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Hilton C, Morris A, Burnside G, Harris R, Aggarwal VR, Procter S, Griffiths R, French P, Laverty L, Lobban F, Berry K, Shiers D, Golby R, Fazekas F, Valemis K, Perry A, Newens C, Kerry E, Mupinga P, Gkioni E, Lodge C, Dawber A, Elliott E, Lunat F, Palmier-Claus J. A two-arm, randomised feasibility trial using link workers to improve dental visiting in people with severe mental illness: a protocol paper. Pilot Feasibility Stud 2023; 9:157. [PMID: 37684682 PMCID: PMC10485965 DOI: 10.1186/s40814-023-01383-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND People with severe mental illness (e.g. psychosis, bipolar disorder) experience poor oral health compared to the general population as shown by more decayed, missing and filled teeth and a higher prevalence of periodontal disease. Attending dental services allows treatment of oral health problems and support for prevention. However, people with severe mental illness face multiple barriers to attending routine dental appointments and often struggle to access care. Link work interventions use non-clinical support staff to afford vulnerable populations the capacity, opportunity, and motivation to navigate use of services. The authors have co-developed with service users a link work intervention for supporting people with severe mental illness to access routine dental appointments. The Mouth Matters in Mental Health Study aims to explore the feasibility and acceptability of this intervention within the context of a feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT) measuring outcomes related to the recruitment of participants, completion of assessments, and adherence to the intervention. The trial will closely monitor the safety of the intervention and trial procedures. METHODS A feasibility RCT with 1:1 allocation to two arms: treatment as usual (control) or treatment as usual plus a link work intervention (treatment). The intervention consists of six sessions with a link worker over 9 months. Participants will be adults with severe mental illness receiving clinical input from secondary care mental health service and who have not attended a planned dental appointment in the past 3 years. Assessments will take place at baseline and after 9 months. The target recruitment total is 84 participants from across three NHS Trusts. A subset of participants and key stakeholders will complete qualitative interviews to explore the acceptability of the intervention and trial procedures. DISCUSSION The link work intervention aims to improve dental access and reduce oral health inequalities in people with severe mental illness. There is a dearth of research relating to interventions that attempt to improve oral health outcomes in people with mental illness and the collected feasibility data will offer insights into this important area. TRIAL REGISTRATION The trial was preregistered on ISRCTN (ISRCTN13650779) and ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05545228).
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Hilton
- The Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | - Abigail Morris
- The Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | - Girvan Burnside
- Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Rebecca Harris
- Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | | | - Sarah Procter
- Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, Lancashire, UK
| | - Robert Griffiths
- Division of Psychology & Mental Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
| | - Paul French
- Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
- Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, Ashton-Under-Lyne, UK
| | - Louise Laverty
- Division of Informatics, Imaging and Data Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Fiona Lobban
- The Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | - Katherine Berry
- Division of Psychology & Mental Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - David Shiers
- Division of Psychology & Mental Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
| | - Rebecca Golby
- Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, Lancashire, UK
| | - Fanni Fazekas
- Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, Ashton-Under-Lyne, UK
| | - Kyriakos Valemis
- Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
| | - Antonia Perry
- Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, Lancashire, UK
| | - Connie Newens
- Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, Lancashire, UK
| | - Eirian Kerry
- Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
| | | | - Efstathia Gkioni
- Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
- Liverpool Clinical Trials Centre, Clinical Directorate, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Christopher Lodge
- The Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | - Alison Dawber
- Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
| | - Emma Elliott
- School of Dentistry, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Farah Lunat
- Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, Lancashire, UK
| | - Jasper Palmier-Claus
- The Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.
- Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, Lancashire, UK.
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