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 Five months later, it was retracted due to a classification error.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.
Mood disorders are becoming one of the major public health problems and care for good mental health is substantially affecting almost all dimensions of our lives. However, the lay and professional ...public have the most contrasting attitudes and beliefs about mental disorders compared to other chronic non-communicable diseases. Persisting stereotypes and myths about mental disorders as a rule hinder professional help-seeking, interest and belief in their effective treatment. This problematic is discussed in the multi-authored monograph ('More Knowledge about Mood Disorders for Escaping the Labyrinth: Experiences and Reflections'). In the 21 scientific and professional essays, the authors of various academic backgrounds reflect upon mental health issues, focusing on contemporary mood disorders. Moreover, the first results of the newly introduced and innovative mental health promotion programme in Slovenia - With Raised Mental Health Literacy to Better Managing Mood Disorders (acronym OMRA) - are presented, as well. The monograph is good food for thought for the lay and professional public.
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