Inclusion of Emotional Support Animals as Service Animals Under the ADA: Creating the Right to Use Dogs to Assist People Living with Mental Health Issues

Palliative Care and Legal Issues in Geriatric Psychiatry

Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1177/02537176211031077 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 025371762110310

Author(s):

Bhavika Vajawat ◽

Prakyath R. Hegde ◽

Barikar C. Malathesh ◽

Channaveerachari Naveen Kumar ◽

Palanimuthu T. Sivakumar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Palliative Care ◽

Mental Health Professionals ◽

Legal Issues ◽

Health Issues ◽

Ethical Implications ◽

Mental Health Issues ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Palliative Care Setting ◽

The Right

There is an increased risk of debilitating illnesses that often have no curative treatment with aging. The mainstay of treatment in many such conditions is palliative care: a holistic approach focused on preventing and relieving physical, psychosocial, legal, ethical, and spiritual problems. It involves the facilitation of end-of-life care decisions aimed at relieving distress and improving quality of life. In this article, the authors discuss the role of mental health professionals in legal issues related to palliative care in the elderly around decision-making, right to autonomy, euthanasia, and advanced directive. The cognitive decline associated with aging and mental health issues in the palliative care setting of an individual such as dementia, depression, and hopelessness, and impact on the family members like burnout may influence the overall capacity of that individual to make decisions about their treatment. While an individual has a right to self-determination and autonomy, withholding or withdrawing treatment has many legal and ethical implications, more so in those with incapacity, especially in India due to the absence of uniform legislation. The decision to withhold or withdraw treatment might be a restrictive choice due to limited options in a setting with a lack of palliative care options, poor psychosocial support, nonaddress of mental health issues, and lack of awareness. As the right to health is a constitutional right, and the right to mental health is legally binding under Section 18 of the Mental Health Care Act 2017, systematic efforts should be made to scale up services and reach out to those in need.

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Emotional support received moderates academic stress and mental well-being in a sample of Afghan university students amid COVID-19

International Journal of Social Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/00207640211057729 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 002076402110577

Author(s):

Zane Asher Green ◽

Farkhonda Faizi ◽

Rahmatullah Jalal ◽

Zarifa Zadran

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

University Students ◽

Emotional Support ◽

Online Survey ◽

Well Being ◽

Academic Stress ◽

Health Issues ◽

Stress Buffering ◽

Mental Health Issues ◽

Mental Well Being

Background: Academic stress experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered high levels of anxiety and depression and other severe mental health issues among university students around the globe. In Afghanistan, there is a paucity of research on the academic and mental health issues of Afghan university students and none pertaining to their academic stress and mental well-being amid the pandemic. Aim: This research examines the potential stress-buffering role of emotional support received between academic stress and mental well-being in a sample of Afghan university students during the COVID-19 outbreak. Method: The study sample comprised 508 Afghan university students. An online survey was developed for data collection. Model 1 of the PROCESS macro was used to conduct the moderation analysis. Results: These indicate that moderate and high levels of emotional support received may protect against the negative effects of higher levels of academic stress on mental well-being. Conclusion: This research makes an important contribution to the literature on social support. It may be inferred from the results that Afghan university students who experience academic stress, but have strong emotional support are able to attain greater mental well-being during the COVID-19 outbreak as compared to those with weak emotional support. Results may encourage mental health practitioners, university counselors, education administrators, and faculty to jointly formulate strategies for offering emotional support to Afghan university students.

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