Professional mental health support seeking in Women of Refugee Background resettled in Australia: An exploratory study of facilitators and barriers

Author(s):  
Clare Hawkes ◽  
Kimberley Norris ◽  
Janine Joyce ◽  
Douglas Paton
2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-203
Author(s):  
Ana Petak ◽  
Sanja Narić ◽  
Roberta Matković

ATTITUDES TOWARD PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH DIFFICULTIES The implementation of modern approaches that seek to deinstitutionalize traditional psychiatric services is hampered by unfavorable attitudes of the community towards people with mental disabilities. Stigma is one of the most important factors that delay seeking help and negatively affects the quality of life of people with mental health problems. The research was conducted to describe attitudes towards people with mental health problems and determine their relationship with socio-demographic variables, information, and personal experience with mental health problems. There were 108 participants aged 21 to 59 (71% female, 64.5% college and university degrees). The Community Attitudes toward Mental Illness scale (CAMI) (Taylor & Dear, 1981) and a survey questionnaire were used online. Participants have generally benevolent attitudes toward all dimensions of the scale. Higher self-assessment of knowledge about mental health problems leads to more favorable attitudes towards authoritarianism, and younger age to less social restraint. Participants with a high school diploma have more negative attitudes towards the dimensions of authoritarianism and benevolence than participants with a university degree. There are no significant differences in attitudes regarding the experience of seeking mental health support, but on the authoritarian dimension, there is a significant interaction effect of being informed and mental health support seeking. The results indicate the importance of further research into the relationship between attitudes and mental health support seeking and the level of being informed on mental health issues. Key words: mental health; mental health difficulties; attitudes; stigmatization


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (CHI PLAY) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Tina Chan ◽  
Robert P. Gauthier ◽  
Ally Suarez ◽  
Nicholas F. Sia ◽  
James R. Wallace

Human-Computer Interaction researchers have explored how online communities can be leveraged for peer support, but general disinterest and a lack of engagement have emerged as substantial barriers to their use in practice. To address this gap, we designed Merlynne, a serious game that seeks to motivate individuals to support peers through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Our game explored use of the Proteus Effect - a phenomenon where players adopt characteristics of their in-game avatar - to motivate peer support through stereotyped 'helpful' and 'unhelpful' avatars. We then conducted a mixed-methods, exploratory study to investigate its design. We found that our game successfully motivated players to offer peer support, despite the substantial emotional labour required by CBT. However, we were not able to replicate the Proteus Effect, and did not find differences in that support based on a player's avatar. In reflecting on our findings, we discuss design challenges and considerations for the use of serious games to motivate participation in mental health support, including: fatigue, a player's need for self-expression and to relate to those they are supporting, and ludonarrative dissonance.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 347-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa J. Hull ◽  
Kate M. Fennell ◽  
Kari Vallury ◽  
Martin Jones ◽  
James Dollman

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Laura Biester ◽  
Katie Matton ◽  
Janarthanan Rajendran ◽  
Emily Mower Provost ◽  
Rada Mihalcea

Like many of the disasters that have preceded it, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have a profound impact on people’s mental health. Understanding its impact can inform strategies for mitigating negative consequences. This work seeks to better understand the impacts of COVID-19 on mental health by examining how discussions on mental health subreddits have changed in the three months following the WHO’s declaration of a global pandemic. First, the rate at which the pandemic is discussed in each community is quantified. Then, volume of activity is measured to determine whether the number of people with mental health concerns has risen, and user interactions are analyzed to determine how they have changed during the pandemic. Finally, the content of the discussions is analyzed. Each of these metrics is considered with respect to a set of control subreddits to better understand if the changes present are specific to mental health subreddits or are representative of Reddit as a whole. There are numerous changes in the three mental health subreddits that we consider, r/Anxiety, r/depression, r/SuicideWatch; there is reduced posting activity in most cases, and there are significant changes in discussion of some topics such as work and anxiety. The results suggest that there is not an overwhelming increase in online mental health support-seeking on Reddit during the pandemic, but that discussion content related to mental health has changed.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. e041371
Author(s):  
Alyssa Howren ◽  
J Antonio Aviña-Zubieta ◽  
Deborah Da Costa ◽  
Joseph H Puyat ◽  
Hui Xie ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between having arthritis and the perceived need for mental healthcare and use of mental health support among individuals with mental disorders.DesignA cross-sectional analysis using data from Canadian Community Health Survey—Mental Health (2012).SettingThe survey was administered across Canada’s 10 provinces using multistage cluster sampling.ParticipantsThe study sample consisted of individuals reporting depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder.Study variables and analysisThe explanatory variable was self-reported doctor-diagnosed arthritis, and outcomes were perceived need for mental healthcare and use of mental health support. We computed overall and gender-stratified multivariable binomial logistic regression models adjusted for age, gender, race/ethnicity, income and geographical region.ResultsAmong 1774 individuals with a mental disorder in the study sample, 436 (20.4%) reported having arthritis. Arthritis was associated with increased odds of having a perceived need for mental healthcare (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.71, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.77). In the gender-stratified models, this association was increased among men (aOR 2.69, 95% CI 1.32 to 5.49) but not women (aOR 1.48, 95% CI 0.78 to 2.82). Evaluation of the association between arthritis and use of mental health support resulted in an aOR of 1.50 (95% CI 0.89 to 2.51). Individuals with arthritis tended to use medications and professional services as opposed to non-professional support.ConclusionComorbid arthritis among individuals with a mental disorder was associated with an increased perceived need for mental healthcare, especially in men, underscoring the importance of understanding the role of masculinity in health seeking. Assessing the mental health of patients with arthritis continues to be essential for clinical care.


Author(s):  
Evangeline Tabor ◽  
Praveetha Patalay ◽  
David Bann

AbstractDespite increasing policy focus on mental health provision for higher education students, it is unclear whether they have worse mental health outcomes than their non-student peers. In a nationally-representative UK study spanning 2010–2019 (N = 11,519), 17–24 year olds who attended higher education had lower average psychological distress (GHQ score difference =  − 0.37, 95% CI − 0.60, − 0.08) and lower odds of case-level distress than those who did not (OR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.81, 1.02). Increases in distress between 2010 and 2019 were similar in both groups. Accessible mental health support outside higher education settings is necessary to prevent further widening of socioeconomic inequalities in mental health.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document