Background Mental disorders impose heavy burdens on patients’ families and children. It is imperative to provide family-focused services to avoid adverse effects from mental disorders on patients’ families and children. However, implementing such services requires a great deal of involvement of mental health workers. This study investigated the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and practices in respect to family-focused practices (FFP) in a sample of Chinese mental health workers. Methods A cross-sectional study design was employed to examine the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and practices of a convenience sample of Chinese mental health workers in respect to FFP, using the Chinese version of the Family-Focused Mental Health Practice Questionnaire (FFMHPQ). Results In total, 515 mental health workers participated in our study, including 213 psychiatrists, 269 psychiatric nurses, and 34 allied mental health professionals (20 clinical psychologists, 9 mental health social workers, and 4 occupational therapists). Compared with psychiatric nurses, psychiatrists and allied mental health professionals provided more support for families and children of patients with mental illness and were more willing to receive further training in FFP. However, there were no significant differences on knowledge, skills, and confidence across different profession types. After adjusting for demographic and occupational variables, previous training in FFP was positively associated with mental health workers’ knowledge, skills, and confidence about FFP, but not actual support to families and children. Conclusions Professional differences on FFP exist in Chinese mental health workers. Training is needed to engage psychiatrists and other allied workforce in dissemination and implementation of FFP in China.

IntroductionFamily‐focused practice has become an emerging paradigm in mental health services. However, little is known about family‐focused practice and associated factors in Chinese mental health workers.AimTo examine family‐focused practice and associated factors in Chinese mental health workers.MethodA cross‐sectional survey was conducted in a convenience sample of mental health workers (n = 515) in Beijing, China. The Family‐Focused Mental Health Practice Questionnaire was used to measure family‐focused practice, as well as worker, workplace and client factors that might influence family‐focused practice. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to investigate the factors associated with family‐focused practice.ResultsOn average, the participants exhibited a moderate level of engagement in family‐focused practice. The factors that most significantly influenced family‐focused practice in Chinese mental health workers were skill and knowledge, worker confidence and time and workload. Moreover, psychiatrists were found to engage more in family‐focused practice than psychiatric nurses, and community mental health workers were more active in family‐focused practice than hospital‐based ones.DiscussionThis study provided important data concerning family‐focused practice and associated factors in Chinese mental health workers.Implications for PracticeThe varying level of Chinese mental health workers to engage in family‐focused practice has advocacy, training, research and organizational implications for mental health services in China and elsewhere.

The effect of glucocorticoid therapy on women with unexplained positive autoantibodies is under debate. This systemic review and meta-analysis were performed to evaluate whether glucocorticoid administration can improve the pregnancy outcome of this population. Relevant publications were searched from databases, and a total of seven prospective and retrospective cohort studies that investigated the effects of glucocorticoid administration on women with unexplained positive autoantibodies, were included. The outcomes of our systematic review and meta-analysis were measured in terms of risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using fixed or random effect models. We found that glucocorticoid treatment improved the clinical pregnancy rate (RR 2.19, 95% CI 1.64–2.92) and live birth rate (RR 1.92, 95% CI 1.17–3.16), especially when glucocorticoid administration was started before pregnancy (clinical pregnancy rate: RR 2.30, 95% CI 1.58–3.34; live birth rate: RR 2.30, 95% CI 1.58–3.34). However, no effect of glucocorticoids on the miscarriage rate was found (RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.55–1.02) regardless of the time of drug administration. Our systematic review and meta-analysis support the rational use of glucocorticoids in women with unexplained positive autoantibodies.Systematic Review Registration[www.ClinicalTrials.gov], identifier [CRD42019124442].

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