Occupation

Abstracts Thursday 30th June 2016
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2102) Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander population estimates 2011. Canberra: ABS.
Bessarab D (2012) Yarning a culturally safe method of
indigenous conversation. Perth, Western Australia: Centre
for Health Innovation and Research Institute (CHIRI), Curtin
University of Technology.
Nguyen H (2008) Patient centred care: cultural safety in
indigenous health. Australian Family Physician, 37(12) 990–994.
Radford K., Mack HA, aper B, Chalkley S, Daylight G, Cumming
R, Bennett H, Delbaere K, Broe G A (2015) Prevalence of
dementia in urban and regional Aboriginal Australians.
Alzheimers & Dementia, 11(3), 271–279.
Keywords
Disadvantaged, Practice development, Education and learning,
Other
Contact E-mail Addresses
terrie.simpson@curtin.edu.au
Author Biographies
Terrie Simpson is a UK trained occupational therapist who has
been living and working in Australia since 2007. She works for
the Dementia Training Study Centre which is a government
funded agency providing training to health professionals
working with people with dementia. She is currently studying for
a Masters in Health Professional Education at the University of
Western Australia.
Session 45.2
Raising awareness of mental health and wellbeing in
Gambia – an OT’s perspective
Burrell D, Alternative Futures Group
Inpatient mental health services in Gambia are limited to one
psychiatric hospital in the capital of Banjul, the Tanka Tanka
Psychiatric Hospital, which provides approximately 100 beds
(Elemental Wellbeing, 2011). In 2012 it was reported only two
Cuban psychiatrists worked in the country and one trained
psychiatric nurse (Kretzschmar, 2012). Outpatient services are
also available but are similarly limited to the city, with a CMHT
that visits approximately 18 health facilities in provincial Gambia
every three months (Elemental Wellbeing, 2011). The World
Health Organisation (WHO) reports almost 90% of people in the
Gambia with severe mental disorders do not have access to the
treatment they require (WHO, 2009).
Mobee is a Gambian charity that contributes to the mental
health systems and approaches in the country. Alongside
working to educate and train professionals, they also work
directly with families and communities to develop understanding
and skills so they may support family members with mental
health and wellbeing in local communities. Since 2013,
Alternative Futures Group (AFG), a UK mental health charity,
has worked with Mobee to assist in promoting and developing
awareness and understanding of mental health and wellbeing
across local communities in Gambia.
In November 2015, I will join three other AFG ambassadors
attending the most recent study tour to Gambia. This
presentation documents the interactions and knowledge learnt
during these two weeks. As the first OT to attend one of these
tours, I am keen to raise awareness of the value of occupational
therapy in mental health services in Gambia and also to use this
experience to develop myself both personally and professionally
by experiencing another culture and how OT can aid the
functioning and wellbeing of its people.
References
Elemental Wellbeing (2011) THRIVE Gambia. Accessed on-line:
http://elementalwellbeing.org/thrive-gambia/ on 17/09/2015
Kretzschar, I (2012) The Gambia. Accessed on-line: http://www.
rcpych.ac.uk/discoverpsychiatry/overseasblogs/thegambia.aspx
on 17/09/2015
World Health Organisation (2009) The Gambia – Situational
Analysis. Accessed on-line: http://www.who.int/mental_health/
policy/country/thegambia/en/ on 17/09/2015
Keywords
Mental health, Service improvement or transformation,
International practice/globalisation
Contact E-mail Addresses
debbie.burrell@alternativefuturesgroup.org.uk
Author Biographies
A mental health OT with three years experience, offered the
experience of a lifetime :)
Session 46.1
Young people’s perspectives: occupational therapy in
inpatient mental health
Hutton T 2 , Roberts S 1 , Bangor University 1 , North East
London Foundation Trust 2
Adolescents have the highest likelihood of developing
mental illness and are least likely to seek help from services
(Plaistow et al 2014). The dearth of literature about Child
and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) has been
previously acknowledged (Harrison & Forsyth 2005). There has
been little research into young people’s experiences of acute
psychiatric inpatient settings (Walsh and Boyle 2009). This
provided a rationale for an MSc dissertation research project
in response to the literature gap. This research is innovative in
gaining the view of an underrepresented group, which required
NHS ethical approval (160256). The study explored young
people’s experiences of occupational therapy in a CAMHS tier
four service. Three participants (two male, one female) took
part in semi-structured interviews which were transcribed
verbatim and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological
Analysis (IPA). The detailed findings from IPA research have the
potential to influence changes in practice (Smith et al 1997)
and allowed for consistency between the client centred focus
of occupational therapy and research design (Hammell 2013).
Participants spoke about how client-centred treatment enabled
their recovery which included: opportunities for choice, clientcentred
therapeutic relationships and future/normality-focused
treatment. Participants had experienced practical opportunities
for skill development which supported their recovery. This
included socialising which enabled them to recognise and
develop social skills. Participants spoke about learning life
skills which supported recovery through achievement and
self-awareness. Participants described different environments
which enabled their involvement in activities such as routine,
group environments and graded engagement. Findings showed
that participants had a clear view of the role of occupational
therapists which they valued as part of their treatment, which is
not reflected in the current literature. Further research is needed
to demonstrate the value of occupational therapy and to support
the development of a UK strategy and a clear professional
identity within this field. This can then be reflected by a greater
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