enrolling in mental health nursing, and many nurses are leaving the workforce. A particular problem in rural Australia is that there is a lack of specialist mental health services, and nurses are being increasingly relied upon to perform the role of mental health nurse despite lacking the necessary qualifications and experience.This paper aims to describe the development, implementation and evaluation of a mental health continuing education program for nurses employed in rural and remote areas of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. This was a collaborative educational initiative mounted by the NSW Health Department (who funded the project), a rural university and a number of regional health service partners. The paper includes information on how this program was conceived, developed and conducted through distance education mode. It also evaluates the efficacy of this program as perceived by 202 out of 303 participants. Overall the project was rated very favourably, and represents a cost-effective, convenient method of enabling rural and regional nurses to update and improve their skills in mental health nursing.