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

Completed

• Conditions: Common Mental Disorders; Alcohol Use Disorder
• Interventions: Diagnostic Test: 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12); Diagnostic Test: WHO AUDIT (World Health Organization- Alcohol Use Disorders Inventory Tool)

• Registration Number: NCT04203966
• Lead Sponsor: King's College London

Brief Summary

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.

Detailed 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.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2018-09-24
• Primary Completion: 2019-09-18
• Study Completion: 2019-09-18
• Status Verified: 2019-12
• Study First Submitted: 2019-12-10
• Study First Submitted QC: 2019-12-16
• Study First Posted: 2019-12-18
• Last Update Submitted: 2021-03-09
• Last Update Posted: 2021-03-11

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 662

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.

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Common mental disorders/ versus no common mental disorders	12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12)	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
Alcohol use disorders/ versus no alcohol use disorders	WHO AUDIT (World Health Organization- Alcohol Use Disorders Inventory Tool)	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

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Presence of common mental disorders indicated by scores above validated cutpoints on the GHQ-12	Cross-sectional analysis, data was collected from September 2018, with exposures and outcomes collected at the same time points (ie. when people fill out the questionnaire). Time frame for analysis will be through to study completion.	The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) is a structured validated screening tool to assess for the presence of CMDs, administered to participants who have consented to take part in the study by completing responses either via survey monkey, or if they prefer through paper questionnaires posted to them. We will use validated cut points, individuals scoring above these (for example 4 or more on the GHQ-12) will be determined as having a common mental disorder

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Presence of alcohol use disorders, indicated by scores above validated cutpoints on the WHO AUDIT tool	Cross-sectional analysis, data was collected from September 2018, with exposures and outcomes collected at the same time points (ie. when people fill out the questionnaire). Time frame for analysis will be through to study completion.	The World Health Organization (WHO) AUDIT is a structured validated screening tool to assess for the presence of alcohol use disorders, administered to participants who have consented to take part in the study by completing responses either via survey monkey, or if they prefer through paper questionnaires posted to them. We will use validated cutpoints to assess for the presence of harmful and hazardous alcohol use disorders.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

IoPPN, King's College London; 🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom