bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Incidence of stress and depression in assessment medicine doctors in the Czech Republic
Authors: Celedova L. , Cevela R. , Ptacek R. , Kuzelova H. 
Published: May 2011

Assessment medicine represents an individual area of expertise that requires special skills and knowledge and it also put specific stress load on the assessment doctors. Different responsibility and the style of work, including special kind of contact with clients make this profession to different from other fields of clinical medicine. The specific work load may bring different stressors and cause specific mental load.We have conducted an extensive research to determine the level of stress load and occurrence of possible signs of depression and other reactive mental illnesses among Czech assessment doctors. The research group consisted of all assessment doctors in the Czech Republic (n = 403) and a control group consisting of other medical and non medical professions (m = 403). The groups were compared on the basis of questionnaires evaluating levels of stress, depression and occurrence of other possible mental illnesses. General personality traits were evaluated too.The results of the study: Assessment medicine doctors show higher incidence of stress related phenomenon as depression, burnout syndrome and other reactive psychiatrical signs comparing to other medical and non-medical professions (p < 0.01). This may be connected to specificity of the profession bringing specific stress load.SUPPORTED BY THE RESEARCH GRANT GK MPSV-01-201.
Quality of life and associated factors among chronic mental illness patients in Kaohsiung
Authors: Chou F.H.-C. , Huang R.-R. , Su C.-Y. 
Published: May 2011

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to predict quality of life (QoL) and associated factors in patients with chronic mental illness (CMI) in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.MethodsPatients (N = 2,023; 52.9% male, 47.1% female) were recruited using cross-sectional and convenience sampling. Structured questionnaires, including a living conditions questionnaire, a psychotic symptom assessment scale, the Caregiver Burden Scale, the 5-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5), and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-12 (MOS SF-12) were used to collect data.ResultsSingle-factor analyses showed that those who were single, employed, and younger had better QoL. Additionally, patients who had fewer psychological problems and lower levels of psychological distress reported better QoL. Current psychotic symptoms, especially positive symptoms, were negatively correlated with QoL. For disease factors, schizophrenic patients and hospitalized patients reported better QoL than both bipolar patients and community patients. For family factors, caregiver's attitude and caregiver's burden were negatively correlated with QoL. For social factors, unstable housing and community social dysfunction were negatively correlated with QoL. The results showed that all four dimensions (social, family, disease and personal factors) were significant predictors of the mental component summary (MCS) and physical component summary (PCS) dimensions of QoL.ConclusionsPersonal factors and disease factors were the most important predictors of QoL in CMI patients of this sample. Family factors were more important than social factors in the MCS dimension, but social factors were more important than family factors in the PCS dimension.
The needs of people with mental health problems and their carers’ burden - polish study
Authors: Ciałkowska-Kuźmińska M. , Piotrowski P. , Kiejna A. 
Published: May 2011

IntroductionWorld studies show associations between social consequences of carers’ involvement and level of individuals’ met and unmet needs.ObjectivesIn Poland not much interest has been put to studies of psychiatric patients’ needs and carers’ burden. Due to this fact most of care programmes have been developed on the basis of authors’ personal experiences or academic knowledge.AimsTo obtain data regarding met and unmet patients’ needs and the impact on carers’ burden in Polish socioeconomic reality.Methods60 psychotic inpatients were examined with CSHI, BPRS and CANSAS. Their 60 direct carers’ personally completed IEQ, GHQ-12 and assessed own opinions about patients’ needs with CANSAS questionnaire. Patients unable to give informed consent, alcohol/drug dependent, mentally retarded/demented or with personality disorder were excluded along with patients below 18 and over 65 years of age.Statistics includedThe Pearson correlation coefficient, the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, Kendall’s tau coefficient.ResultsResults show significant relation between duration of the disorder and number of unmet needs assessed by individuals. Patients’ met needs are positively associated with carers IEQ results - subscales tension and worrying. Carers evaluation of patients’ unmet needs correlates with their IEQ results - subscales tension, worrying and urging. Overall number of patients’ needs indicated by carers correlates positively with carers’ results of IEQ subscale - urging.ConclusionsThe higher rate of patients’ unmet needs the higher burden they are imposed to. Results of the study are important in planning of interventions towards psychiatric patients and their direct carers.
Epidemiology of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and other anxiety disorders in the Czech Republic
Authors: Csémy L. 
Published: May 2011

IntroductionThe most frequently psychiatric ailments in Europe are anxiety disordersObjectivesThe goal of our study is to estimate the prevalence of general anxiety. disorder (GAD) and other anxiety disorders.MethodsPersonal interviews were conducted with a sample of 3,244 Czech citizens (between 18–64 years old). The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) had been used to estimate the prevalence of psychiatric conditions in respondents.ResultsIn sum, 8.3% (95% CI: 7.6 - 9.0) of the respondents fulfilled the criteria for current anxiety disorder. Generalized anxiety disorder was the most prevalent of all anxiety disorders; comprising 3.6% (3.0% in males and 4.2% in females). The current prevalence for other anxiety disorders are: panic disorder 1.6%, social anxiety disorder 2.1%, OCD 2.2%, and PTSD 1.4%. Prevalence of anxiety disorders is higher in females compared to males (10.3% to 6.1%). Approximately 44% of respondents with anxiety disorders reported psychiatric treatment during their lifetime (4.9% inpatient treatment) in comparison to 13% without diagnosis of any anxiety disorder.ConclusionsThe results confirmed the extent of anxiety disorders in the adult population of Czech Republic. The fact that a majority of individuals who receive a diagnosis are never treated for mental health disorder denotes that early identification in a primary care level should be improved.
Criteria of evaluation of activity of psychiatric establishments at carrying out of the all-russia competition “for innovation in region of mental health”
Authors: Danilova S. 
Published: May 2011

CompetitionFor innovation in region of mental health» has been conducting since 2008 in Russia. There are three nominations of Competition: psychoeducation, psychorehabilitation, psychoenlightenment. The missions of Competition are to celebrate humane, original, innovational works of doctors-psychiatrists, social organizations, to pay the attention of power and public for present interest problems of psychiatry, antistygmatization of psychiatry. The victor of Competition is a best region of Russian Federation. Dispensaries of psychiatry, hospitals of psychiatry, social organizations take part In Competition. The scale of evaluation of activity of establishments on 5 ball system has been developed. In a nomination psychoeducation such criteria as novelty of carrying out of psychoeducational programs, regularity in distribution of the information, concerning vital topics and psychiatry problems, formation of groups of support of families, carrying out of lectures, seminars for patients, relatives, experts, presence of own newspaper or magazine in establishment, the book edition, the feedback presented by responses, letters of thanks of patients, relatives on carried out actions are estimated. In a nomination psychorehabilitation following criteria are estimated: novelty of carrying out of psychorehabilitation actions, activity in carrying out of rehabilitation work, humanity in carrying out of rehabilitation actions, carrying out in establishments of exhibitions of works of patients, charitable trips, the response to carried out actions. In a nomination psychoenlightenment is considered representation by establishment of the information to television, the press about stigma in psychiatry and measures on its decrease, about public opinion about mentally sick, psychiatrists and psychiatry, about possibilities of a modern psychiatric science.
Coercive measures in italian inpatient units: results from eunomia study
Authors: Del Vecchio V. , Giacco D. , Luciano M. , Del Gaudio L. , De Rosa C. , Fiorillo A. , Maj M. 
Published: May 2011

IntroductionThe use of coercive measures in clinical practice represents a common, but understudied problem in Europe. In 2002–2005, the European Commission funded the study “European Evaluation of coercion in psychiatry and harmonization of best clinical practice” (EUNOMIA), coordinated by the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Dresden and carried out in 12 European countries.ObjectivesThis study, carried out on the Italian EUNOMIA sample, aims to:1)assess the use of coercive measures in five Italian mental health inpatient units;2)identify the patients’ socio-demographic and clinical characteristics associated with the use of coercive measures;3)investigate the effect of coercive measures on the outcome of the patients.MethodsThe Italian sample included 294 admitted patients. Data were collected on coercive measures (physical restraint, seclusion and forced medication)ResultsAlmost 30% of the patients received coercive measures during their hospitalization; in particular, 22% received forced medication, 9% were restrained or fixed by mechanic devices, 7% were seclused. The most frequent reason for prescribing coercive measures was aggression against others. Patients who received coercive measures were more frequently male, with higher BPRS scores and a worse social functioning. At three months after discharge, they showed higher levels of positive symptoms, and reported more negative opinions on the need of hospital admission and on the appropriateness of psychiatric treatments.ConclusionsIn Italy coercive measures are in most of the cases applied to the patients affected by more severe psychopathology and disability.
The effect of racial bias on the prescribing practice of a newly established psychiatric unit
Authors: Seretis D. , Apostolopoulos A. , Nikolaidou P. , Lembidaki M. , Douzenis A. , Lykouras E. 
Published: May 2011

IntroductionPsychotropic medication prescribing can be a powerful indicator of racial bias. However, despite extensive research, mostly conducted with outpatients in developed western countries, findings are inconsistent.ObjectivesIn response to prior studies reporting racial bias in inpatients with schizophrenia, comparing for doses of drugs between native and non-native inpatients, the authors investigated whether discrepancies in use of medication can be explained by negative ethnic bias.AimsTo test for differences in prescribing for psychiatric inpatients fulfilling criteria for either schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders or major depressive or bipolar I disorder, focusing on use of drugs and including the use of SSRIs-SNRIs and mood stabilizers.MethodsIn a naturalistic study of consecutive voluntary admissions we overall controlled for 12 confounding variables. Prescribing practice was compared between the groups for five outcomes: Use of polypharmacy, use of typical antipsychotics, atypical antipsychotics, SSRI's-SNRI's and mood stabilizers.ResultsUse of polypharmacy and use of atypical antipsychotics were not associated with ethnicity. On the other hand, non-Greeks were less likely to receive SSRIs-SNRIs, less likely to receive mood stabilizers and more likely to receive typical antipsychotics, compared to Greeks.ConclusionsEthnicity did not seem to influence Greek psychiatrists’ prescribing. It appears that in this country, which has started receiving immigrants only recently, racial stereotypes are not firmly established. Other explanations are also discussed as ethnicity can influence psychiatric practice in many, often subtle ways. Future research might investigate racial bias in regard to disorders other than schizophrenia.
A prospective analysis of youth violence in adolescents: influence of depression, personality, social environment and media violence
Authors: Ferguson C. 
Published: May 2011

ObjectiveUnderstanding youth violence remains a pressing issue of social concern. Identifying key risk factors for youth violence may help guide prevention and intervention efforts.AimsTo examine the relative impact of varying social influences related to family, community, mental health, television and video games on youth violence in a multivariate format.Study designThe current study involved a one-year prospective study of multiple risk and protective factors for youth violence in a Hispanic-majority sample of early adolescents. Multiple regression was used to examine risk factors from a multivariate format.ResultsResults find that current depression level was the most significant risk factor for youth violence. The influence of depression was most pronounced in individuals with preexisting antisocial personality traits. Risk and protective factors related to schools, neighborhoods, family environment or video game or television violence use were not predictive of youth violence.ConclusionsPotentially, prevention efforts which focus on mental health issues may demonstrate the most positive effects. The degree of resources and rhetoric spent on other factors, particularly television and video game violence may conversely proove unhelpful in reducing youth violence.
Promoting mental health minimising mental illness and integrating through education (PROMISE)
Authors: Flores P. , Izquierdo R. , Leahy E. , Masferrer C. , Ryan P. 
Published: May 2011

With the implementation of the European Green Paper on Mental Health, and the development of the Mental Health Pact, the strategic importance of Mental Health promotion and illness reduction as keystones of a European mental health policy and practice has never been greater.The PROMISE project is a EU project and is financed by the European Commission, Directorate General for Health and Consumers, DG Sanco. It aims to develop and disseminate guidelines for generic training and education with respect to Mental Health Promotion and Illness Reduction. The best practice guidelines will specifically focus on the prevention of suicide, depression, and alcohol and drug abuse, and the promotion of healthy living.A specific innovation is the involvement of mental health service users as non-traditional actors by developing multi-disciplinary training guidelines and training programs with a special emphasis on positive mental health, healthy living, diet and exercise project.Project partners are all ‘multiplier’ organizations from 8 different European countries and have extensive previous expertise in their designated roles.The role of Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona PROMISE is: Identify best practice media guidelines for engaging press and media with the mental health promotion agenda through the use of positive role models. Monitor the implementation of the best practice guidelines through the design and development of local case studies in 7 sites across Europe.Outcomes are an integrated and comprehensive set of training guidelines and model training programs accessed through an interactive website, endorsed by European level professional body and university networks.
Graduate medical education and effects on the recruitment of psychiatrists in Austria
Authors: Friedrich F. , Mczoch-Czerny M.-T. , Spiegel W. 
Published: May 2011

ObjectivesThe recruitment of medical graduates into and retention within the specialty will be one of the major problems confronting psychiatry.AimThe aim of the study was to explore how many physicians intended to be psychiatrists and how many of those physicians practising as psychiatrists originally desired this area of expertiseMethodsFor this cross-sectional survey, a self-administered questionnaire with 12 items was sent to all licensed physicians (n = 8127), based on the register of the Vienna Medical Chamber in June 2000Results2736 respondents (34%) completed the questionnaire validly. 50.3% (m: 43.2%; f: 58.6%) of all physicians in Vienna did not achieve their desired subject, whilst 86% of psychiatrists did so. These study results represent the highest percentage compared to other medical specialisations. Further, 6% of all physicians (m: 5%; f: 7%) initially defined psychiatry as their desired medical career regardless whether they attained this specialty later on or not. An average of 9% of all physicians changed their minds about their preferred specialty during their training.ConclusionsCompared with other specialties the average number of physicians who practice a specialty different from the one desired is low in psychiatry. We think that this fact constitutes a favourable aspect with regard to recruitment of graduates for specialty training in psychiatry. Data found in this survey are similar to other studies conducted in German speaking countries, when focussing on psychiatry as desired career.
The validity of three different versions of the general health questionnaire among general hospital inpatients
Authors: Friedrich F. , Alexandrowicz R. , Benda N. , Krautgartner M. , Cerny G. , Wancata J. 
Published: May 2011

ObjectiveOriginally, the General Health Questionnaire (= GHQ) was designed to detect mental disorders among general medical outpatients and in community. The aim of the present survey is to compare the criterion validity indices of three different GHQ versions among general hospital inpatients when using different scoring methods.MethodThe GHQ-30 was filled in by inpatients prior to the research interview. For psychiatric case-identifiation the Clinical Interview Schedule was performed by three research psychiatrists.ResultsThe final sample consisted of 993 inpatients. When comparing the three different GHQ-versions, no significant differences were found in OMR and ROC-AUC as well as in sensitivity (0,612–0,701) and specificity (0,601–0759). When comparing the four scoring methods no significant differences were found in sensitivity. By contrast, OMR and specificity showed better indices for the 20 item and 12 item GHQ versions when using the bimodal and modified Lickert scoring method. Further, the Lickert scoring method showed no significant differences to the other scoring methods for the GHQ-30, where as the modified Lickert and the bimodal method showed lower OMR and higher specificity compared to the chronic method.ConclusionDue to the results of this survey, the future use of the chronic scoring method for the GHQ has to be questioned when used for general hospital inpatients.
Factorial structure of the general health questionnaire (GHQ-30) among psychiatric and somatic patients
Authors: Frydecka D. , Malyszczak K. , Chachaj A. , Kiejna A. 
Published: May 2011

BackgroundThe Goldberg's 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30) is used as a screening instrument for psychological distress in the general population. GHQ-30 has been widely used as a unitary measure, but several underlying factors have been identified in previous studies based on factor analyses.AimTo analyze the internal consistency and the factor structure of the Polish version of GHQ-30 in the group of somatic and psychiatric patients’ subpopulations. Differences in factor structure among those two groups might have important implications for how the test is used in those populations.MethodsA total of 1473 patients (807 psychiatric and 666 somatic) were included into the study. A total score was calculated with Likert method. The principal factor analysis with orthogonal varimax normalized rotation was used for the factor extraction.ResultsThe GHQ-30 was found to have high internal consistency. The factorial analysis conducted for the whole group, as well as for psychiatric and somatic patients separately, showed that two factors labeled as followed can be abstracted from the global scale: “depression and anxiety” and “interpersonal functioning and general coping”. These factors jointly account for 54,2% – 62,3% of the variance.ConclusionsResults showed that GHQ-30 may be used both as a unitary measure using full-scale sores and allows to get more detailed information about individual's intra- and interpersonal functioning.
Dangerousness and mental disease in France: From stigmatization to prevention process
Authors: Gheorghiev C. , Lahutte B. , Boisseaux H. 
Published: May 2011

IntroductionAlthough in close and old connections with psychiatry, dangerousness exceeds psychiatric field because of its transversal feature. By involving a potential attack of others’ integrity, dangerousness implies a social dimension.ObjectiveThe aim was to study social representations of mental disease, which are dominated by the specter of dangerousness and lead to its stigmatization, in order to outline a prevention prospect.MethodThe method was based on a review of literature of main French studies of social representations of mental disorder and mechanisms which lead to its stigmatization.ResultsThe representations of psychiatry in general population are homogeneous and consensual, organized around the figure of the « mad », the « mentally ill » and the « depressive people ». Madness and mental disease are associated with the most violent behaviors and the use of psychoactive drugs. Two dimensions appear in the representation of the dangerous individual, one linked to a trained aggressiveness, the second to an impulsive aggressiveness, confirming the validity of the usual distinction between criminological and psychiatric dangerousness. Three main data are at the source of stigmatization : the fear of what is discerned like a threat, the anomaly through the difference which is carried, and the social regulation.ConclusionThe struggle against mental disease stigmatization can be part of a prevention process allowing through the rehabilitation of the patient in the society the performance of a care which exceeds the simple treatment of the disorder.