John Baker

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John Baker was appointed to Chair of Mental Health Nursing in 2015. John's research focuses on developing complex clinical and psychological interventions in mental health settings. He is particularly interested in i) acute/inpatient mental health services and clinical interventions; ii) medicines management in mental health care; iii) the attitudes and clinical skills of mental health workers, iv) the mental health workforce. The good practice manuals which he developed have been evaluated, cited as examples of good practice, and influenced clinical practice in the UK and abroad. The training package for patients, service users and carers to promote research awareness and understanding has been cited by the MHRN and NICE as an exemplar of good practice.

John is a member of the NIHR post-doctoral panel, sits on the Editorial boards for Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing & International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. He is a Registered Nurse Teacher with the Nursing, Midwifery Council (NMC) and is active within Mental Health Nursing Academics (UK).

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Opening ward doors doesn’t make staff any more coercive

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John Baker summarises a new Norwegian trial published last week, which compares an open-door policy to treatment-as-usual in urban psychiatric inpatient wards.

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We can safely deliver therapy to suicidal inpatients, but we still don’t know if it works

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John Baker reviews a pilot randomised controlled trial of cognitive-behavioural suicide prevention therapy for mental health inpatients, which found that the therapy was acceptable and feasible to deliver.

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Coercion in psychiatry: do interventions to reduce coercive practice work?

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John Baker reviews a recent umbrella review of randomised controlled trials on the efficacy of interventions to reduce coercion in mental health services.

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Involuntary hospitalisation: variations in mental health detentions across Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand

The rate of mental health detentions in England has risen by nearly 50% in the last decade. This is faster than almost anywhere else in Europe

John Baker examines an international comparative mental health study published today, which looks at variations in patterns of involuntary hospitalisation and in legal frameworks.

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Compulsory Community Treatment does not reduce readmissions or length of stay in hospital

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John Baker explores a systematic review of compulsory community treatment to reduce readmission to hospital and increase engagement with community care in people with mental illness.

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Smoking bans and violence on mental health wards: what’s the link?

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John Baker isn’t convinced by the findings of a systematic review on smoking bans and violence in mental health settings, which concludes that the introduction of smoke-free policies generally do not lead to an increase in violence.

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“Treat me with respect”. What happens before, during and after coercion?

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John Baker takes a look at a recent systematic review and thematic analysis, which explores psychiatric patients’ reported perceptions of the situations associated with the process of coercion.

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Off-label antidepressants: limited evidence to support their use

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John Baker reports on Canadian study looking at prescriptions of off-label antidepressants in primary care, which concludes that when antidepressants were used outside of their licence, there was usually not strong evidence supporting the respective indication.

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Depot antipsychotics: If you pay me, you can keep injecting me

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John Baker looks at the 2-year follow-up results of a cluster RCT on the effectiveness of financial incentives to improve adherence to maintenance treatment with depot antipsychotics.

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It’s good to talk: training psychiatrists to improve communication with patients

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John Baker evaluates the recent TEMPO cluster RCT, which explores training to enhance psychiatrist communication with patients who live with psychosis.

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