scholarly journals Mental health professionals' knowledge, skills and attitudes on domestic violence and abuse in the Netherlands: cross-sectional study

BJPsych Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roos E. Ruijne ◽  
Astrid M. Kamperman ◽  
Kylee Trevillion ◽  
Carlo Garofalo ◽  
Femke E. Jongejan ◽  
...  

BackgroundDespite the high prevalence of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) among patients with psychiatric conditions, detection rates are low. Limited knowledge and skills on DVA in mental healthcare (MHC) professionals might contribute to poor identification.AimsTo assess the level of, and factors associated with, DVA knowledge and skills among MHC professionals.MethodA total of 278 professionals in Dutch MHC institutions completed a survey assessing factual knowledge, perceived knowledge, perceived skills and attitudes about DVA.ResultsOn average, low scores were reported for perceived skills and knowledge. MHC professionals in primary care scored higher than those working with individuals with severe mental illness (P<0.005). Levels of factual knowledge were higher; levels of attitudes moderate. Previous training was positively associated with skills (odds ratios (OR) = 3.0) and attitudes (OR = 2.7). Years of work was negatively associated with factual knowledge (OR = 0.97). Larger case-loads predicted higher scores on skills (OR = 2.1).ConclusionsTraining is needed, particularly for clinicians working with patients with severe mental illness.Declaration of interestNone.

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah AlAbdali ◽  
Nawfal Aljerian ◽  
Tamara Alrumayyan ◽  
Joud Alwasel ◽  
Noura Alsayari ◽  
...  

Introduction Mental healthcare experts worldwide have been calling for increased contributions from medical professionals and organisations to improve the skills of healthcare practitioners and their coordination with mentally ill patients. However, the contributions and roles of paramedics in treating the mentally ill are still considered limited, and few studies have been conducted on paramedics’ judgement and decision-making when caring for patients with mental illness. This study aimed to assess paramedics’ perceptions, knowledge and skills in dealing with psychiatric emergencies. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among participants from the Saudi Red Crescent Authority; different hospitals in Riyadh were invited from September to October 2019 to complete a validated structured questionnaire. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22 (SPSS 22) software was used for data analysis. Results A total of 124 participants were included in this study; their mean age was 29.93 years, 95.2% were male, 78.9% had a bachelor degree and 12.1% had higher education. The majority of participants agreed that it is important for paramedics to know about mental illness (91.1%) and stated that they were comfortable managing a person with mental illness (63.7%). Almost half (49.6%) disagreed with the statement that psychiatric disorders are caused by religious or supernatural factors, whereas 24% were unsure, and 26.4% agreed. On assessing paramedics’ knowledge and skills, 31.4% scored above average, 42% scored average (average defined as answering six to seven out of 10 questions correctly), and 26.6% scored below average. However, when asked if they carry out the mental status examination on mentally ill patients, 66.1% stated ‘no’. Conclusion This study indicated that the majority of paramedics have positive perceptions regarding mental illness; moreover, it was shown that paramedics are knowledgeable and trained in dealing with emergency psychiatric patients. Further investigation regarding the practice and role of paramedics is necessary.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S577-S577 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Ouali ◽  
R. Jomli ◽  
R. Nefzi ◽  
H. Ouertani ◽  
F. Nacef

IntroductionMental patients generally internalize some of the negative conceptions about how most people view them: they might be considered incompetent or untrustworthy or believe that people would not want to hire, or marry someone with mental illness. A lot of research on stigma has been conducted in western countries; however, little is still known on the situation in Arab-Muslim societies.ObjectivesTo evaluate social stigma as viewed by patients suffering from severe mental illness (SMI)MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study on clinically stabilized patients with schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder (BD) according to DSM IV, who were interviewed in our out-patients clinic with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire, containing 8 opinions on the social inclusion and stigmatization of psychiatric patients, with special reference to the local cultural context (e.g.: “It is better to hide mental illness in order to preserve the reputation of my family”)ResultsWe included 104 patients, 51% with schizophrenia and 49% with BD. Mean age was 38.4 years (18–74 years); 59.6% were males. Overall social stigma scores were high. Social stigma in patients was correlated with gender, age, place of residence and diagnosis. Patients with BD showed significantly less social stigma than patients with schizophrenia.ConclusionOur results show the need for a better understanding of this phenomenon in patients with SMI, but also within Tunisian society, in order to elaborate anti stigma strategies adapted to the local context.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110656
Author(s):  
Prakyath R Hegde ◽  
Guru S Gowda ◽  
Bhavika Vajawat ◽  
Vinay Basavaraju ◽  
Sydney Moirangthem ◽  
...  

Background: Covert administration of medication (CoAdM) by caregivers to persons with severe mental illness (SMI) is a commonly observed medication delivery practice in India. Aims: This study aims to examine different medication delivery practices adopted by caregivers to provide care to SMI at times of medication refusal. Method: This study was conducted at the outpatient department between April 2019 and November 2019. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview the caregivers of persons with SMI to assess medication delivery practices. Results: A total of 300 caregivers were interviewed. CoAdM was practiced in 96 (32.0%) persons with SMI at least once during their lifetime, and other strategies used were pleading ( n = 105, 35.0%), lying ( n = 10, 3.3%), and threatening ( n = 154, 51.4%). Logistic regression showed that male gender (OR 4.75; CI 1.37–16.46), absent insight (OR 10.0; CI 2.01–47.56), and poor adherence to medication (OR 4.75; CI 1.31–16.92) were significantly associated with CoAdM in the last 1 year. Caregivers perceived significant improvement in self-care ( Z = −4.37, p < .01), interpersonal ( Z = −7.61, p < .01), work ( Z = −5.9, p < .01), family functioning ( Z = −7.82, p < .01) difficult behavior ( Z = −8.27, p < .01), and dependency ( Z = −6.34, p < .01) in persons with SMI with use of CoAdM. Conclusions: CoAdM was given to one in three persons with SMI at some point in their lives. Male gender, absent insight and poor adherence were predictive of CoAdM in the last 1 year. Caregiver perceived improvements in self-care, work, interpersonal, family functioning, problem behaviors, and dependency after CoAdM. Policies need to be evolved to serve all stakeholders while keeping these practices in mind.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Kang ◽  
Jianhua Wu ◽  
Vishal Aggarwal ◽  
David Shiers ◽  
Tim Doran ◽  
...  

AbstractOBJECTIVETo explore whether people with severe mental illness (SMI) experience worse oral health compared to the general population, and the risk factors for poor oral health in people with SMI.METHODThis study used cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2016) including on self-rated oral health, ache in mouth, tooth loss, periodontitis stage, and number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth. Candidate risk factors for poor oral health included demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, physical health comorbidities, and dental hygiene behaviours. The authors used ordinal logistic regression and zero-inflated negative binomial models to explore predictors of oral health outcomes.RESULTS53,348 cases were included in the analysis, including 718 people with SMI. In the fully adjusted model, people with SMI were more likely to suffer from tooth loss (OR 1.40, 95% CI: 1.12-1.75). In people with SMI, the risk factors identified for poor oral health outcomes were older age, white ethnicity, lower income, smoking history, and diabetes. Engaging in physical activity and daily use of dental floss were associated with better oral health outcomes.CONCLUSIONSPeople with SMI experience higher rates of tooth loss than the general population, and certain subgroups are particularly at risk. Having a healthy lifestyle such as performing regular physical exercise and flossing may lower the risk of poor oral health. These findings suggest opportunities for targeted prevention and early intervention strategies to mitigate adverse oral health outcomes.Significant outcomes (x3)People with severe mental illness were at 40% higher risk of tooth loss when compared to the general population.Older adults, smokers and people with diabetes were at particularly high risk of poor oral health.Physical exercise and daily use of dental floss were associated with better oral health outcomes.Limitations (x3)The number of cases with data on periodontal disease was limited.The study was cross-sectional so causation could not be inferred.The analysis used prescriptions of antipsychotic and mood stabilising medication as a proxy measure of severe mental illness, as clinical diagnoses were not available in the dataset.Data availability statementThe NHANES 1999-2016 data is available at CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/index.htm, and is accessible and free to download for everyone.


Author(s):  
Matthew Large ◽  
Olav Nielssen

A range of killings of one person by another can be described as a homicide. Homicide rates vary greatly between geographic regions, reflecting differences in social factors such as weapon availability, patterns of substance use, the efficacy of the police and other institutions, and overall levels of violent crime. Domestic homicide is killing within a family and includes fatal domestic violence and most homicides of infants, children, and older people. Most homicides by people with mental illness are of family members, but most domestic homicide offenders are not mentally ill. People with mental illness, particularly those with schizophrenia, commit a small percentage of all homicides, but a disproportionate number, compared to the incidence of mental illness. Mental health professionals have a role in preventing homicides by offering interventions for domestic violence, substance use disorder, and the early and continued treatment of psychotic disorders.


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