Sonia Johnson

Publications (111) View all

• Article: Psychiatric admissions from crisis resolution teams in Norway: a prospective multicentre study.

  Nina Hasselberg, Rolf W Gråwe, Sonia Johnson, J Rat Altyt-Benth, Torleif Ruud
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  ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Crisis resolution teams (CRTs) provide intensive alternative care to hospital admission for patients with mental health crises. The aims of this study were to describe the proportions and characteristics of patients admitted to in-patient wards from CRTs, to identify any differences in admission practices between CRTs, and to identify predictors of admissions from CRTs. METHODS: A naturalistic prospective multicentre design was used to study 680 consecutive patients under the care of eight CRTs in Norway over a 3-month period in 2005/2006. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected on the patients, and on the organization and operation of the CRTs. Logistic regression analysis for hierarchical data was used to test potential predictors of admission at team and patient level. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-six patients (21.5%) were admitted to in-patient wards. There were significant differences in admission rates between the CRTs. The likelihood of being admitted to an in-patient ward was significantly lower for patients treated by CRTs that operated during extended opening hours than CRTs that operated during office hours only. Those most likely to be admitted were patients with psychotic symptoms, suicidal risk, and a prior history of admissions. CONCLUSIONS: Extended opening hours may help CRTs to prevent more admissions for patients with moderately severe and relapsing mental illnesses. Patients with severe psychosis seem to be difficult to treat in the community by Norwegian CRTs even with extended opening hours.
  BMC Psychiatry 04/2013; 13(1):117. · 2.55 Impact Factor
• Article: Can we reverse the rising tide of compulsory admissions?

  Sonia Johnson
  The Lancet 03/2013; · 38.28 Impact Factor
• Article: Violence against People with Disability in England and Wales: Findings from a National Cross-Sectional Survey.

  Hind Khalifeh, Louise M Howard, David Osborn, Paul Moran, Sonia Johnson
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  ABSTRACT: The recent World Report on Disability highlighted violence as a leading cause of morbidity among disabled people. However, we know little about the extent to which people with disability experience different violence types, and associated health/economic costs. The recent introduction of disability measures into the England&Wales victimization survey provided an opportunity to address this gap. Analysis of the 2009/10 British Crime Survey (BCS), a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of 44,398 adults living in residential households in England&Wales. Using multivariate logistic regression, we estimated the relative odds of being a victim of past-year violence (physical/sexual domestic or non-domestic violence) in people with disability compared to those without, after adjusting for socio-demographics, behavioural and area confounders. 1256/44398(2.4%) participants had one or more disabilities including mental illness ('mental illness') and 7781(13.9%) had one or more disabilities excluding mental illness ('non-mental disability'). Compared with the non-disabled, those with mental illness had adjusted relative odds (aOR) of 3.0(95% confidence interval (CI) 2.3-3.8) and those with non-mental disability had aOR of 1.8(95% CI: 1.5-2.2) of being a victim of past-year violence (with similar relative odds for domestic and non-domestic violence). Disabled victims were more likely to suffer mental ill health as a result of violence than non-disabled victims. The proportion of violence that could be attributed to the independent effect of disability in the general population was 7.5%(CI 5.7-9.3%), at an estimated cost of £1.51 billion. The main study limitation is the exclusion of institutionalised people with disability. People with disability are at increased risk of being victims of domestic and non-domestic violence, and of suffering mental ill health when victimized. The related public health and economic burden calls for an urgent assessment of the causes of this violence, and national policies on violence prevention in this vulnerable group.
  PLoS ONE 01/2013; 8(2):e55952. · 4.09 Impact Factor
• Article: Muslim adolescent mental health in the UK: an exploratory cross-sectional school survey

  Nadia Dabbagh, Sonia Johnson, Michael King, Robert Blizard
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  ABSTRACT: Over 1.5 million Muslims live in the UK, many in poor socioeconomic circumstances and facing social exclusion and discrimination, yet there is a paucity of research on Muslim mental health, in particular on adolescents. This study investigates whether psychological distress is greater in Muslim adolescents in comparison with their non-Muslim counterparts and whether distress is associated with level of ‘Westernisation’, sense of ‘Britishness’ and perceived discrimination. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 14–16-year-olds in two large comprehensive schools. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Short Moods and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ) were used to measure levels of psychological distress. Contrary to expectations, Muslim students had lower levels of psychological distress than all other religious groups at a statistically significant level (p=0.015). Family structure and academic achievement were found to be significant (p=0.009 and p=0.004, respectively) with the lowest levels of psychological distress being in Muslim students who lived with both biological parents and were doing more than nine GCSEs. Muslim students who were more Westernised, identified themselves as British and perceived less discrimination reported lower levels of psychological distress. Belonging to a particular religious group may have protective effects on mental health possibly due to aspects of the religious community, such as social cohesion, family structure and support, or to aspects of the religion itself. However, these results need to be interpreted with caution as this is a limited exploratory study and further research is required.
  International Journal of Culture and Mental Health 11/2012; 5(3):202-218.
• Article: Ethnic variations in pathways into early intervention services for psychosis.

  Sharif Ghali, Helen L Fisher, John Joyce, Barnaby Major, Lorna Hobbs, Sujata Soni, Brock Chisholm, Nikola Rahaman, Peggy Papada, Jo Lawrence, Sally Bloy, Karl Marlowe, Katherine J Aitchison, Paddy Power, Sonia Johnson
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  ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Ethnic variations have previously been identified in the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) and pathways into psychiatric services. These have not been examined in the context of early intervention services, which may alter these trajectories. AIMS: To explore ethnic differences in the nature and duration of pathways into early intervention services. METHOD: In a naturalistic cohort study, data were collected for 1024 individuals with psychotic disorders accepted for case management by eight London early intervention services. RESULTS: Duration of untreated psychosis was prolonged in the White British group compared with most other ethnic groups. White British individuals were more likely to make contact with their general practitioner and less likely to be seen within emergency medical services. All Black patient groups were more likely than their White British counterparts to experience involvement of criminal justice agencies. CONCLUSIONS: Variations continue to exist in how and when individuals from different ethnic groups access early intervention services. These may account for disparities in DUP.
  The British journal of psychiatry: the journal of mental science 09/2012; · 6.62 Impact Factor