چکیده (انگلیسی):

Background:Over three-quarters of all suicides are men (England and Wales), this is despite higher levels of
anxiety and depression being reported by women. This disparity may in part be explained by atypical presentations
of distress in men, and gendered issues around help-seeking. Consequently, the Atlas Men’s Well-being Programme
was designed to engage stressed/distressed men who were patients at a London-based GP surgery. Atlas encouraged
GPs to identify and refer men for counselling and/or acupuncture by raising their awareness of men’s distress. The aim
of this pilot study was to evaluate Atlas in terms of patients’ characteristics, service utilisation, patient outcomes and
cost implications.
Methods:All patients using the Programme were asked to complete a questionnaire before and after their Atlas
sessions. Outcome measures included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, Perceived Stress Scale,
Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, a 11-point scale measuring physical health, and the Psychological
Outcome Profiles (PSYCHLOPS), a patient-generated outcome measure. Additionally, for cost calculations, participants
were asked about their employment, number of days off work due to illness, and their health and social care
service use.
Results:102 participants were recruited, 82 completed pre- and post-treatment questionnaires. Comparisons
pre- and post-treatment revealed a statistically significant improvement in anxious mood (p<0.001), perceived
stress (p< 0.001), positive well-being (p= <0.001), PSYCHLOPS (p= <0.001) and physical health (p= 0.001), though not
depressed mood (p= 0.660). Additionally, reductions in costs related to lost employment and health and social care
use, exceeded the cost of Atlas counselling and acupuncture sessions, with an average saving of nearly £700 per
patient.
Conclusions:Atlas attendance was associated with improvements in patients’ mental and physical health, and
demonstrated likely cost savings. It is now important to understand patient and stakeholder perspectives. Further
research could compare usual care with the Atlas approach, and investigate full cost-effectiveness.