
Niall TurnerSaint John of God Hospitaller Services · Occupational Therapy
Niall Turner
Doctor of Philosophy
About
79
Publications
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Citations
Introduction
Additional affiliations
January 2011 - January 2020
Association of Occupational Therapy of Ireland
Position
- Editor
October 2004 - February 2014
Education
September 1990 - June 1995
Publications
Publications (79)
Scoping review conducted on occupational therapy research related to early intervention in psychosis service. Conducted by two final year occupational therapy students from TCD under the supervision of Dr Niall Turner, Occupational Therapy Manager SJOG.
Purpose
This review aims to identify the commonly used nature-based therapies, the cohorts that benefit from these interventions, and the potential environmental impact of nature-based therapies.
Design/methodology/approach
An integrative review methodology was taken. The literature was analysed and synthesised through thematic analysis.
Findings...
Background:
While research indicates that people with serious mental health conditions want to work, few studies have examined motivation and concerns associated with employment.
Objectives:
This study examined the work attitudes among two samples of Irish people with psychotic conditions, primarily schizophrenia.
Methods:
Data gathered throug...
Background: Resilience has been found to moderate the association between childhood trauma and later depression.
We examined whether resilience mediates the association between Adverse Childhood Experiences
(ACEs) and later life depression among older adults.
Methods: : Data were from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), a prospective st...
Purpose
Assistive technology (AT) has been highlighted as a tool that can support self-management for people living with schizophrenia. A gap in the literature exists regarding the views held by the stakeholders involved in the health care of an individual living with schizophrenia regarding the potential use of AT to enable the self-management of...
This paper aims to investigate the feasibility of conducting research on a two-pronged vocational intervention for people with first episode psychosis. The paper also aims to empirically examine the impact of a two-pronged vocational intervention for people with first episode psychosis by determining what effect, if any, introducing a two-pronged v...
Wave 4:
Towards making Ireland the best place in the world to grow old.
Le go mbeidh Éire ar an tír is fearr ar domhan le dul in aois ann.
A vocational intervention for people attending an Irish Early Intervention for Psychosis Service. A two pronged intervention was designed and tested. It included a job retention programme for people who had not lost their vocational role and used IPS with this those who had.
Census data plays an important role in informing a Government's policies and priorities. In the Republic of Ireland census data from 1986 onwards is available online. For this article variables pertaining to work, specifically the non-labour force variable, were analysed. While we found a linear decline from 47.16% in 1986 to 38.14% in 2011 this ha...
Background
Understanding social inclusion among at-risk populations will deepen our understanding of their specific needs.
Aim
This study explored the level of social inclusion among people with psychotic-related conditions using a standardised interview.
Method
The Social Inclusion Interview Schedule was used in two research projects. People wit...
The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of a psychosis information intervention for professionals in contact with young people in Ireland. A quasi-experimental pre-and post-intervention design was used. One thousand and thirty-two professionals received an information intervention designed to improve mental health literacy (MHL) and con...
A clinical trial of individual placement and support and a job retention programme at the DETECT Early Intervention for Psychosis Service. Conducted by Niall Turner Occupational Therapist.
Background:
There is an unclear relationship between mental health literacy (MHL) and psychiatric stigma. MHL is associated with both positive and negative attitudes to mental illness. To our knowledge, no published peer reviewed study has examined this relationship in the Republic of Ireland.
Aims:
This study was conducted to assess MHL regardi...
Quality of life (QOL) in first-episode psychosis (FEP) is impaired when compared to non-clinical controls and several clinical factors including symptoms and untreated psychosis have been linked with poorer QOL. Measurement methods are varied, however, resulting in inconsistent findings and there is a need to simultaneously combine subjective and o...
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Early intervention in psychosis is an accepted policy internationally. When 'A Vision for Change', the national blueprint for mental health policy in Ireland, was published in 2007 there was one Irish pilot service for early intervention in psychosis. The National Clinical Mental Health Programme Plan (2011) identified early in...
Background
Individuals with psychotic disorders are represented more in the lower social classes, yet there is conflicting evidence to whether these individuals drift into the lower social classes or whether lower social class is a risk factor for developing psychosis. The aim of this study was to examine whether the social class at birth is a risk...
Objectives. Study of illness characteristics and symptoms in a young population with psychosis can assist for under-standing of their needs, and can inform service planning strategies. The aims of the current study were to describe illness characteristics and symptoms of a first episode psychosis (FEP) sample aged 25 years and under, and compare wi...
Aims:
Public education may constitute an effective early intervention strategy to reduce delays in the treatment of psychotic disorders and thereby improve outcome. The purpose of this project was to design, implement and validate a curriculum on early intervention in psychosis for youth workers.
Method:
A training intervention on early interven...
Background:
Conducting research on the work outcomes of first episode psychosis (FEP) samples may extend our understanding of the factors associated with the work outcome of people with schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses.
Objective:
To conduct a detailed study of the work outcome of an FEP sample.
Methods:
Members of a FEP cohort, who...
Early intervention in psychosis is an accepted policy internationally. When 'A Vision for Change', the national blueprint for mental health policy in Ireland, was published in 2007 there was one Irish pilot service for early intervention in psychosis. The National Clinical Mental Health Programme Plan (2011) identified early intervention in psychos...
Objectives:
This review examined rates and definitions of disengagement among services for first-episode psychosis (FEP) and identified the most relevant demographic and clinical predictors of disengagement.
Methods:
A comprehensive search for and review of published studies that reported rates and predictors of disengagement within FEP services...
Previous studies in schizophrenia samples suggest negative symptoms can be categorized as expressivity or experiential. This study examines the structure of the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) at two separate interviews in a first episode psychosis (FEP) sample. SANS structure was determined with principal components analysis i...
Early intervention (EI) services for psychosis aim to reduce the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) with intensive large-scale multi-focus initiatives, including public awareness campaigns. As a consequence of this approach, individuals with a very long DUP who might have otherwise remained undiagnosed may come to medical attention. The aim of t...
Aim:
We examined whether it is possible to use a television programme to improve mental health literacy about schizophrenia by investigating the impact of the introduction of a realistic portrayal of schizophrenia into a popular television soap opera.
Method:
A population level omnibus survey method was used. A market research company conducted...
Background:
Negative symptoms have been previously reported during the psychosis prodrome, however our understanding of their relationship with treatment-phase negative symptoms remains unclear.
Objectives:
We report the prevalence of psychosis prodrome onset negative symptoms (PONS) and ascertain whether these predict negative symptoms at first...
Background:
Patients who experience the onset of psychotic illness with a comorbid diagnosis of cannabis dependence experience poor clinical outcomes. Few studies have identified interventions that reduce cannabis use and improve clinical outcome in this population.
Aims:
We undertook a multi-center, randomized controlled trial of a group psycho...
Kendall’s editorial highlights important problems in the management of negative symptoms in schizophrenia.1 These highly prevalent symptoms are among the most disabling features of schizophrenia,2 and by their very nature hinder …
Unlabelled:
The relevance of negative symptoms across the diagnostic spectrum of the psychoses remains uncertain. The purpose of this study was to report on prevalence of item and subscale level negative symptoms across the first episode psychosis (FEP) diagnostic spectrum in an epidemiological sample, and to ascertain whether items and subscales...
Despite there being approximately 200 early intervention services for psychosis worldwide, little is known about the referral rates to these services, the diagnoses and needs of individuals found not to have a first episode of psychosis (FEP). Firstly, we aimed to describe the diagnoses for individuals who were found not to have a FEP (non-cases) f...
Aim:
Most national guidelines recommend psychological therapy for people with first-episode psychosis (FEP) but interventions proven effective in randomized control trials (RCTs) conducted in research settings do not always translate effectively to real-world clinical environments. In a limited health system, it is important to understand the syst...
Quality of life (QOL) has gained recognition as a valid measure of outcome in first-episode psychosis (FEP). This study aimed to determine the influence of specific groups of depressive symptoms on separate domains of subjectively appraised QOL.
We assessed 208 individuals with first-episode non-affective psychosis using measures of diagnosis (Stru...
Despite the scientific evidence, most families of people with schizophrenia in Europe never receive a carer education programme. We evaluated whether a carer education course delivered by telepsychiatry was as effective as a carer education course delivered in situ.
We delivered the carer education course for schizophrenia simultaneously to a carer...
Most studies of First Rank Symptoms (FRS) are based on cross-sectional inpatient samples of people with schizophrenia at various stages of illness. We sought to examine the prevalence of FRS in a representative sample of first episode psychosis patients and compare those with and without FRS clinically and in terms of duration of untreated illness....
Background: Reported rates of depression in schizophrenia vary considerably.
Objective: To measure the prevalence of depression in a first episode sample of people with schizophrenia.
Methods: All referrals with a first episode of schizophrenia diagnosed using SCID interviews were assessed pre-discharge and again six months later. We used the Calga...
Chapter overviewIntroductionThe early psychosis paradigmStarting outEstablishing the need for the vocational programmeVocational programmes for early psychosis with an emerging evidence baseReal world examples of vocational programmes in early intervention for psychosis servicesHow to maximise the likelihood of successMeasuring success of vocationa...
International best-practice guidelines for the management of first-episode psychosis have recommended the provision of psychoeducation for multifamily groups. While there is ample evidence of their efficacy in multiepisode psychosis, there is a paucity of evidence supporting this approach specifically for first-episode psychosis. We sought to deter...
Objectives: To assess patient satisfaction with mental health services. Client satisfaction with mental health services is attracting increasing attention and is now considered a key outcome variable in evaluating mental health services. The Quality Framework (Mental Health Commission (MHC)), and Vision for Change (VFC) support such evaluation. How...
The Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) is frequently used to guide mental health psychosocial programs. However, the benefits of these programs are not fully understood. This study explores the impact of a program that addresses the volition, habituation, and skill challenges reported by those with mental health problems. Follow-up data were collecte...
Several studies report on the presence of external stress and life events prior to the onset and exacerbation of psychotic illness. However, the relationship between the subjective appraisal of stress at first presentation with psychosis is less well understood. This paper reports on the relationship between the individual perception of stress and...
Employment is generally beneficial to health and quality of life. Despite many advances in the treatment of psychosis there are continuing reports of high levels of unemployment. In most studies of first episode psychosis (FEP) only rudimentary rates of employment are provided. We sought to establish the prevalence of employment amongst those with...
Background:
People experience delays in receiving effective treatment for many illnesses including psychosis. These delays have adverse consequences in heart disease and cancer, and their causes have been the subject of much research but only in recent years have pathways to care in psychosis received such attention. We sought to establish if, whe...
Suicide and attempted suicide contribute significantly to the increased mortality and morbidity associated with psychotic illness. The period of highest risk is reportedly in the early years of illness. While the literature concentrates on completed suicide in chronic psychosis, less is understood about attempted suicide in first-episode psychosis...
Intervening early in the course of psychotic illness may improve the long-term outcome. Early intervention requires early recognition, and one factor that influences early recognition is the level of mental health literacy (MHL) in the population.
To investigate the level of MHL regarding depression and psychosis in an Irish population.
We invited...
Although General Practitioners (GPs) have a pivotal role in early detection and treatment of psychosis, there is sparse information on their views of early intervention (EI) services and how information related to EI should be delivered.
Since inception, DETECT (Dublin East Treatment and Early Care Team), Ireland's pilot EI project, mailed informat...
Earlier detection and treatment of psychosis is associated with improved health outcomes. While the role of specialist services to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment has been extensively described internationally, little data on their impact on general practice has been reported. A new specialist service for psychosis - the 'Dublin East Treat...
Little is known about what influences the success of psychosocial interventions for first-episode psychosis. One possible explanation for the mixed results of clinical trials is the influence of confounders on outcome. Psychosocial functioning prior to the onset of psychosis (premorbid adjustment) is one possible confounder. In order to examine the...
Although there is some evidence that duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is geographically stable, few have examined whether the phenomenon is temporally stable. We examined DUP in two cohorts within two discrete time periods (1995-1999 and 2003-2005) spanning a decade in the same geographically defined community psychiatric service with no early...
Short ReportAlthough purpose in life (PIL) is significant to psychological wellbeing, there is little published research on PIL among those with a mental illness. This prospective study of first-episode psychosis (n = 54) included assessment of symptomatology, PIL and duration of untreated psychosis. The results showed that the baseline PIL scores...