An Examination of Clinician Responses to Problem Gambling in Community Mental Health Services
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Experimental Section
2.1. Design and Sample
2.2. Measures
2.3. Recruitment/Procedure
2.4. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Gambling Problems as a Percentage of Clinician Caseloads
3.2. Previous Training in Problem Gambling
3.3. Gambling and Mental Illness Knowledge
3.4. Attitudes Towards Responding to Gambling Issues
3.5. Comorbidity
3.6. Screening and Assessment
3.7. Actions Taken Following Identification
3.8. Referral
3.9. Treatment
3.10. Differences in Clinician Response by Profession
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Total Sample (n = 281) | |
---|---|
Age (years), mean (range) | 40.10 (20–67 years) |
Male (n, %) | 77 (27.4) |
Profession (n, %) | |
Medical | 62 (22.1%) |
Nurse | 78 (27.8%) |
Social worker | 31 (11.0%) |
Psychologist | 17 (6.0%) |
Occupational therapist | 17 (6.0%) |
Support worker | 56 (19.9%) |
Other | 17 (6.0%) |
Missing | 3 (1.1%) |
Type of service (n, %) | |
Public mental health service (adult) | 203 (72.3%) |
Private mental health service | 10 (3.6%) |
Primary healthcare | 23 (8.2%) |
MHCSS/PDRSS | 45 (16.0%) |
Practice duration (years), mean (range) | 12.1 (<1 year–40 years) |
Strongly Agree/Agree | Uncertain | Disagree/Strongly Disagree | Missing | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Problem gambling and mental illness commonly occur together | 178 (63.3%) | 83 (29.5%) | 20 (7.1%) | 0 |
Problem gambling can worsen a patient’s mental illness | 265 (94.3%) | 14 (5.0%) | 1 (0.4%) | 1 (0.3%) |
I understand what causes and/or maintains problem gambling issues | 125 (44.4%) | 115(38.9%) | 40 (14.2%) | 1 (0.4%) |
I am aware of screening and assessment tools available for detection of problem gambling | 32 (11.4%) | 64 (22.8%) | 184 (65.4%) | 1 (0.4%) |
Strongly Agree/Agree | Uncertain | Strongly Disagree /Disagree | Missing | |
---|---|---|---|---|
There is no point conducting gambling screening as my service does not treat problem gamblers | 13 (4.7%) | 29 (10.3%) | 237 (84.3%) | 2 (0.7%) |
Gambling disorder is not really a mental health disorder | 17 (6.1%) | 44 (15.7%) | 219 (78.0%) | 1 (0.4%) |
Detecting problem gambling does not require a formal screen; it can just be addressed if a patient mentions it | 40 (14.2%) | 56 (19.9%) | 183 (65.1%) | 2 (0.7%) |
Use of standardized screening tools is only necessary if a patient mentions gambling | 34 (12.1%) | 70 (24.9%) | 173 (61.6%) | 4 (1.4%) |
People accessing mental health treatment do not want to be screened for gambling problems | 27 (9.6%) | 101 (35.9%) | 151 (53.7%) | 2 (0.7%) |
There are too many more important issues to screen for problem gambling | 30 (10.7%) | 41 (14.6%) | 207 (70.7%) | 3 (1.1%) |
Problem gambling does not co-occur with mental health problems often enough to bother screening | 8 (2.8%) | 50 (17.8%) | 220 (78.3%) | 3 (1.1%) |
There is not enough time to conduct problem gambling screening or assessment in my workplace | 65 (20.9%) | 75 (24.1%) | 167 (53.7%) | 4 (1.3%) |
Screening/assessment and referral for problem gambling is not part of my job | 20 (7.1%) | 36 (12.8%) | 222 (79.0%) | 3 (1.1%) |
It is important to identify gambling problems among mental health patients | 253 (90%) | 13 (4.6%) | 12 (4.9%) | 1 (0.4%) |
A brief problem gambling screen would be a useful part of my routine clinical practice | 111 (75.1%) | 43 (15.3%) | 26 (9.2%) | 1 (0.4%) |
Sample (n = 281) | Strongly Agree/Agree | Uncertain | Disagree/Strongly Disagree | Missing |
---|---|---|---|---|
I have a good understanding about the Gambler’s Help service system and the programs available | 65 (23.2%) | 65 (23.1%) | 150 (53.3%) | 1 (0.4%) |
I understand the types of treatments that have proven helpful for PG | 62 (22.0%) | 79 (28.1%) | 129 (49.5%) | 1 (0.4%) |
Mental health and PG clinicians can effectively work together to support patients | 134 (83.3%) | 35 (12.5%) | 10 (3.5%) | 2 (0.7%) |
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Manning, V.; Dowling, N.A.; Rodda, S.N.; Cheetham, A.; Lubman, D.I. An Examination of Clinician Responses to Problem Gambling in Community Mental Health Services. J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9, 2075. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9072075
Manning V, Dowling NA, Rodda SN, Cheetham A, Lubman DI. An Examination of Clinician Responses to Problem Gambling in Community Mental Health Services. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2020; 9(7):2075. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9072075
Chicago/Turabian StyleManning, Victoria, Nicki A. Dowling, Simone N. Rodda, Ali Cheetham, and Dan I. Lubman. 2020. "An Examination of Clinician Responses to Problem Gambling in Community Mental Health Services" Journal of Clinical Medicine 9, no. 7: 2075. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9072075