Homeless Shelter Users in the Postdeinstitutionalization Era

Objective: To describe the psychiatric symptomatology and mental health service needs of homeless shelter users in Calgary, Alberta. Data were collected as part of a broad-based community action initiative designed to reduce the problem of homelessness. Methods: A semistructured interview was conducted with a representative sample of 250 emergency shelter users. Mental health problems were measured through self-reports of 9 psychiatric symptoms known to be related to illnesses prevalent among homeless populations (depression, anxiety, and psychoses). The CAGE alcohol screen was also used. Results: Three-quarters of the sample expressed some symptomatology. About one-third were estimated to have a significant mental health problem. The lifetime prevalence of alcohol abuse was 33.6%. Higher levels of psychiatric symptomatology appeared to relate to a wide range of hardships, personal and public health risks, addictive behaviours, victimization, economic and interpersonal life events, dissatisfaction, and stress. Also, those with significant symptomatology frequently needed mental health care services but often did not know where to access them. Conclusions: The prevalence of mental health and substance abuse problems within homeless populations is significant and associated with considerable hardship as well as personal and public health risks.

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Coronavirus legislative responses in the UK: regression to panic and disdain of constitutionalism

Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly ◽

10.53386/nilq.v72is1.905 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 72 (S1) ◽

pp. 1-36

Author(s):

Rebecca Moosavian ◽

Clive Walker ◽

Andrew Blick

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

United Kingdom ◽

Health Risks ◽

Individual Rights ◽

Health Control ◽

Public Health Risks ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Uk ◽

Selection Of

The United Kingdom has considerable prowess in handling emergencies, not just in counterterrorism but also in a wide range of other real or imagined disasters, including public health risks. Core legislation has been installed, including the all-encompassing Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004 and the more specialist Public Health (Control of Disease) Act (PHA) 1984. Despite these finely honed models, the UK state regressed to panic mode when faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than turning to the laws already in place, Parliament fast-tracked the Coronavirus Act 2020, with scant debate of its shabbily drafted contents. In addition, the UK Government has relied heavily, with minimal scrutiny, on regulations under the PHA 1984. The article analyses the competing legal codes and how they have been deployed to deal with COVID-19. It then draws out the strengths and weaknesses of the choices in terms of the key themes of: the choice of sectoral versus general emergency legislation; levels of oversight and accountability; effectiveness; and the protection of individual rights. Following this survey, it will be suggested that the selection of legal instruments and the design of their contents has been ill-judged. In short, the emergency code which is the most suitably engineered for the purpose, the CCA 2004, has been the least used for reasons which should not be tolerated.

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Met and unmet needs among adults with mild to moderate intellectual disability with and without mental health problems

10.31234/osf.io/ztrjg ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Matthias Schützwohl

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Intellectual Disability ◽

Unmet Needs ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Psychiatric Symptoms ◽

Health Problems ◽

Service Planning ◽

Support Needs ◽

Behaviour Problem ◽

Prevalence Rates

Background: People with an intellectual disability (ID) show a great number and complex constellation of support needs. With respect to the planning of services, it is important to assess needs at the population level. ID services need to know to what extent support needs of clients with mental health problems differ from support needs of clients without any mental health problem.Aims: The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence rates of needs in relevant study groups. Methods: Data was generated from the MEMENTA-Study (“Mental health care for adults with intellectual disability and a mental disorder”). The Camberwell Assessment of Need for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities (CANDID) was used to assess met und unmet support needs. Data was available for n=248 adults with mild to moderate ID.Results: Mean total number of needs and unmet needs was associated with mental health status. However, in most particular areas under study, individuals without significant psychiatric symptoms or any behaviour problem needed as much as often help as individuals with such mental health problems. A higher rate of need for care among study participants with significant psychiatric symptoms or any behaviour problem was mainly found with regard to these specific areas (“minor mental health problems”, “major mental health problems”, “inappropriate behaviour”) or with regard to closely related areas (“safety of others”).Conclusions: Differences in prevalence rates mainly occurred in such areas of need that rather fall under the responsibility of mental health services than under the responsibility of ID services. This has implications for service planning.

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Exclusive Breastfeeding Moderates the Association Between Prenatal and Postpartum Depression

Journal of Human Lactation ◽

10.1177/0890334421991051 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 089033442199105

Author(s):

Bárbara Figueiredo ◽

Tiago Miguel Pinto ◽

Raquel Costa

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Mental Health ◽

Postpartum Depression ◽

Exclusive Breastfeeding ◽

Maternal Mental Health ◽

Prenatal Depression ◽

Depression Symptoms ◽

Public Health Services ◽

Wide Range ◽

Prospective Longitudinal

Background Exclusive breastfeeding has a wide range of benefits for maternal health. However, the benefit of exclusive breastfeeding for maternal mental health needs to be further explored. Research Aim To determine the moderating role of exclusive breastfeeding at 3 months on the association between prenatal and postpartum depression. Methods This study had a prospective, longitudinal, and comparative design with two groups and three assessment waves. The sample comprised 334 participants (70 depressed and 264 non-depressed) recruited at public health services in northern Portugal. Participants completed a measure of depression symptoms between the second and the third trimester of pregnancy and between 3 and 6 months, and a measure of breastfeeding status at 3 months. Results Exclusive breastfeeding at 3 months moderated the association between prenatal and postpartum depression. Participants with prenatal depression who were exclusively breastfeeding at 3 months showed fewer symptoms of depression and lower rates of depression between 3 and 6 months postpartum, compared to participants with prenatal depression who were not exclusively breastfeeding. Participants without prenatal depression who were exclusively breastfeeding at 3 months showed similar depression symptoms and similar rates of depression between 3 and 6 months postpartum, compared to participants without prenatal depression who were not exclusively breastfeeding. Conclusion Exclusive breastfeeding has a potential protective influence on postpartum depression among women with prenatal depression. Public health policies targeting women with prenatal depression should be implemented and include practices to promote and support exclusive breastfeeding in order to enhance women’s exclusive breastfeeding and mental health.

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Designer Benzodiazepines: A Review of Toxicology and Public Health Risks

Pharmaceuticals ◽

10.3390/ph14060560 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (6) ◽

pp. 560

Author(s):

Pietro Brunetti ◽

Raffaele Giorgetti ◽

Adriano Tagliabracci ◽

Marilyn A. Huestis ◽

Francesco Paolo Busardò

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Adverse Events ◽

Health Risks ◽

Drug Market ◽

Driving Under The Influence ◽

Self Administration ◽

Public Health Risks ◽

Drug Offense ◽

Legal Sanctions ◽

Designer Benzodiazepines

The rising use of designer benzodiazepines (DBZD) is a cat-and-mouse game between organized crime and law enforcement. Non-prohibited benzodiazepines are introduced onto the global drug market and scheduled as rapidly as possible by international authorities. In response, DBZD are continuously modified to avoid legal sanctions and drug seizures and generally to increase the abuse potential of the DBZD. This results in an unpredictable fluctuation between the appearance and disappearance of DBZD in the illicit market. Thirty-one DBZD were considered for review after consulting the international early warning database, but only 3-hydroxyphenazepam, adinazolam, clonazolam, etizolam, deschloroetizolam, diclazepam, flualprazolam, flubromazepam, flubromazolam, meclonazepam, phenazepam and pyrazolam had sufficient data to contribute to this scoping review. A total of 49 reports describing 1 drug offense, 2 self-administration studies, 3 outpatient department admissions, 44 emergency department (ED) admissions, 63 driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) and 141 deaths reported between 2008 and 2021 are included in this study. Etizolam, flualprazolam flubromazolam and phenazepam were implicated in the majority of adverse-events, drug offenses and deaths. However, due to a general lack of knowledge of DBZD pharmacokinetics and toxicity, and due to a lack of validated analytical methods, total cases are much likely higher. Between 2019 and April 2020, DBZD were identified in 48% and 83% of postmortem and DUID cases reported to the UNODC, respectively, with flualprazolam, flubromazolam and etizolam as the most frequently detected substances. DBZD toxicology, public health risks and adverse events are reported.

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