Mental Illness Stigma as a Barrier to Psychosocial Services for Cancer Patients

2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia K. Matthews ◽  
Patrick W. Corrigan ◽  
Judith Lee Rutherford
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
General Population ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Health Services Use ◽  
Psychosocial Services

Empirically validated psychosocial interventions have been shown to improve adjustment and coping among cancer patients. Therefore, an emerging standard of practice is to integrate supportive services for cancer patients into the medical management of the disease. However, unanticipated barriers may negatively influence receptivity to psychosocial services. For example, among the general population, two-thirds of individuals in need of psychiatric services do not receive them. Numerous barriers have been reported that interfere with receipt of mental health services among members of the general population. In addition to access issues, stigma associated with mental illness and its treatment represents a significant barrier to care. Stigma associated with mental illness and mental health services use is an under-researched barrier to the effective management of the psychosocial sequelae of a cancer diagnosis and treatment. This article reviews the relevant literature on mental health stigma and makes recommendations for increasing access to psychosocial services for cancer patients and their families.

scholarly journals Schizophrenia in The Context of Mental Health Services in Palestine: a literature review

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Marie ◽  
Zareefa Shaabna ◽  
Manahel Saleh
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Heart Diseases ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma

Abstract Background: Mental health conditions remain a significant cause of disability in the Arab World. Palestinians are predominantly at a higher risk for mental health problems due to their chronic exposure to political violence, prolonged displacement, and others as limited professional, educational, financial opportunities and mental health services. Schizophrenia is an overwhelming mental illness that affects nearly one percent of the various populations throughout the world. Studies have shown patients with schizophrenia die prematurely and have lower life expectancy compared to the general population. Moreover, antipsychotic medications and client’s lifestyle play a significant role in increased morbidity and mortality in these patients. The present study willingly undertakes a literature review on schizophrenia in the context of mental health services in Palestine.Methods: Studies were identified through PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, CINAHL, Semantic Scholar and Elsevier.Results: Twenty-four studies were included in this review; eleven articles related to schizophrenia and thirteen articles related to mental health services in Westbank and Gaza. Results revealed the life of patients with schizophrenia in Palestine is complicated. Barriers as lacking awareness about mental illness, stigma, inconsistent availability of medications, absence of multidisciplinary teamwork, insufficient specialists, fragmented mental health system, occupation, and other obstacles stand in the face of improving the quality of life among these patients.Limitations: Palestine is a state that is seeking independence with a scarcity of resources. It has been described as “uncharted territories'' due to a lack of data, resources and records. As a result, there is insufficient data regarding schizophrenia in Palestine. Therefore, a thesis study that estimated Ten years’ risk of coronary heart diseases in patients with schizophrenia was included.Conclusions: Recommendations include ending the occupation as the leading cause of mental illness for Palestinians and implementing efficient and effective mental health nursing care through the multidisciplinary work and raising awareness regarding mental illness to fight the stigma.

scholarly journals Racial identity and mental health stigma among Black adults in the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aderonke O Bamgbose Pederson ◽  
Devan Hawkins
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Racial Identity ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Mental Health Stigma ◽  
Black Adults ◽  
Stigma Behavior

Objectives: Mental illness stigma is a barrier to engagement in mental health services. This study assesses our hypothesis that specific racial identity dimensions influences mental health behavior including stigma. Methods: We performed an online cross sectional observational study among Black adults (n = 248, ages 18-65). We examined the relationship between an individual's approach to their racial identity in the community and stigma behavior towards mental health; generalized linear models were performed. We assessed demographic characteristics as moderators of the primary association. Results: Black adults with higher centrality reported lower past stigma behavior (RR=1.57, CI: 1.11-2.21, p=0.01), but higher future intended stigma behavior (RR=0.93, CI: 0.88-0.99, p=0.02). Majority of respondents reported high centrality and high assimilation; however, assimilation did not appear to correlate with mental health stigma behavior. Age, education and ethnicity appeared to have a limited moderating effect on the association between centrality and stigma behavior. Conclusions: Centrality was associated with mental health stigma behavior. By understanding the intersecting characteristics that may increase the likelihood for mental illness stigma, we will be better able to reduce mental illness stigma and optimize engagement in mental health services.

scholarly journals Schizophrenia in the Context of Mental Health Services in Palestine

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Marie ◽  
Zareefa Shaabna ◽  
Manahel Saleh
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Mental Health Nursing ◽  
Schizophrenic Patients

Abstract Background: Mental health conditions are a significant cause of disability in the Arab World. Palestinians are especially at a higher risk for mental health problems due to their chronic exposure to political violence, prolonged displacement, and others as a limited professional, educational, financial opportunities, and mental health services. Schizophrenia is an overwhelming mental illness that affects nearly one percent of the various populations throughout the world. Studies have shown that people with schizophrenia die prematurely and have lower life expectancy compared to the general population. Moreover, antipsychotic medications and the client’s lifestyle play an important role in increased morbidity and mortality in these clients. The present study undertakes a literature review of research on schizophrenia in the context of mental health services in Palestine.Methods: Studies were identified through PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, CINAHL, Semantic Scholar, Elsevier, and the reading of complementary references from August-November 2019. Results: Twenty-four studies were included in this review. Eleven articles related to schizophrenia and thirteen articles related to mental health services in Westbank and Gaza. Results revealed that the life of schizophrenic patients in Palestine is complicated. Barriers as lacking awareness about mental illness, stigma, inconsistent availability of medications, absence of multidisciplinary teamwork, insufficient specialists, fragmented mental health system, occupation, and other obstacles stand in the face of improving the quality of life among schizophrenic patients.Conclusions Recommendations include ending the occupation as the leading cause of mental illness for Palestinians and implementing efficient and effective mental health nursing care through the multidisciplinary work and raising awareness regarding mental illness to fight the stigma, should be applied.

Homicide offenders including mass murder and infanticide

2012 ◽  
pp. 1937-1941
Author(s):  
Nicola Swinson ◽  
Jennifer Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
General Population ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mass Murder ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
History Of ◽  
Perpetrators And Victims ◽  
The Uk

There is a widespread public perception of the mentally ill as violent. Until the early 1980s there was a consensus view that patients with severe mental illness were no more likely to be violent than the general population. Emerging evidence from various countries over the past two decades, however, has established a small, yet significant, association between mental illness and violence. There are 500–600 homicides annually in England and Wales. Perpetrators and victims are predominantly young males, especially when the victim is unknown to the perpetrator. In such ‘stranger homicides’ perpetrators are less likely to have a lifetime history of mental illness, symptoms of mental illness at the time of the offence, or contact with mental health services. Despite an increasing rate of homicides in the general population, convictions for infanticide and the rate of infant homicide has remained relatively constant, at around 4.5 per 100 000 live births. Infanticide has become a generic term for killing of infants, even though the criminal charge in England applies to a crime for which only a woman can be indicted. Multiple homicides, in particular serial homicides, have generated a great deal of public and media interest over recent decades yet this phenomenon is rare in the UK. The rarity of these events means that there is a lack of empirical evidence about the characteristics of perpetrators and victims in the UK, with most evidence emanating from the United States. Even then, however, there is an absence of systematic, robust evidence, with many studies being limited by small sample size. Around 1 in 10 perpetrators of homicide in England and Wales are female, which is consistent with data from other countries. Stranger homicide by females is rare. In one-quarter of cases the victims are the perpetrators’ own children and a current or former partner in over a third. Homicides perpetrated by the elderly are exceptionally rare. There is a well documented increased risk of violence in those with schizophrenia. The aim of the National Confidential Inquiry is to collect detailed clinical information on people convicted of homicide, focusing on those with a history of contact with mental health services. Nearly one in three Inquiry cases were seen during the week before the homicide, a similar proportion within 1–4 weeks and the remainder between 1–12 months. A substantial proportion had mental state abnormalities at final contact, often distress, depressive symptoms, hostility, or increased use of alcohol or drugs. Despite this immediate risk was judged to be low or absent in 88 per cent cases at the last contact.

The Current Situation in Psychiatry and its Effects on the Delivery of Mental Health Services in the Next Decade

1971 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Horvath
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Behavioral Treatment ◽  
Additional Data ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Medical Model ◽  
Behavioral Disorder ◽  
Treatment Alternative

As long as mental illness is regarded as primarily a behavioral disorder, current and foreseeable manpower shortages in psychiatry make it necessary to increase the participation of nonmedical personnel in the treatment process. The controversy between those advocating behavioral treatment and those favoring the medical model cannot be resolved due to the fact that our current knowledge of the biologic roots of mental illness is inadequate. A breakthrough in research in this area could resolve the argument and solve the manpower problem by transferring psychiatric disorders into physiologic disease susceptible to medical treatment. Alternative models for the delivery of mental health services can be developed to allow for different possibilities in the outcome of research. Additional data is needed, especially on the costs and effectiveness of future therapies, before an evaluation of programs can be carried out.

scholarly journals Access to public mental health services among older adults with severe mental illness

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd P. Gilmer ◽  
Victoria D. Ojeda ◽  
Dahlia Fuentes ◽  
Viviana Criado ◽  
Piedad Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Severe Mental Illness ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Public Mental Health Services

scholarly journals Concerns about the children of psychiatric in-patients – what the parents say

1997 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 495-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Stormont ◽  
Tom Craig ◽  
Zerrin Atakan ◽  
Peter Loader ◽  
Cindy Williams
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Parental Mental Illness ◽  
Adult Mental Health

There is an increasing body of research literature investigating the effects of parental mental illness on children. This study investigates the views of psychiatric in-patients on consequences of their admission to hospital and their mental illness for their children. The results suggest that the parents do not readily acknowledge that their children have problems, and that interventional approaches require good liaison between adult mental health services and child-focused agencies.

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