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

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Marie ◽  
Zareefa Shaabna ◽  
Manahel Saleh

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.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Marie ◽  
Zareefa Shaabna ◽  
Manahel Saleh

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.


2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia K. Matthews ◽  
Patrick W. Corrigan ◽  
Judith Lee Rutherford

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.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aderonke O Bamgbose Pederson ◽  
Devan Hawkins

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.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S487-S487 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Staiger ◽  
T. Waldmann ◽  
S. Krumm ◽  
N. Rüsch

Introduction/objectivesMental health problems were shown by different studies to be both: results of and risk factors for unemployment. However, unemployed people with mental health problems often have difficulties in finding and using mental health services and therefore do not benefit from therapies. Because unemployed individuals outside the healthcare system are a hard-to-reach group, barriers to but also facilities for mental health services are poorly understood.AimsThe aim of the study is to identify barriers and facilitators of help seeking and service use, based on experiences of unemployed people with mental health strains.MethodsWe conducted 15 qualitative semi-structured interviews with unemployed individuals, facing self-reported mental health problems or mental illness. Topics included individual experiences with help-seeking and mental health service use, with a focus on barriers and facilitators. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis and major themes were identified.ResultsPatients fear adverse reactions of psychiatric medication. They report to be treated as “different” by their social environment and health professionals, which leads to a lack of self-esteem and inhibits them in their help seeking efforts. Social support and desire for change on the other hand can be strong motivational factors in searching for help.ConclusionPerception of GPs towards mental health issues of their patients, and especially unemployed patients, has to be raised. Stigmatization of mental illnesses and help seeking should be reduced in practical context.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Wilson ◽  
Hanna Tervonen ◽  
David Currow ◽  
Grant Sara

Abstract Focus of Presentation This presentation describes methods and findings from the NSW Mental Health Living Longer (MHLL) Program. MHLL involves population-wide data linkage that combines records from nine NSW data collections. Our collection includes over 120 million records for more than nine million people. This presentation focuses on the use of linked data to develop indicators to support reporting on premature cancer mortality for people living with mental illness. We will use these indicators to identify variation in care, assess areas for targeted intervention, and evaluate the effectiveness of research translation into safer and more effective care. Findings This work will be finalised by August 2020. We will use regression techniques to examine predictors of participation in breast and cervical cancer screening for women who use mental health services in NSW. These results will be used to assess geographical variation in risk-adjusted screening participation rates. We will also present methods and results for measuring incidence and stage at presentation, as well as 12 month and 5 year survival for women who use mental health services compared to other women in NSW. Conclusions/Implications If cancer survival is a key measure of the effectiveness of healthcare systems, then reduced survival in people with mental health problems reflects less effective health care. Improving screening and treatment services is likely to be the most important strategy for reducing the cancer mortality gap for people with mental illness. Key messages Health systems must move from recognition to action if we are to reduce premature cancer mortality in people living with mental illness.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
David Skuse

This month's issue of BJPsych International focuses on the Middle East, with papers on psychiatric care in conflict zones, the persistence of institutionalisation in Arab countries, service delivery in Iraq, improved media attitudes towards mental illness in Qatar and integration of mental health services into primary care in that country.


2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoff Dickens ◽  
Judy Weleminsky ◽  
Yetunde Onifade ◽  
Philip Sugarman

Aims and methodMental Health Recovery Star is a multifaceted 10-item outcomes measure and key-working tool that has been widely adopted by service providers in the UK. We aimed to explore its factorial validity, internal consistency and responsiveness. Recovery Star readings were conducted twice with 203 working-age adults with moderate to severe mental health problems attending a range of mental health services, and a third time with 113 of these individuals.ResultsMental Health Recovery Star had high internal consistency and appeared to measure an underlying recovery-oriented construct. Results supported a valid two-factor structure which explained 48% of variance in Recovery Star ratings data. Two Recovery Star items (‘relationships’ and ‘addictive behaviour’) did not load onto either factor. There was good statistically significant item responsiveness, and no obvious item redundancy. Data for a small number of variables were not normally distributed and the implications of this are discussed.Clinical implicationsRecovery Star has been received enthusiastically by both mental health service providers and service users. This study provides further evidence for its adoption in recovery-focused mental health services and indicates that items relating to addictive behaviour, responsibilities and work could be further developed in future.


1971 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Horvath

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.


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