Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
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Psychiatric research in Nigeria: bridging tradition and modernisation
- Authors:
- AYONRINDE Oyedji, GUREJE Oye, LAWAL Rahmann
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 184(6), June 2004, pp.536-538.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Mental health research in Nigeria is rich in untapped opportunities, such as the highest twin rate in the world among the Yoruba. International collaboration is a key to advancing psychiatric research in Nigeria through skill development and resource sharing.
Somatoform disorders: a help or hindrance to good patient care
- Authors:
- SHARPE Michael, MAYOU Richard
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 184(6), June 2004, pp.465-467.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Somatoform disorders include a hetero-geneous group of diagnoses united only by their tendency to present with somatic complaints. In DSM–III–R the specific subcategories included somatisation disorder, hypochondriasis, body dysmorphic disorder, conversion disorder and chronic pain disorder, but the classification proved inadequate to the clinical task and the most recent edition of DSM (DSM–IV) added the non-specific category of undifferentiated somatoform disorder. This diagnosis, which amounts to little more than relabelling the patient’s own complaint, has turned out in practice to be the most common of the somatoform diagnoses.
Mental health in the enlarged European Union: need for relevant public mental health action
- Author:
- MARUSIC Andrej
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 184(5), May 2004, pp.450-451.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
On 1 May 2004 ten new countries will join the European Union (EU), which as a result will comprise 25 culturally quite different countries. Each enlargement of the EU so far has been a difficult experience for both the existing member states and the new entrants, since each membership change has altered the structure and the sharing of costs and benefits of membership. Furthermore, each new member brings its own traditions, preferences, strengths and weaknesses, including the mental health of its population and its psychiatric services.
Longitudinal syndromal and sub-syndromal symptoms after severe depression: 10-year follow-up study
- Authors:
- KENNEDY Noel, ABBOTT Rosemary, PAYKEL Eugene S.
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 184(4), April 2004, pp.330-336.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Few follow-up studies of depression have evaluated depressive symptomatology over time at both threshold and sub-threshold levels. The aim was to evaluate long-term longitudinal symptomatic course after an episode of severe depression. A total of 61 participants from a previous study cohort underwent a detailed interview covering the longitudinal course of depression and pharmacological treatment over 8–11 years of follow-up. Of the follow-up months, 52% were spent at an asymptomatic level, 15% at minor symptom level, 20% at residual symptom level and 13% at full depression level. Also, 30% of follow-up months were spent in an episode of depression, and 18% of patients never achieved asymptomatic status during follow-up. The percentage of patients at each symptom level remained relatively stable after the first 2 years, but levels in individuals fluctuated, with a mean of two changes in symptom levels per follow-up year.
People with physical impairments and mental health support needs: a critical review of the literature
- Author:
- MORRIS Jenny
- Publisher:
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 53p.
- Place of publication:
- York
This report reviews the literature on the mental health support needs of people with physical impairments. The review is divided into two parts. The first part reviews research literature concerned with psychology, psychiatry and rehabilitation services. The second part of the review looks at what is known about the mental health support needs and experiences of people with physical impairments from a social model perspective. It was the first stage of a research project. (Edited publisher abstract)
Paranoia: the psychology of persecutory delusions
- Authors:
- FREEMAN Daniel, GARETY Philippa
- Publisher:
- Psychology Press
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 188p.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Hove
Taking persecutory delusions as its focus, this study defines the phenomenon in detail and analyzes the content of persecutory delusions. It reviews previous psychological writings, explores the relationship between psychosis and neurosis, reports on innovative empirical studies with patients, and highlights future essential research directions.
A survey of psychiatrists' attitudes toward treatment guidelines
- Authors:
- HEALY Daniel J., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Community Mental Health Journal, 40(2), April 2004, pp.177-184.
- Publisher:
- Springer
The authors developed a survey to look at psychiatrists' attitudes toward psychotropic prescribing guidelines, specifically the Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP) algorithms. The 22-page survey was distributed to 24 psychiatrists working in 4 CMHC's; 13 completed the survey. 90% agreed that guidelines should be general and flexible. The majority also agreed that guidelines should define how to measure response to a specific agent; fewer agreed guidelines should specify dosage, side effect management, or augmentation strategies. Psychiatrists were familiar with TMAP; none referred to it in their practice. In spite of this, psychiatrists' medication preferences were similar to those suggested by guidelines.
Changing conceptualizations of mental health and mental illness implications of "brain disease" and ”behavioral health” for social work
- Authors:
- TAYLOR Melissa Floyd, BENTLEY Kia J.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work in Mental Health, 2(4), 2004, pp.1-16.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Conceptualizations of mental health and mental illness continue to be an important influence in shaping social work practice and education. By critically analyzing the emergence of the current concepts of “brain disease” and “behavioural health,” inquirers are able to better understand the stakeholders in this renaming process. The inherent assumptions and the sociopolitical aspects of these two concepts are analyzed. Recommendations for social work practitioners and educators in preparing for a future in which they will participate more fully in the professional dialog about changes in the vocabulary of mental illness and thus more meaningfully shape the service delivery system in general, and the social work domain, in particular, are offered. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580)
The construction of religious and cultural meaning in Egyptian psychiatric patient charts
- Author:
- COKER Elizabeth M.
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Religion and Culture, 7(4), December 2004, pp.323-347.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This paper explores the use of religious symbols and metaphors in Egyptian psychiatric inpatient charts to portray psychiatric pathology and, by extension, the role that religious symbols play in constructing psychiatric illnesses. This represents a deconstruction of patient charts, assuming that the psychiatrist chooses aspects of family and patient discourse which best represent unexamined cultural ideas of person and illness, normality and abnormality. All of the psychiatrists writing the charts were Egyptian and shared much of the same cultural background with their patients, excluding their medical training. Therefore, while chart discourse is used to justify a psychiatric diagnosis, it is also the product of a shared cultural history; a tacit agreement about what constitutes a meaningful story. This paper focuses mainly upon discourse that has religious connotations, for the reason that these seemed to be more invested with cultural meaning than other delusional themes. These religious symbols and metaphors are interpreted in light of their symbolic associations with certain existential states, the family unit and with society as a whole.
Older people with schizophrenia: a community study in a rural catchment area
- Authors:
- RODRIGUEZ-FERRARA Silvia, VASSILAS Christopher A., HAQUE Sayeed
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19(12), December 2004, pp.1181-1187.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
An increasing number of older people with schizophrenia are living in the community but we still have little data on their clinical presentation, service use and functioning. All patients over the age of 60 years with a primary diagnosis of a non-affective psychotic disorder who were known to health services were identified in a rural area of East England. Subjects were interviewed with the Present State Examination and other standardised interview instruments. Seventy-two subjects fulfilled study inclusion criteria. Forty-six of these had first become ill before the age of 60 years and 26 after (the very late onset group (VLO)). Eighty per cent were women and 26% had never married. Eighty-seven per cent lived in their own homes and 51% alone. In the preceding month, 41% of the sample had experienced psychotic symptoms and 15% depressive symptoms. Twenty-seven per cent of the sample were cognitively impaired. The earlier onset group had significantly higher rates of tardive dyskinesia and negative symptoms of schizophrenia and were treated with higher doses of neuroleptics. The VLO group had higher rates of hearing impairment (54% vs 15% p = 0.001) and of partial or no insight (93% vs 55% p = 0.004). Despite significant differences in presentation, elderly patients with schizophrenia and very late onset schizophrenia-like psychosis have much in common. Both groups are vulnerable with high levels of psychopathology, poor insight, sensory impairment and social isolation. The needs of older people with schizophrenia must be taken into account when services for older adults are planned.