This manual ('Together We Can: Tools For Open Discussions About Stigma And Discrimination In Mental Health') offers some ideas for starting a conversation about stigma and discrimination in mental ...health. Its structure enables everyone to organise dialogues in various communities: at home, at school, in the workplace, among friends, etc. The manual is designed for everyone who strives to reduce stigma and discrimination through an open discussion. It is aimed at concrete action, at change. The booklet comprises two parts. The first part combines the lived experience of stigma and discrimination by people with mental health difficulties, on the one hand, and informed knowledge on the issue by the research group of the OMRA programme, on the other hand. This part further brings an explanation of the terms stigma and discrimination, and their relationship, as well as how both phenomena impact our wellbeing and behaviour, and what meaning is ascribed to them by various communities.
In 2016, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report indicating that rates of suicides for farmers were 84.5 per 100,000, four times higher than the general population and ...higher than other high-risk groups, such as military veterans. Five months later, it was retracted due to a classification error. However, the report had already made national and global news, sparking a sense of urgency among policy makers, the media, and farm groups. Despite evidence that occupational stress in agriculture stems from structural sources, such as volatile economic conditions resulting from trade instability and unstable commodity prices, solutions to the problem of suicide among farmers tend to emphasize individualized actions, such as seeking counseling and mental health support. This paper examines recent media and policy initiatives as well as interactions among farm support agencies. We argue that despite evidence of structural challenges, the solutions proposed typically require individualized action by farmers. This response is consistent with agrarian ideologies that portray farmers as uniquely independent actors and absolves policy makers, lenders, and agribusinesses of culpability in promoting an agricultural industry that is responsible for high levels of occupational stress among its most critical participants.
Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) affects patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL). AMI may decrease HRQOL, thus negatively affecting QOL. However, the improvements in interventional ...treatment and early rehabilitation after AMI may have a positive effect on HRQOL.
We evaluated HRQOL in patients after the first AMI treated in a reference cardiology centre in Poland and assessed which clinical variables affect HRQOL after AMI.
We prospectively evaluated HRQOL in 60 consecutive patients suffering after their first AMI during the index hospitalisation and again after 6 months, using: (i) MacNew, (ii) World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) BREF, and (iii) Short Form (SF) 36.
As measured by the MacNew questionnaire, global, social, and physical functioning did not change (p≥0.063), whereas emotional functioning improved 6 months after AMI, compared to index hospitalisation (p=0.002). As measured by WHOQOL BREF, physical health, psychological health, and environmental functioning did not change (p≥0.321), whereas social relationships improved 6 months after AMI (p=0.042). As assessed by SF-36, the global HRQOL improved after AMI (p=0.044). Patients with improved HRQOL in SF-36 often had a higher baseline body mass index (p=0.046), dyslipidaemia (p=0.046), and lower left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF; p=0.013). LVEF<50% was the only variable associated with improved HRQOL in multivariate analysis (OR 4.463, 95% CI 1.045 - 19.059, p=0.043).
HRQOL increased 6 months after the first AMI, especially in terms of emotional functioning and social relationships. Patients with LVEF<50% were likely to have improved HRQOL.
National and international research results have highlighted the fact that workplace stress causes mental and somatic problems. The aim of the present paper is to define exposure to workplace-related ...risk factors, with special focus on psychosocial risk factors, and the way they interconnect with workplace conditions, relationships with superiors and colleagues, and moral, professional and financial appreciation.
Cross-sectional research with the help of an anonymous online self-administered questionnaire was carried out among 261 higher education employees (67% women, 33% men, mean age 43.4 years) from 12 faculties of the University of Szeged, Hungary. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS 22.0.
The primary workplace stress factors for university employees were strict deadlines (80.4%), frequent overwork (64.2%) and difficulty in meeting requirements (56.7%). Communication problems with colleagues and superiors were also highlighted (47.5%). Job strain was higher for women than for men. With regard to low financial, professional, and moral appreciation, employees were characterised by the existence of work requirements impossible to meet, as well as by low autonomy. Experience of anxiety and aggression came along with low financial and moral appreciation (p<0.001).
Our data suggests that employees at the university were subject to several psychosocial risk factors, and worked under considerable mental stress, leading to a higher prevalence of mental health problems. The results highlight the need for a health-focused policy-making in higher education to reduce health expenditure and increase efficiency at work.
Članek presoja uveljavljanje programa opismenjevanja o duševnem zdravju – Prva pomoč na področju duševnega zdravja – in njegove vpeljave med etnične manjšine in migrante. Osredotoča se na ...preoblikovanje programa v smeri kulturno občutljivih vsebin in metod izvajanja. Na podlagi evalvacije njihovih uporabnikov povzema predloge za nadaljnje izboljšave in prilagajanje njihovim »kulturnim potrebam«. Glede na rezultate omenjenih evalvacij članek opozarja na nujnost premika od upoštevanja »zgolj« kulturnih razsežnosti duševnega zdravja k obravnavi strukturnih ranljivosti, ki vplivajo na živete izkušnje migrantov, kar vključuje tudi kritično presojo samega koncepta opismenjevanja.
Italy is the main recipient of asylum seekers in the European region, and Sicily is their first point of arrival. This geographical position creates a large job for Health Authorities to identify and ...deal with the health of immigrants. This study evaluates the prevalence of disease among asylum seekers, assessing which are associated factors.
A cross-sectional study was conducted to analyse demographic and clinical data in an Acceptance Centres for Asylum Seekers from February 2012 to May 2013. All variables that were found to be significant on unvariable analysis for the most frequent pathologies were included in a multivariable logistic regression model.
Post-traumatic stress disorders with 17.4% and major depression with 7.3% were the most frequent diseases. The factors associated with post-traumatic stress disorders among asylum seekers were: major depression diagnosis (OR=2.91, p=0.004), Pakistan as a country of origin (OR=3.88, p<0.001), the largest number of medical visits (OR=1.02, p=0.033) and refugee status (OR=1.97, p=0.036). The variables linked with the diagnosis of major depression from the multivariable analysis were: suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders (OR=3.83, p<0.001), Pakistan as a country of origin (OR=3.45, p=0.004) and the highest number of visits to psychologist (OR=1.15, p<0.001).
The mental wellbeing of asylum seekers needs special attention, and interventions should be done to prevent the consolidation of psychiatric morbidity. A short psychological screening after the arrival might prove helpful here. Moreover, carefully designed longitudinal studies should be carried out when political recommendations try to change the organization of psychological and healthcare services.
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