Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology
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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol · Mar 2010
Job strain and other work conditions: relationships with psychological distress among civil servants in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In developing countries, traditional sources of employment and work practices have changed rapidly and work environment has appeared as an important factor associated with an increased prevalence of mental disorders in these countries. ⋯ Job strain and poor support at work seem important psychological stressors in the workplace in Brazil. Our findings are comparable to those found in more developed countries, providing additional evidence of an association between an adverse psychosocial work environment and psychological distress, being thus useful for policymakers in planning and promoting healthier and happier working force necessary for economic development.
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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol · Mar 2010
Narrating uncertainties about treatment of mental health conditions.
Integration of patient views in mental health service planning is in its infancy despite service provision being clearly dominated by narratives from professional consultations and medical records. We wished to clarify perceptions of uncertainty about mental health conditions from a range of provider and user perspectives (patients, carers, parents, mental health service providers) and understand the role of narratives in mental health research. ⋯ Narrative content analysis can help distil large amounts of free text data and enable their successful interpretation. Listening to patients' voices should become an integral part of routine service evaluation and may help bring patient expectation more in line with service organisation and delivery towards an optimal delivery of care.
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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol · Mar 2010
Comparative StudyWhat do predict anxiety and depression in breast cancer patients? A follow-up study.
Psychological adjustment following cancer occurrence remains a key issue among the survivors. This study aimed to investigate psychological distress in patients with breast cancer following completion of breast cancer treatments and to determine its associated factors. ⋯ Although the findings indicated that the levels of anxiety and depression decreased over time, a significant number of women had elevated anxiety and depression at the 18 months follow-up. This suggests that all women should be routinely screened for psychological distress and that quality cancer care include processes to treat that 30% of women who have elevated psychological distress. In addition, if breast cancer patients indicated that they are suffering from fatigue or pain, these women who are at particular risk should be especially screened.