Self-rating of depression in elderly prisoners in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Aim: Against the background of the rising number of elderly people being incarcerated and the rare data on this special subgroup, the aim of our study was to collect first empirical data on the affective state of elderly prisoners in North Rhine Westphalia, Germany. Methods: Data were collected in nine German prisons. We included elderly prisoners from pretrial prevention, penal sentences, open enforcement, preventive detention and from special detention units for elderly inmates. For the evaluation of the affective state, we used the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Sociodemographic and crime-related characteristics were documented. Findings: In total, n=116 prisoners (91.4% male) were included. The age ranged from 53 to 91 years (65.6±6.3 years). In our sample, 48% reported at least mild depressive symptoms, which is a significantly higher prevalence of depressive symptomatology than in the general population aged 60 years and older. Differences were found with regard to the type of detention, as prisoners in open enforcement showed significantly less symptoms compared to those in pretrial prevention and preventive detention. The participants reported in general more somatic symptoms as sleep disturbances and fatigue compared to mood items as feelings of sadness. Originality: It is the first study assessing the affective state of older prisoners in Germany. The high rate of depressive symptoms in our sample is in line with findings from international studies underlining the need for adequate diagnostics and therapy. In addition, in a previous study depression was indirectly linked with a greater risk of re-incarceration, fortifying the need for successful treatment of depression in prison both for the individuum and for society.

Depths of despair: Experience report

Between 2017 and 2019 I went through the experience of depression and consequently I developed anxiety. In the beginning, in the months of November and December 2017, I found myself in a deep despair, not knowing how to identify what was happening. As an intervention, I went through consultations with the psychologist, where I had conversations, writing and positive affirmations. After these consultations I improved and got out of my depressed state. Awareness in the consultations with the psychologist made me realize how far I was from who I am and from this contact with a professional I was able to gain clarity about my condition and learned techniques to maintain my self-care constant.

Comparison of level of mental stress between exercising and non-exercising undergraduate physical therapy students of LUMHS, Jamshoro

Objective: To Compare the Level of Mental Stress among Exercising and Non-Exercising under graduate Physiotherapy Students of LUMHS, Jamshoro. Methodology: A cross sectional survey was conducted from October to December 2019, and the data was collected from the undergraduates students of Institute of Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation Sciences, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Science Jamshoro, Pakistan. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used among 194 undergraduate physiotherapy students. Apart from the demographics (age, gender, education & locality) the PSS questionnaire consist of 10 questions. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 was used to interpret the data. Result: The majority (n=101, 51.7%) were from the age group of 18 to 21 years and (n=127, 65.1%) were female. Mostly (n=49, 25.1%) were the students of 1st year Doctor of Physical Therapy and (n=116, 59.4%) of the students were the residents of urban area. Among the non-exercising group of students majority (n=66,68%) were suffering from low level of mental stress, (n=33,34%) were suffering from moderate level of mental stress and (n=24,24.7%) were suffering from severe level of mental stress followed by the exercise group, in which (n=40,41.2%) were suffering from low level of mental stress, (n=21,21.6%) were suffering from moderate level of mental stress and (n=10,10.%) were suffering from severe level of mental stress. Conclusion: The study finalized that the exercising group of students had lower level of mental stress as compare to the non-exercising group of students. However both groups have the individuals with mental stress but the exercising students group had low number of those individuals.