The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry
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To examine the concept and evidence for mental health promotion, within an understanding of mental health and mental illness and their determinants. ⋯ An understanding that mental illnesses are treatable can encourage early entry to care, improve outcomes and lessen the stigma and discrimination related to mental illness. In primary health care there is some evidence that preventive interventions with groups at high risk of depression can prevent episodes of ill health. However, mental health promotion involves another dimension. Better understanding of the nature of mental health and mental illness is the key to changing the priorities, policies and practices in education, law, social services, housing and health critical in turn to the conditions conducive to mental health.
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Aust N Z J Psychiatry · Oct 2001
Impediments to screening for hazardous alcohol use and dependence in general hospital psychiatric inpatients.
The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) has been developed to screen for hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption. It has been used among a variety of primary care, general population and general hospital populations. However, with the exception of one study undertaken by the author and colleagues, the use of the AUDIT in general hospital psychiatric patients has not been reported. This paper reports on a substudy of this larger study whose aim was to determine the frequency of hazardous alcohol use and dependence among patients admitted to the psychiatric units of general hospitals in Perth, Western Australia, and discusses major reasons for non-AUDIT screening among this group. ⋯ Failure to screen patients was largely due to short hospital stays. Screening was impeded by the brief window period, commonly 1 or 2 days, between the absence of acute psychiatric sequelae and discharge. This situation contrasts dramatically to the medical or surgical admission where major sequelae are largely resolved in 2-3 days and AUDIT screening can take place over the remaining 3-4 days prior to discharge. To be effective in the general hospital psychiatric setting, alcohol screening needs to be incorporated into the routine ward assessment procedures. The brevity of the AUDIT makes this possible. This would maximize the time available to implement an intervention programme to those found to be consuming alcohol at a hazardous or harmful level.
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The objective of this study was to estimate the use of restraint techniques and evaluate restraint policies and training in Australasian emergency departments ⋯ Patient restraint is a common procedure in Australasian emergency departments. There is little formal training in, or documentation or audit of, restraint practices in Australasian emergency departments, despite the important clinical, occupational health and medical legal issues associated with the use of restraint.
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Aust N Z J Psychiatry · Aug 2001
Mind over matter? I: philosophical aspects of the mind-brain problem.
To conceptualize the essence of the mind-body or mind-brain problem as one of metaphysics rather than science, and to propose a formulation of the problem in the context of current scientific knowledge and its limitations. ⋯ The problem appears to arise as a consequence of the conceptual limitations of the human mind, and hence remains essentially a metaphysical one. A 'double aspect theory' recognizes the essential unity of mind and brain, while remaining consistent with the dualism inherent in human experience.
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Aust N Z J Psychiatry · Aug 2001
Predictors of partially met or unmet need reported by consumers of mental health services: an analysis of data from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing.
We examined data from the 1997 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing to identify factors associated with consumers of mental health help reporting that their needs were unmet or only partially met. Predictor factors included sociodemographic variables, psychological morbidity measures and type of health practitioner seen. ⋯ In this exploratory analysis, we examined factors associated with consumers of mental health help reporting that their needs were unmet or partially met. We found that the needs of those with anxiety problems were not generally well met. Our findings also indicate there is a need to continue to improve collaboration between the medical and community services sectors.