A two-arm, randomised feasibility trial using link workers to improve dental visiting in people with severe mental illness: a protocol paper

Pilot and Feasibility Studies

Study Protocol

Louise Laverty¹  Katherine Berry²  David Shiers³  Robert Griffiths³  Kyriakos Valemis⁴  Alison Dawber⁴  Eirian Kerry⁴  Rebecca Harris⁵  Girvan Burnside⁵  Efstathia Gkioni⁶  Farah Lunat⁷  Connie Newens⁷  Antonia Perry⁷  Sarah Procter⁷  Rebecca Golby⁷  Paul French⁸  Pauline Mupinga⁹  Fanni Fazekas⁹  Emma Elliott^1,10  Vishal R. Aggarwal^1,10  Fiona Lobban^1,11  Claire Hilton^1,11  Abigail Morris^1,11  Christopher Lodge^1,11  Jasper Palmier-Claus^1,12 

[1] Division of Informatics, Imaging and Data Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK;Division of Psychology & Mental Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK;Division of Psychology & Mental Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK;Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK;Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK;Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK;Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK;Liverpool Clinical Trials Centre, Clinical Directorate, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK;Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, Lancashire, UK;Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK;Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, Ashton-Under-Lyne, UK;Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, Ashton-Under-Lyne, UK;School of Dentistry, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK;The Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK;The Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK;Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, Lancashire, UK;

关键词: Psychosis;    Bipolar;    SMI;    Oral;    Inequalities;    Access;    Dental;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40814-023-01383-2

 received in 2023-03-20, accepted in 2023-08-21,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPeople with severe mental illness (e.g. psychosis, bipolar disorder) experience poor oral health compared to the general population as shown by more decayed, missing and filled teeth and a higher prevalence of periodontal disease. Attending dental services allows treatment of oral health problems and support for prevention. However, people with severe mental illness face multiple barriers to attending routine dental appointments and often struggle to access care. Link work interventions use non-clinical support staff to afford vulnerable populations the capacity, opportunity, and motivation to navigate use of services. The authors have co-developed with service users a link work intervention for supporting people with severe mental illness to access routine dental appointments. The Mouth Matters in Mental Health Study aims to explore the feasibility and acceptability of this intervention within the context of a feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT) measuring outcomes related to the recruitment of participants, completion of assessments, and adherence to the intervention. The trial will closely monitor the safety of the intervention and trial procedures.MethodsA feasibility RCT with 1:1 allocation to two arms: treatment as usual (control) or treatment as usual plus a link work intervention (treatment). The intervention consists of six sessions with a link worker over 9 months. Participants will be adults with severe mental illness receiving clinical input from secondary care mental health service and who have not attended a planned dental appointment in the past 3 years. Assessments will take place at baseline and after 9 months. The target recruitment total is 84 participants from across three NHS Trusts. A subset of participants and key stakeholders will complete qualitative interviews to explore the acceptability of the intervention and trial procedures.DiscussionThe link work intervention aims to improve dental access and reduce oral health inequalities in people with severe mental illness. There is a dearth of research relating to interventions that attempt to improve oral health outcomes in people with mental illness and the collected feasibility data will offer insights into this important area.Trial registrationThe trial was preregistered on ISRCTN (ISRCTN13650779) and ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05545228).

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

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