Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology
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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol · Feb 2015
The diffusion of a new method of suicide: charcoal-burning suicide in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In the late 1990s, an epidemic rise in suicides by carbon monoxide poisoning from burning barbecue charcoal began in Hong Kong and Taiwan. This study investigates the diffusion of this new method of suicide. ⋯ Common features of the epidemic in both places were the greater levels of early uptake by the young- and middle-aged males. The different course of the charcoal-burning suicide epidemic may reflect social, geographic and media reporting differences. Surveillance to identify the emergence of new suicide methods is crucial in suicide prevention.
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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol · Jan 2015
ReviewPsychopathology and classification in psychiatry.
The strengths and weaknesses of the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association are considered, and the likely form of the revised version of the International Classification of Disease, due to be released in the future is briefly considered. ⋯ Two broadly similar solutions are proposed for an alternative approach to common mental disorders.
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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol · Jan 2015
Randomized Controlled TrialAnxiety, bulimia, drug and alcohol addiction, depression, and schizophrenia: what do you think about their aetiology, dangerousness, social distance, and treatment? A latent class analysis approach.
Mental illness stigma is a serious societal problem and a critical impediment to treatment seeking for mentally ill people. To improve the understanding of mental illness stigma, this study focuses on the simultaneous analysis of people's aetiological beliefs, attitudes (i.e. perceived dangerousness and social distance), and recommended treatments related to several mental disorders by devising an over-arching latent structure that could explain the relations among these variables. ⋯ Beyond the general appraisal of mental illness an individual might have, the results generally point to the acknowledgement of the specific features of different diagnostic categories. The implications of the present results are discussed in the framework of a better understanding of mental illness stigma.
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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol · Jan 2015
Controlled Clinical TrialHelp-seeking characteristics of Chinese- and English-speaking Australians accessing Internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for depression.
Internet treatments may overcome barriers and improve access to mental health services for people who do not access professional help. It may be particularly beneficial for Chinese Australians, a group that tends to delay and underutilize face-to-face treatments. This study explored the appeal of Internet therapy to Chinese- and English-speaking Australians with depression who accessed Internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) programs. ⋯ The attraction of iCBT appears to be the reduction of structural barriers to treatment. iCBT may reduce treatment delay and increase access to Chinese Australians who have not sought professional help. English-speaking Australians are seeking iCBT as an additional means of getting help.
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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol · Dec 2014
Time-related changes in suicide attempts after the nuclear accident in Fukushima.
The aim of this study is to assess whether the risk or types of suicide change in Fukushima in the aftermath of a series of disaster, including earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident in March 2011. ⋯ After such a disaster, immediate psychiatric support may be required because of the increased risk of non-fatal suicide attempts in the immediate aftermath.