This was presented at the University of Otago General Staff Conference, "Linked In and Switched On", 29 August 2014.
Books on Prescription is a programme designed to provide access to evidence-based self-help resources for those experiencing common mental health problems. It was adopted by the Southern Primary Health Organisation (PHO) in 2011, following in the footsteps of National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. It has found success in Central Otago Public Libraries and has recently been adopted by all public libraries in the regions of Otago and Southland.
Books are prescribed to patients by health professionals from a list of recommended titles that have been reviewed by mental health professionals. These titles allow people to independently learn strategies to improve their mental well-being and supplement primary health treatment for common mental health problems.
The University of Otago Health Sciences Library saw an opportunity to support the teaching and learning of medical students. By engaging in this collaboration the partners hope to embed the programme into the practice of future health professionals and to improve the well-being of staff and students. This paper reviews the programme in the University setting and Southern PHO catchment to date.
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Collaborating to enhance opportunities for teaching and learning, and for the wellbeing of staff and students at the University of Otago
1. Collaborating to enhance opportunities for
teaching and learning, and for the well-being of
staff and students at the University of Otago
Introducing Books on Prescription
2. Introductions
Katie Jahnke | Health Promoter & Projects Coordinator
Southern PHO | Katie.Jahnke@southernpho.health.nz
Jodie Black | Registered Psychologist
Student Health, University of Otago | jodie.black@otago.ac.nz
Sarah Gallagher | Subject Librarian
Health Sciences Library, University of Otago | sarah.gallagher@otago.ac.nz
Richard German | Divisional Librarian
Health Sciences Library, University of Otago | richard.german@otago.ac.nz
3. Overview
Katie - History of BOP and Southern PHO involvement
Richard - How libraries are changing internationally
Sarah - Why and how the Medical Library became involved
Jodie - The role of the programme at Student Health
4. What is BOP?
A community health initiative whereby GPs, mental
health professionals and other health professionals
can offer their patients recommended self-help books
for mild to moderate mental health problems.
5. History
โข Developed in Wales in 2002 by psychologist Dr Neil
Frude
โข In 2005 the scheme was rolled out across Wales then
throughout the UK following extensive evaluation
โข Implemented in Central Otago in 2011 and
progressively rolled out in Otago and Southland
6. Why start a BOP scheme?
โข 46.6% of the population will meet the criteria for a mental disorder
during their lives
โข 39.5% have already had experience of mental disorder
โข 20.7% of the population will have experienced a mental health
disorder within the past 12 months
โข There is significant unmet need for people with mental disorders.
Over a 12 month period only 39% of people with a mental
disorder had visited health services
7. Evidence
โข Clinical evidence shows that books can be as effective as other forms
of therapy and with the advantage of having no potential side effects
associated with drugs, and often achieve good results more quickly.
โข Bibliotherapy is one of the key self-help strategies recommended in the
treatment of depression and anxiety.
โข Research suggests that patients benefit from knowing more about their
problems, and learning psychological tactics to deal with them.
8. Southern PHO
โข 285,852 enrolled patients in 89 practices
โข 40% enrolled pop. live outside the main cities
important to have a rural focus
โข Reduced access to mental health services in
rural areas
9. Hearing UK experiences
Watch:
โ Reading Well (UK)
โ a medical
professional
โ a librarian
โ a patient
10. University of Otago Libraries
โ 7 libraries
o Medical, Dental,
Science, Education,
Law, Central
o Hocken Collections
โ Available to all staff
and students
11. What libraries are about
Ranganathanโs five laws of library science:
1. Books are for use
2. Every reader his/her book
3. Every book its reader
4. Save the time of the reader
5. The library is a growing organism
12. Future libraries
Extensions of Ranganathanโs โlawsโ (Crawford and
Gorman, 1995):
1. Libraries serve humanity
2. Respect all forms by which knowledge is communicated
3. Use technology intelligently to enhance service
4. Protect free access to knowledge
5. Honor the past and create the future
13. More than just books
โ Libraries are constantly
evolving to meet the needs
of our communities
โ We are trusted places /
people for information
provision
CC-BY-NC-ND Dunedin Public Library
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dunedinp
ubliclibraries/13884121976
15. Libraries & health information
โLibraries can build on the fact that
many people visit libraries for health
information before or instead of
engaging with health professionalsโ
- Ingham 2014
16. Libraries <3 their communities
Places of refuge & services
in times of crisis, eg:
โ CHCH earthquakes
โ Hurricane Sandy
โ Ferguson Riots
So libraries are a good fit
for BOP schemes
17. BOP in universities
Otago is one of a few university libraries in the
world that have adopted Books on Prescription
โข University College Dublin
โข Brunel University London
โข Loughborough University
18. Why is Otago involved?
Dual reasons for our involvement:
โ Opportunity to support teaching and learning in the
Dunedin School of Medicine
โ Opportunity to contribute a resource to improve staff
and student well-being at the University of Otago
19. #1 - Teaching & learning
โ Approval of teaching staff
โ Ordered books
โ Created a guide
โ Promotion
20. Our guide
โ resource for teaching and learning
โ a resource for prescribers
โ to illustrate and provide access to the books in the collection
โ to present evidence of bibliotherapy & case studies
โ to provide access to supplementary material
โ www.otago.libguides.com/bop
22. Interest from others
โ Our launch in August 2013
coincided with the roll out of
the scheme across the UK
โ Generated interest / RFI from
other libraries in NZ
โ Reported in LIBROS and
HEALTH SIG
23. โI personally recommended the service to a patient I met in
General Practice, who was suffering from a relapse of her
depressive illness โฆ she seemed very receptive to the idea โฆ
I really appreciated having something additional to offer her
however- she was already on medication for her depression,
and really responded to the idea of having something that she
could do herself. I think it's a really valuable service, and I
hope that the medical school incorporates it into the general
practice curriculum!โ
- 6th year medical student
24. #2 - Well-being
Support the well-being of
staff and students
โ Student Health
โ Disability Information &
Support
โ Employee Assistance
Programme (EAP)
CC http://pixabay.com/en/reading-manual-docs-help-book-man-
99244/
25. Student Health Services
โ Largest โenrolledโ population in the Southern District
โ About 50 staff including: nurses, general practitioners,
counsellors, dietitians, psychiatrist and administrative
staff
โ Majority of students access Student Health during term
and return to their family GP over breaks
โ 28% of Otago students record their โhome areaโ as the
Southern District
26. Counselling Services
โ Unique to have counselling services on site
โ Same day appointments with self referral for brief
assessment, advice, counselling and/or further referrals
โ Referrals have doubled over the last 5 years
โ Peak demand periods towards the end of each
semester
27. Benefits for Student Health
โ Part of a stepped care approach to mental health
โ Options for those on a waitlist or returning home over
breaks
โ Provide options directly accessible by students
โ Utilizing library infrastructure
28. Promoting BOP in SHS
โ Information session provided to SHS staff
โ Books rotate through staff room
โ SHS staff have added to scheme - including sexual
health
โ Link to BOP on SHS website
โ Bookmarks promoting BOP are available from all
clinical rooms
29.
30. Challenges to consider
โ Staff familiarisation with the scheme and books
โ Client attitudes towards electronic and bibliotherapy self
help are more positive than the clinicians
โ Some staff already use electronic resources, including
websites and apps
31. Goals
โ Further promotion to staff and students as a well-being
aid
โ Further promotion to teaching staff (Medicine)
โ Further promotion to health workers on campus
32. Evaluation
The Southern PHO are undertaking an extensive
evaluation in the region, including:
โข Surveying prescribers and librarians
โข Collating issuing data and user feedback
โข Interviews and focus groups with prescribers and
consumers
33. Continuous improvement
Our collaborative practice includes a cycle of review to
ensure we continue to improve this programme.
Four step quality cycle
โข plan > act > review > improve
Source: http://www.uow.edu.au/quality/quality/index
34. Indicators of success
โ Website / online guide hits
โ Books issued and holds placed
โ Extra copies requested
โ Student and staff feedback
โ Prescriptions filled
โ Evidence of incorporation into learning programs
โ Cross promotion through other well-being projects
35. Fig 1. Example of statistics gathered by Springshare software over 12 months
of the Books on Prescription Guide www.otago.libguides.com/bop
36. โI personally find the books on prescription program to be a
very valuable resource. Dunedin has limited access to
counselling and mental health services, and many of the
services which are available have significant wait times for
patients who are not acutely unwell. This can have a
significant impact on the mental health of patients who are
unable to afford to pay out of pocket for these services.โ
- 6th year medical student
37. Next steps
โ Develop opportunities to incorporate into Residential
Assistant, peer support and future staff training
โ Otago University Student Association (OUSA) Mental
Health Awareness Week
โ Review the outcomes and adopt any recommendations
from the PHO evaluation
38. Summary
โ Working in collaboration across departments has made
this project possible
โ A structure of continuous quality improvement will allow
to project to continue to grow and meet the needs of
staff and students
39. References
Ingham A. Can your public library improve your health and well-being? An investigation of East Sussex Library and
Information Service. Health Information & Libraries Journal. 2014;31(2):156-60.
LIANZA. Libraries in Aotearoa 2014 http://www.lianza.org.nz/resources/lianza-publications/libraries-aotearoa/libraries-aotearoa-
2014 [Accessed 19.08.2014]
NHS Choices. Reading Well Books on Prescription. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H8OpYP0zPg [Accessed
19.08.2014]
New Media Consortium. NMC Horizon Report: 2014 Library Edition http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2014-nmc-horizon-report-library-
EN.pdf [Accessed 19.08.2014]
Pratt RJ. The introduction of a healthy reading scheme for people with mental health problems: usage and experiences
of health professionals and library staff. Mental Health in Family Medicine. 2008;5(4):219-28.
Image source: CC http://pixabay.com/en/reading-manual-docs-help-book-man-99244/
Once weโd decided that this was a teaching and learning tool we suddenly realised actually, this has a fantastic alternate purpose, which was for these books to also be available for all students and staff of the university to use in support of their own well-being, or to be able to support friends and family who may have mild to moderate mental health issues.
With a population of over 20,000 at our University, thereโs a fair chance that the scheme may be of use. Weโre continuing to work to promoting the collection and the service.
Student Health is one of the largest primary health centres in the Southern District, both in the population eligible at access services and in terms of staff numbers. Student health is unique in that it does not require student to โenrollโ so as student return to their homes over breaks they are able to remain registered with their family GP. 28% of students identify their home as being in the Southern District so should also be registered with a Southern Primary Health Organization Primary Care Provider.
Student Health Services are the only practice in the Southern District to have full time onsite counselling support. To access other primary care mental health support in the Southern District people need to see their GP and obtain a referral for services which may then lead to a 5-6 week wait. At Student Health we have endeavoured to make our services timely and accessible to students and offer a number of same day appointments where student can self refer for brief assessment and advice. A number of students do not require further counselling from our service and for those that do there may be a 2-3 week wait for an appointment time that fits in with their academic timetable. We have seen the demand for this service grow considerably with the requests for service doubling over a five year period. Because we are often a first point of contact for students in distress means that we respond to a range of psychosocial needs across the spectrum of mild, moderate and severe, however the most common presenting concerns relate to symptoms of anxiety and depression
As with all services offered within the Student Health Centre we see a peak demand period toward the end of each semester and traditionally more so in semester 2. This can prove to be a challenge to meet student needs in a timely fashion around final assignments/ exams and returning home for the summer
As mentioned by Katie, Books on Prescription is a recognised component of a stepped care approach to mental health, this is a shift away from a โone size fits allโ approach to mental health and seeks to offer a range of treatment options based on need and severity of symptoms. It also can be paired with counselling or pharmacological treatments, provides options for those waiting for ongoing counselling services or are returning home over breaks - being able to continue to borrow from the University library or link in to regional schemes.
Partnering with the medical library has also meant that the books are directly accessible to students at a time most appropriate for them. They can access information through the Student Health website without making an appointment. In the era of google students have often completed some internet research to gain more information before attending counselling so this is a way to point in the direction of reliable information. The use of books is not new to Student health, however managing a book collection with in a health setting has had its challenges and utilizing the library infrastructure has improved the quality, range and accessibility to these resources, student might be prescribed one book, but have the ability to review the collection to see if others are of interest.
We have really endeavoured to make it as easily as possible to remember, recommend and find information about the program for both health professionals and students with links to the collection directly from the Student Health page