scholarly journals Pattern of Medicine Prescribing in PHC Facilities before and after earthquake in Nepal

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-45
Author(s):  
Gajendra Bahadur Bhuju ◽  
Kumud Kumar Kafle ◽  
Radha Raman Prasad ◽  
Vabha Rajbhandari ◽  
Gorkha Bahadur DC ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Treatment Guidelines ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Prescribing Patterns ◽  
Psychiatric Medication ◽  
Prescribing Practices ◽  
Before And After

Introduction: On April and May 2015, Nepal experienced two earthquakes. Many studies have focused on acute care delivery, disease outbreaks, mental health issues, and disaster relief post-earthquakes. Few others have looked at psychiatric medication prescription and health aid distribution pattern, only one study has addressed the effects of an earthquake on medication prescribing patterns and compared them to the post earthquake setting. This paper aims to examine common health problems and prescribing practices before and after the earthquake. Methods: This descriptive retrospective study was conducted within seven randomly selected health posts (HPs) located in the three most earthquake-affected districts of Bhaktapur, Kathmandu and Dhading. The patient records per month from each HP were selected from the out patient department (OPD) register by systematic random sampling for three months prior and three months after the earthquake. There were 584 and 654 encounters in the pre and post earthquake period respectively. Each patient record was analysed using WHO drug use indicators and national treatment guidelines. Results: A significant decrease in encounters receiving antibiotics and cases receiving albendazole alone in worm infestation was found in the post-earthquake period. A significant increase in prescribing antibiotics in cases of common cold was found.  Conclusions: The common health problems were similar in both periods. However, prescribing practices were changed. As prescriptions related to mental health problems were lacking, there is a need for improving mental health education to the health workers.

Increasing Trends in Physical and Mental Health Problems among US Workers in Different Job Sectors During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-102
Author(s):  
Gopal K Singh ◽  
Hyunjung Lee ◽  
Romuladus E. Azuine
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
The Self ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
The Government

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial adverse impact on workers’ employment and physical and mental health. However, job losses, job-related household income shocks, and their related physical and mental health problems have not been well-documented. Using temporal, nationally representative data, this study examines inequalities in job-related income losses and their resultant health impact among US workers aged 18-64 years in different job sectors during the pandemic. Methods: Using April, August, and December 2020 rounds of the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey (N=56,156, 82,173, and 51,500), job-related income losses among workers in various job sectors and associated impacts on self-assessed health, depression, anxiety, worry, and lack of interest were analyzed by multivariable logistic regression. Results: In December 2020, 64.0% of self-employed and 66.3% of unemployed adults reported that they or someone in their household experienced a loss of employment income since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. This percentage was the lowest for the public sector (35.2%) and non-profit-sector (45.0%) workers. Job/income losses increased by 26% between April and December for workers in the private and non-profit sectors. Prevalence of fair/poor overall health, serious depression, serious anxiety, serious worry, and serious lack of interest increased substantially during the pandemic for workers in all sectors, with the self-employed, those in the family business, and the unemployed experiencing the highest risk and those in the government/public and non-profit sectors experiencing the lowest risk of poor physical and mental health. Workers in all sectors reporting job-related income losses experienced approximately 2-to-4-fold higher odds of poor overall health, serious depression, serious anxiety, serious worry, and serious lack of interest, compared to public-sector workers with no job/income losses, controlling for covariates. Conclusion and Implications for Translation: Job-related income losses and prevalence of poor overall health and mental health among workers in all sectors increased markedly during the pandemic, with the self-employed, family business, and unemployed workers being especially vulnerable to poor health, depression, anxiety, and stress.   Copyright © 2021 Singh, et al. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in this journal, is properly cited.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and the Mental Health of People From Refugee Backgrounds

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Rees ◽  
Jane Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Delivery ◽  
General Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Vulnerable Population ◽  
High Income ◽  
Health Practitioners

Approximately 1 in 10 of the current 26 million people who are refugees reside in high-income countries. They have commonly experienced trauma related to violence, insecurity, persecution and shortage of food and medicine. Our research suggests that COVID-19 and its health and social sequalae may be triggering past traumatic reactions, exacerbating mental health problems and undermining functioning. The purpose of this article is to promptly communicate these anecdotal findings to general health practitioners to ensure informed and sensitive health care delivery to this vulnerable population.

scholarly journals Sustained Neglect in Mental Health during Nepal’s Crises

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiva Raj Mishra ◽  
Pratik Khanal ◽  
Vishnu Khanal
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health System ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Mental Health Policy ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Mental Health Training

Conflict in Nepal seems never resolving and the current generation has grown up in the environment of armed and political conflict characterized by indiscriminate killing, violent demonstration and widespread hostility. Adding to agony, the April 2015 earthquake left two million homeless and the 2015 Indo-Nepal economic blockade has created hostility among different community ethnic groups. With such background, this commentary highlights issues related to conflict, disaster and their relation to mental health. We also identify some gaps in existing health system, medical education and current focus on preventive approach to mental health. Mental health policy was endorsed in 1996; however, the policy has never been implemented in the fullest sense. Psychiatric services are provided by tertiary hospitals with no linkage to community-level primary health care services. Medical training still lacks mental health training at basic cadres of health workers and only small number of seats is allocated for post-graduate degree. Nepal continue to experience conflicts and disasters possibly leading to an increased burden of mental health problems and its health system is further distressed by the increasing gaps in provision of mental health service. With the devastating effect of the April 2015 earthquake, there is even higher need of serious effort to treat and prevent mental health problems with evidence-though limited depicting increase in burden of mental health problems. The state should stop putting half-hearted response to mental health problems and put more effort on long-term sustainable and culturally suitable solutions.Keywords: conflict, mental health, Nepal

Health worker confidence in diagnosing and treating mental health problems in Papua New Guinea

2004 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 29-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betty E. Koka ◽  
Frank P. Deane ◽  
Gordon Lambert
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Mental Health Training

Confidence in identifying different diagnostic categories of mental disorders by general health workers who provide the bulk of Papua New Guinea's (PNG) mental health care is vital for the country's provision of mental health care. Making a psychiatric diagnosis is complicated by PNG's diverse culture and estimated 800 distinct languages. These cultural-linguistic factors influence help-seeking behaviour and continued use of traditional treatment despite the introduction of western approaches to mental health care. The aim of this study was to determine the confidence of health workers in identifying and diagnosing different categories of mental health problems in this complex environment. A sample of 209 Papua New Guinea health workers from four geographic regions completed a questionnaire that assessed background levels of training and confidence in diagnosing a range of modern and culture specific diagnoses. Overall, respondents reported relatively little prior mental health training. Consistent with this were the relatively low levels of confidence for culture specific diagnoses (e.g. sorcery), but significantly higher levels of confidence with modern diagnoses (e.g. depression). The implications of the findings for training and provision of mental health care are discussed.

Psychosocial and Mental Health Problems of Older People in Postearthquake Nepal

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 945-964 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh P. Adhikari ◽  
Nawaraj Upadhaya ◽  
Sasmita Paudel ◽  
Ruja Pokhrel ◽  
Nagendra Bhandari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older People ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Mental Health Programs

Objective: To identify community perceptions on psychosocial and mental health problems of older people in postearthquake situation in Nepal. Method: A qualitative methodology was adopted to explore the experience and opinions of older people, social workers, school teachers, health workers, and nongovernmental organization workers on the psychosocial and mental health problems of older people in Nepal, using key informant interviews. Results: Major local vocabulary for older peoples’ psychosocial and mental health problems were “bichalan” (variation in mood and feeling), “ekohoro” (becoming single minded), “athmabiswasko kami” (low self-esteem), and “bina karan rune” (crying without any reason). The major causes attributed to older people’s problems were physical injury, disability, family conflict, and economic problems. Forgetfulness, tiredness, loss of concentration, restlessness, and isolation were observed in older people since the 2015 earthquake. Discussion: The findings suggest that earthquake had negative impact on older people’s psychosocial well-being; however, little support or treatment options have been made available to these individuals. The tailor-made community-based psychosocial and mental health programs for older people are needed.

scholarly journals Prevalence of mental health problems and associated factors among front-line public health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in China: an effort–reward imbalance model-informed study

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Zhang ◽  
Yijing Wang ◽  
Jingdong Xu ◽  
Hua You ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Effort Reward Imbalance ◽  
Public Health Workers ◽  
Reward Imbalance

Abstract Background Poor mental health status and associated risk factors of public health workers have been overlooked during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study used the effort–reward imbalance model to investigate the association between work-stress characteristics (effort, over-commitment, reward) and mental health problems (anxiety and depression) among front-line public health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Methods A total of 4850 valid online questionnaires were collected through a self- constructed sociodemographic questionnaire, the adapted ERI questionnaire, the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the 7-item General Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7). Hierarchical logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the association between ERI factors and mental health problems (i.e., depression and anxiety), with reward treated as a potential moderator in such associations. Results The data showed that effort and over-commitment were positively associated with depression and anxiety, while reward was negatively associated with depression and anxiety. Development and job acceptance were the two dimensions of reward buffered the harmful effect of effort/over-commitment on depression and anxiety, whereas esteem was non-significant. Conclusions This study confirmed the harmful effects of effort and over-commitment on mental health among public health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Such effects could be alleviated through an appropriate reward system, especially the development and job acceptance dimensions of such a system. These findings highlight the importance of establishing an emergency reward system, comprising reasonable work-allocation mechanism, bonuses and honorary titles, a continuous education system and better career-development opportunities.

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