Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology
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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol · Jan 1998
Characteristics of dropouts from a child psychiatry clinic in Hong Kong.
There is, to date, no study on the pattern of dropping out from child and adolescent psychiatry clinics in a non-western setting. This study aims to investigate this phenomenon in Hong Kong. The database and medical charts of 235 new cases were reviewed 1 year after the initial assessments. ⋯ No interaction with gender was found. Compared with western literature, there are some important differences in the factors associated with dropping out of treatment. Our study highlights the importance of socio-cultural influences on the characteristics of clinic drop-outs.
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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol · Feb 1997
The pathways to primary mental health care in high-density suburbs in Harare, Zimbabwe.
The pathways to care for mental illness are diverse and are dependent on sociocultural and economic factors. The objective of this study was to describe the pathways to primary care for patients with common mental disorders in Harare. One hundred and nine consecutive patients with conspicuous psychiatric morbidity identified by general nurses in three primary health care clinics (PHC) and by four traditional medical practitioners were interviewed with the Pathways to Care Schedule. ⋯ Such treatments, and many oral treatments, were non-specific. Dissatisfaction with consultations was most commonly due to lack of symptomatic improvement. The costs of consultation were highest for private GPs, general hospitals and traditional healers; faith-healers, PHCs and hospital psychiatric departments were the cheapest.
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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol · Feb 1994
Comparative StudyRefugees, labour migrants and psychological distress. A population-based study of 338 Latin-American refugees, 161 south European and 396 Finnish labour migrants, and 996 Swedish age-, sex- and education-matched controls.
This paper shows the strength and influence of ethnicity on mental health in comparison with material factors and lifestyle, which are well-known risk factors for psychological distress. The focus was on health differences between Latin-American refugees and labour migrants from Finland and the south of Europe. The study was designed as a population-based cross-sectional study, with 338 Latin-American refugees aged 16-74 years (response rate = 81.8%) in Lund, a random sample of 396 Finnish and 161 South European labour migrants, and 996 age-, sex- and education-matched Swedish controls from the Swedish Annual Level-of-living Surveys. ⋯ There was a non-significant association in logistic regression between South European labour migrants and psychological distress, but a crude odds ratio of 2.29 (1.09-4.81). There was no association between Finnish labour migrants and psychological distress. Not feeling secure in daily life was a strong risk indicator for psychological distress, with an estimated odds ratio of 3.29 (1.90-5.45).
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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol · Jan 1991
Delayed and immediate onset posttraumatic stress disorder. II. The role of battle experiences and personal resources.
The current study examined the role battle experiences and personal resources play in the development of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For this purpose, battle experiences (battle stress, military unit environment) and personal resources (coping styles, causal attribution) were assessed two years after the 1982 Lebanon War in three groups of male Israeli frontline soldiers: 1. soldiers who sought treatment 6 months or more after the war (delayed PTSD); 2. soldiers who sought treatment during the war (immediate PTSD); and 3. control soldiers. ⋯ In addition, delayed PTSD casualties evinced less personal resources than control subjects, and immediate PTSD casualties evinced still less personal resources than delayed PTSD casualties. The theoretical implications of the findings were discussed.
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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol · Mar 1990
Stress symptoms, burnout and suicidal thoughts in Finnish physicians.
Stress symptoms, burnout and suicidal thoughts in Finnish physicians were studied using a questionnaire. The questionnaire, containing 99 questions or groups of questions, was mailed to 3,496 physicians representative, as regards age, sex, specialization and employment, of all active physicians in Finland. Altogether, 2,671 physicians (76%) responded. ⋯ Suicidal intent tended to be commoner in physicians than in the general population. It was also commoner in female (26%) than in male (22%) physicians. The results indicate a polarization between "higher burnout specialities", often dealing with chronically ill, incurable or dying patients (e.g. specialties such as oncology, pulmonary diseases and psychiatry), on the one hand and "lower burnout specialties", often dealing with curable diseases and favourable prognoses (e.g. specialties such as obstetrics and gynaecology, otorhinolaryngology and ophthalmology), on the other.