Mental Health and Well-being of People Who Seek Help From Their Member of Parliament

King's College London

Status: Completed

Conditions: Common Mental Disorders; Alcohol Use Disorder

Treatments: Diagnostic Test: 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12); Diagnostic Test: WHO AUDIT (World Health Organization- Alcohol Use Disorders Inventory Tool)

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04203966

HR-16/17-3220

Details and patient eligibility

About

This is an observational study to assess the prevalence of common mental disorders and alcohol use disorders in a population of individuals seeking help from their Member of Parliament (MP) in the UK.

Full description

Members of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom (UK) represent the interests of their constituents. Constituents may contact their MP for assistance if they feel that they have been treated unfairly by a government department or agency, have concerns relating to their local area, or are wanting support from their MP for a campaign they are involved in. In order to fulfil their duty to constituents, MPs hold regular surgeries which allow anyone with a concern to meet with them to discuss the issue in question further. Given the role of the MP in representing people who may be in the midst of stressful events, such as a dispute, it is possible that mental health problems may be more prevalent in this population. However, at present MPs are not given any additional training in recognising mental distress, and may not know how to appropriately sign-post people to appropriate supportive services, nor do MPs receive advice in supporting such individuals. To the best of the investigator's knowledge, there have been no prior studies in this area. The findings of this study will inform initiatives to improve MP working practices, to and raise awareness of the mental health challenges faced by their constituents, with the aim of better meeting the mental health needs of constituents who attend MP surgeries in the future.

Enrollment: 662 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Attending selected MP surgeries (e.g. in Central Suffolk & North Ipswich)
• Over the age of 18
• Must be able to complete paper or online questionnaires.
• Have consented to take part in the study

Exclusion criteria

• Unable to complete questionnaires on their own/ unaided.

Trial design

662 participants in 2 patient groups

Common mental disorders/ versus no common mental disorders

Description:

No intervention This is a prevalence study- presence of common mental disorders (CMDs) will be assessed using the 12-item general Health Questionnaire, with responses above validated cut-points taken to indicate presence of CMDs

Treatment:

Diagnostic Test: 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12)

Alcohol use disorders/ versus no alcohol use disorders

Description:

No intervention This is a prevalence study- presence of alcohol use disorders will be assessed using the World Health Organization (WHO) AUDIT, with responses above validated cutpoints taken to indicate presence of alcohol use disorders

Treatment:

Diagnostic Test: WHO AUDIT (World Health Organization- Alcohol Use Disorders Inventory Tool)