Brian Kelly

University of Newcastle Australia · Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research

Background The impact of patient-reported outcome measures on patient outcomes in longitudinal clinical studies is poorly understood. This observational study explored longitudinal changes in distress and problems reported by cancer patients screened and managed in accordance with a clinical pathway for anxiety and depression (ADAPT CP), implemente...

Objective Few studies have investigated the maintenance of skills acquired in classroom-based clinician education. Using an advanced simulation-based clinical communication skill training program for postgraduate psychiatry education (ComPsych), we aimed to investigate skill acquisition through assessing changes in competence (abilities) and perfor...

Background We aimed to define levels of unmet supportive care needs in people with primary brain tumour and reach expert consensus on feasibility of addressing patients’ needs in clinical practice. Methods We conducted secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study of people diagnosed with high-grade glioma (n = 116) who completed the Supportive...

Background Implementation strategies are crucial to facilitate implementation success. To prepare and support implementation of a clinical pathway for screening, assessment and management of anxiety and depression in cancer patients (the ADAPT CP), six broad categories of implementation strategies; (1) Awareness campaigns, (2) Champions, (3) Educat...

Background Carers play an important role in supporting patients diagnosed with high-grade glioma (HGG). However, this experience is frequently distressing and many carers require support. Objectives To describe unmet needs of highly distressed carers of people with HGG and recommendations and referrals made by a nurse to support them within the Ca...

Background: The relationship between overweight or obesity and depressive symptoms in individuals with or without cardio-metabolic abnormalities is unclear. In a cross-sectional study we examined the odds of experiencing depressive symptoms in overweight or obese older adults with or without metabolic abnormalities. Methods: The participants includ...

Objective In response to COVID-19, psycho-oncology clinicians moved to a model of telephone and videoconference treatment in Australia. The Psycho-oncology Co-operative Research Group (PoCoG) identified a paucity of evidence available to guide adaptation of therapy for remote delivery. This research aimed to develop consensus for evidence-based gui...

Background As COVID-19 spread across the globe, cancer services were required to rapidly pivot to minimise risks without compromising outcomes for patients or staff. The aim of this study was to document changes to oncology services as a result of COVID-19 from the perspectives of both providers and receivers of care during the initial phase of the...

Background Optimal strategies to facilitate implementation of evidence-based clinical pathways are unclear. We evaluated two implementation strategies (Core versus Enhanced) to facilitate implementation of a clinical pathway for the management of anxiety and depression in cancer patients (the ADAPT CP). Methods Twelve cancer services in NSW Austra...

Background: As COVID-19 spread across the globe, cancer services were required to rapidly pivot to minimise risks without compromising outcomes for patients or staff. The aim of this study was to document changes to Oncology services as a result of COVID-19 from the perspectives of both providers and receivers of care during the initial phase of th...

Purpose In Australia and elsewhere, suicide rates among construction workers remain high. Construction workplaces are thus an important setting for targeted suicide prevention programs. This study aimed to compare suicide prevention literacy and help-seeking intentions among participants receiving face-to-face suicide prevention training, with thos...

Background : Optimal strategies to facilitate implementation of evidence-based clinical pathways are unclear. We evaluated two implementation strategies (core versus enhanced) to facilitate implementation of a clinical pathway for the management of anxiety and depression in cancer patients (the ADAPT CP). Methods : Twelve cancer services in NSW Aus...

Cross-sectional research has highlighted the emotional impacts of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in cancer communities. The aim of this study was to extend findings and to provide a longitudinal perspective of emotional effects of COVID-19 on a range of participants, including patients with cancer, their family members, and oncology health pro...

Objective To estimate the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in older adults with overweight or obesity without metabolic risk factors using a Bayesian survival analysis. Design Prospective cohort study with median follow-up of 9.7 years. Setting Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Participants A total of 2313 community-dwelling older men a...

Purpose The impact of measuring patient-reported outcomes on longitudinal clinical outcomes is not well understood. This study explored longitudinal changes in distress and problems reported by cancer patients screened and managed in accordance with a clinical pathway for anxiety and depression (ADAPT CP), implemented over 12 months. Methods Patie...

Objective To estimate the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in older adults with overweight or obesity without metabolic risk factors using a Bayesian survival analysis. Design Prospective cohort study with median follow-up of 9.7 years. Setting Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Participants : A total of 2313 community-dwelling older men...

This paper outlines a multifaceted national workplace mental health research program that incorporated assessment of individual level, work characteristics and organisational factors on mental health among workers in the resources sector within Australia and internationally. This multistep program included: identification of level of mental health...

Objective: Communication skills training (CST) programs within postgraduate psychiatry training are rare. ComPsych CST utilises simulated patients (SPs) for trainees to practice communication skills for discussing severe mental illness with patients and their families/carers. This study examined the applicability of using SPs in a psychiatry-speci...

Stigma is often experienced by people affected by lung cancer due to the known links between lung cancer and smoking. Antitobacco campaigns, although attempting to “de-normalise” smoking, may contribute to stigmatising people affected by cancer. The study examined how people diagnosed with lung cancer recall and respond to antitobacco advertisement...

Background Anxiety and depression screening and management in cancer settings occurs inconsistently in Australia. We developed a clinical pathway (ADAPT CP) to promote standardized assessment and response to affected patients and enhance uptake of psychosocial interventions. Health professional education is a common strategy utilised to support imp...

Importance About 20% to 30% of people with schizophrenia have psychotic symptoms that do not respond adequately to first-line antipsychotic treatment. This clinical presentation, chronic and highly disabling, is known as treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). The causes of treatment resistance and their relationships with causes underlying schizo...

Background There is growing recognition of mental health aspects of workplace health and safety. Mining is a significant enterprise in the African continent; however, limited attention has been given to mental health in mining in this region. Ghana is the largest gold producer in Africa and mining contributes significantly to the economy. Mental he...

Background Clinical pathways (CPs) can improve health outcomes, but to be sustainable, must be deemed acceptable and appropriate by staff. A CP for screening and management of anxiety and depression in cancer patients (the ADAPT CP) was implemented in 12 Australian oncology services for 12 months, within a cluster randomised controlled trial of cor...

Objective ComPsych communication skills training is designed to teach psychiatry trainees effective skills and strategies for undertaking key communication tasks relating to mental illness, such as schizophrenia, with patients and their families/carers. This study examined the program’s feasibility, utility, and trainees’ self-efficacy.Methods Trai...

While it is recognized that drought affects mental health, few population-based longitudinal studies quantify this relationship. In this study, we investigate the effects of drought on mental health in a rural population, and how these effects change with continued exposure to drought conditions. Using a panel dataset consisting of 6,519 observatio...

Purpose There is limited empirical evidence regarding mental health in workplace settings in Africa. Gold mining is a major industry in Ghana, and this study investigated mental health-related symptoms and the factors contributing to such symptoms among employees in the Ghanaian. Methods A cross-sectional survey design study was used to collect da...

Background: Anxiety and depression screening and management in cancer settings occurs inconsistently in Australia. We developed a clinical pathway (ADAPT CP) to promote standardized assessment and response to affected patients and enhance uptake of psychosocial interventions. Health professional education is a common strategy utilised to support im...

Drought is a global threat to public health. Increasingly, the impact of drought on mental health and wellbeing is being recognised. This paper investigates the relationship between drought and wellbeing to determine which drought indices most effectively capture wellbeing outcomes. A thorough understanding of the relationship between drought and w...

Background Sex differences in incidence and/or presentation of schizophrenia (SCZ), major depressive disorder (MDD), and bipolar disorder (BIP) are pervasive. Previous evidence for shared genetic risk and sex differences in brain abnormalities across disorders suggest possible shared sex-dependent genetic risk. Methods We conducted the largest to...

Objectives To examine if baseline stigma predicts psychological distress at 3 months and 6 months follow‐up among patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer. Methods This longitudinal study was nested within a larger randomised controlled trial. Eligible participants were recruited via respiratory and oncology out‐patient clinics in Australia (n=19...

Background The development of professional identity is a fundamental element of medical education. There is evidence that in Germany, students’ perceptions of the ideal and real doctor differ, and that of themselves as physicians falls between these constructs. We sought to compare students’ perceptions of themselves, the ideal doctor, and the ‘rea...

The goals of this study were to determine the feasibility of engaging youth with major depressive disorder (MDD) in a multimodal exercise intervention (Healthy Body Healthy Mind) plus usual care and to evaluate the magnitude of its effects on psychological, physical fitness, and biomarker outcomes to inform a future randomized controlled trial. You...

Drought is a threat to public health. Individual and community adaptive capacity is crucial when responding to the impacts of drought. Gaps remain in the understandings of the relationship between wellbeing and adaptive capacity, and whether increased wellbeing can lead to improved adaptive capacity (or vice versa). This paper explores the relation...

Background: This paper outlines the need for a health systems approach and rapid response strategy for gathering information necessary for policy decisions during pandemics and similar crises. It suggests a new framework for assessing the phases of the pandemic. Method: The paper draws its information and conclusions from a rapid synthesis and tran...

Aim: To summarise commonalities and variations in the mental health response to COVID-19 across different sites and countries, with a view to better understanding key steps not only in crisis management, but for future systemic reform of mental health care. Method: We conducted a Rapid Synthesis and Translation Process of lessons learned from an in...

BACKGROUND Sex differences in incidence and/or presentation of schizophrenia (SCZ), major depressive disorder (MDD), and bipolar disorder (BIP) are pervasive. Previous evidence for shared genetic risk and sex differences in brain abnormalities across disorders suggest possible shared sex-dependent genetic risk. METHODS We conducted the largest to...

Objective: To investigate the convergence of individual findings relating to psychological distress, alcohol use and social network (SN) to identify their associated clusters within Australian mineworkers. Methods: This study used cross‐sectional survey data from 3,056 participants across 12 Australian mines. Latent class analysis used the scores o...

Purpose Previous research has suggested high levels of unaddressed mental health needs among male-dominated work settings. The mining industry has been a recent focus internationally. This paper aims to critically examine research regarding organizational mental health interventions for people working in mining industries. Design/methodology/appro...

Globally, a growing body of evidence has reported significant disparities in cancer outcomes between indigenous and nonindigenous people. Although some effort is being made to address these disparities, relatively little attention has been directed toward identifying and focusing on the psychosocial aspects of cancer care for indigenous patients, w...

Introduction Depression is a common and debilitating condition. In Australia, general practitioners (GPs) are the key providers of depression care. However, available evidence suggests that case finding for depression in primary care is poor. This study will examine whether a systematic approach to screening for depression and assessing patient pre...

Climate change impacts human health and there is growing recognition of the explicit consequences for mental health and wellbeing. Rural communities are recognised as one of the most vulnerable populations to climate change. The majority of research to date is quantitative and has a focus on farmers specifically, with the impacts of climate change...

In Australia and internationally, rural-based industries are an important component of the national fabric, with meaningful contributions to socio-cultural, environmental and economic factors. Resources-based industries such as mining, gas, petroleum, and primary industries including agriculture play a particularly important role in this contributi...

The present study undertook an exploratory investigation of the causes of risk-taking among Australian coal miners. A range of safety culture and climate variables were measured in a survey of open-cut and underground coal miners from New South Wales and Queensland. A repeat survey of 233 of these miners was conducted an average of 10 months after...

Objective and Study Setting: Research efforts to identify factors that influence successful implementation are growing. This paper describes methods of defining and measuring outcomes of implementation success, using a cluster randomized controlled trial with 12 cancer services in Australia comparing the effectiveness of implementation strategies t...

We performed a transcriptome-wide meta-analysis and gene co-expression network analysis to identify genes and gene networks dysregulated in the peripheral blood of bipolar disorder (BD) cases relative to unaffected comparison subjects, and determined the specificity of the transcriptomic signatures of BD and schizophrenia (SZ). Nineteen genes and 4...

Background: Exercise is increasingly recognised as an efficacious intervention for major depressive disorder (MDD) but to our knowledge differential treatment effects on depressive symptom profiles (cognitive, somatic and affective) and associated changes in psychological, physiological and behavioural factors have not been examined among youth wi...

Background Exercise has beneficial effects on depression; however, research is constrained by low program adherence. This paper investigates: 1) whether there are improvements in stage of change (exercise readiness) and exercise self-efficacy from before to after a brief motivational interviewing (MI) intervention designed to enhance program engage...

Introduction The debate regarding euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (E/PAS) raises key issues about the role of the doctor, and the professional, ethical, and clinical dimensions of the doctor-patient relationship. This review aimed to examine the published evidence regarding the response of doctors who have participated in E/PAS. Methods...

Objective: Psychological therapies combined with medication are effective treatments for depression and anxiety in patients with cancer. However, the psycho-oncology workforce is insufficient to meet patient need and is hard to access outside of major cities. To bridge this gap, innovative models of care are required. Implementation of a new model...

Background: Construction workers are at elevated risk of suicide. MATES in Construction (MATES) is one of the few suicide prevention programs that explicitly address this problem. The MATES program includes an integrated system of services that supports prevention, early intervention and recovery (i.e., primary, secondary and tertiary prevention)...

Objectives: To investigate help seeking behavior and attitudes to mental health in mining employees. Methods: A pre-post survey study of employees from two Australian coal mines. Data were collected prior to, at baseline, at 6 and 18 months following delivery of the MATES in mining (MIM) peer support mental health intervention. Results: Help s...

Background Collaborative care involves active engagement of primary care and hospital physicians in shared care of patients beyond usual discharge summaries. This enhances community-based care and reduces dependence on specialists and hospitals. The model, successfully implemented in chronic care management, may have utility for treatment of depres...

Suicide is a leading cause of death among young men. Help-seeking is known to be poor among this group, and little is known about what interventions are most successful in improving suicide prevention literacy among young men. This research aims to examine: (1) age differences in beliefs related to suicide prevention literacy and attitudes to the w...

Purpose Many major studies of depression in Australia are under-representative of rural and remote residents, limiting the generalizability of their findings. This study explores the contributions of a range of individual, social, and community factors to the trajectory of depressive symptoms among a cohort of rural and remote residents. Methods D...

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of psychological distress in employees in the metalliferous mining industry in Australia, and to examine associated demographic, health, and workplace characteristics. A cross sectional survey was conducted among 1,799 participants from four metalliferous mines. Psychological distress was measu...

Objective People with schizophrenia face an increased risk of premature death from chronic diseases and injury. This study describes the trajectory of acute care health service use in the last year of life for people with schizophrenia and how this varied with receipt of community-based specialist palliative care and morbidity burden. Method A pop...

ICD-10-AM codes used to identify cause of death groups. (DOCX)

Background Health service change is difficult to achieve. One strategy to facilitate such change is the clinical pathway, a guide for clinicians containing a defined set of evidence-based interventions for a specific condition. However, optimal strategies for implementing clinical pathways are not well understood. Building on a strong evidence-base...

Objectives: To investigate perceived stigma and its possible associations with treatment expectations and preferences in newly diagnosed patients with lung cancer. Sample & setting: 274 patients with lung cancer diagnosed in the previous four months at oncology and respiratory outpatient clinics in Australia. Methods & variables: Participants...

Background To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of implementing a peer-based, multi-component mental health program in the Australian coal mining industry. Methods The multicomponent program included MATES in mining (a peer-based mental health and suicide prevention program) and supervisor training. Eight Australian coal mi...

Suicide is a significant health problem that is known to disproportionately affect those employed in manual occupations, including construction workers and tradespeople. Universal General Awareness Training (GAT) was part of a multi-component suicide prevention program in the Australian construction industry. The program’s aims were to increase awa...

Table S1 Self‐reported lung cancer characteristics (n=274)*. Table S2. Participants reported awareness, use and interest of one or more support service (n=274). Table S3. Participants’ reported likelihood of seeking help from people (n=274)*.

The prevalence of health risk behaviours and associated poor physical health is high in people with severe mental illness. Mental health service guidelines and policies stipulate that mental health services should address physical health of people who access services. This study reports results from a large, interdisciplinary, cross‐sectional study...

Objectives: To investigate general and drought-related stress experienced by farmers at both the personal and community levels, and whether socio-demographic and community factors influence this stress. Design: Multivariate analysis of data from the Australian Rural Mental Health Study (ARMHS), a longitudinal cohort study (2007–2013). Setting: No...