Computational Tracking of Mental Health in Youth: Latin American Contributions to a Low-Cost and Effective Solution for Early Psychiatric Diagnosis

The early onset of mental disorders can lead to serious cognitive damage, and timely interventions are needed in order to prevent them. In patients of low socioeconomic status, as is common in Latin America, it can be hard to identify children at risk. Here, we briefly introduce the problem by reviewing the scarce epidemiological data from Latin America regarding the onset of mental disorders, and discussing the difficulties associated with early diagnosis. Then we present computational psychiatry, a new field to which we and other Latin American researchers have contributed methods particularly relevant for the quantitative investigation of psychopathologies manifested during childhood. We focus on new technologies that help to identify mental disease and provide prodromal evaluation, so as to promote early differential diagnosis and intervention. To conclude, we discuss the application of these methods to clinical and educational practice. A comprehensive and quantitative characterization of verbal behavior in children, from hospitals and laboratories to homes and schools, may lead to more effective pedagogical and medical intervention

Papéis e funções dos profissionais dos serviços e política de saúde mental em Natal (RN)

A assistência psiquiátrica e as políticas de atenção à saúde mental passaram por diversas transformações, marcadas ora por avanços, ora por retrocessos centrados no estigma, desinteresse e preconceito que ainda permeiam a sociedade e o senso comum. Este estudo objetivou analisar o processo de reforma psiquiátrica e a política de saúde mental do Município de Natal/RN a partir dos papéis e funções dos profissionais de nível superior dos serviços substitutivos em saúde mental. Trata-se de uma pesquisa analítica, transversal, com dados quantitativos e qualitativos, realizada nos sete serviços substitutivos de saúde mental de Natal, entre os meses de março a agosto de 2013, após aprovação do estudo pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Parecer nº 217.808, CAAE: 10650612.8.1001.5537, em 01 de março de 2013. A amostra por conveniência compôs-se por 65 profissionais de nível superior das equipes de saúde mental. Utilizou-se um questionário com questões fechadas e semiabertas sobre o perfil socioeconômico, as políticas, as práticas e a formação em saúde mental. Tabularam-se e submeteram-se as respostas das questões fechadas do questionário no programa estatístico SPSS versão 20.0, analisando-os por meio de estatística descritiva, com a formulação de gráficos e tabelas. Para verificar o nível de significância, adotando-se p-valor<0,05, optou-se pela aplicação dos testes qui-quadrado e exato de Fisher. Submeteram-se os dados das questões semiabertas ao software ALCESTE e à luz da análise de conteúdo de Bardin. O perfil dos participantes caracterizou-se por maioria do sexo feminino (79%), faixa etária de 36 a 55 anos (52%), média de 42 anos, carga horária de 40 horas semanais (62%), tempo de conclusão da graduação de 6 a 15 anos (57%), trabalhavam na área de saúde mental há menos de 10 anos (72%) e na instituição pesquisada há 5 anos ou menos (52%). Da amostra estudada, 86% atendiam grupos de usuários, 97% realizavam atendimento individual, 94% observavam o comportamento do paciente, 92% realizavam atendimento familiar, utilizando, principalmente, a abordagem cognitiva (28%). Os dados qualitativos originaram cinco categorias: Formação acadêmica e atuação em saúde mental; Ausência de capacitação e supervisão em saúde mental; Dificuldades da prática profissional nos serviços substitutivos de saúde mental; Trabalho em equipe: entre acertos e conflitos; Política Nacional de Saúde Mental: uma realidade ainda distante. Detectou-se adequabilidade dos papéis e funções dos profissionais quanto ao tempo de trabalho na saúde mental e na instituição pesquisada; no atendimento e atividades individuais; na promoção de ações visando à autonomia do paciente; no atendimento em grupo de pacientes; e, em parte, à família/familiar dos portadores de transtorno mental, havendo inadequação quanto ao atendimento aos grupos de familiares (52.3%), à formação especializada em saúde mental (69.2%; p=0,02) e às dificuldades de trabalho nos serviços (87.7%). Evidenciou-se adequação nos papéis e nas funções d esenvolvidas pelos profissionais nos serviços substitutivos em saúde mental de Natal, embora convivendo em seu cotidiano com inúmeras dificuldades encontradas no desenvolvimento de suas práticas profissiona is frente às condições de trabalho

Participação e ação política dos psicólogos frente à política de saúde mental no Piauí

It is intended to problematize forms of participation and political action of psychologists toward mental health policy in Piauí. The study was motivated through challenges faced by the local Psychiatric Reform movement, and the one underway in the country, which needs support technical-assistence and sociopolitical to guarantee accomplishments and to move on with the complete reversion of the asylum to psychosocial model. The method was based on institutional analysis and counted with three insertion moments for the field research: a) to identify historical and political events that configure the local Psychiatric Reform (documental research/oral memory) and to identify psychologists that act in Mental Health; b) to realize participant observation and semi-structured interview with 33 psychologists which act in Mental Health in Teresina; c) to follow the sociopolitical contexts/events of the local Psychiatric Reform (participant observation and conversation circles). The data were analyzed considering four discussion axes, achieved through categorization of the collected material: 1) ways of professional insertion of psychologists in mental health; 2) knowledge and practices used to act in this work context of the profession; 3) political professional movements of workers of the reformist local process; 4) political action of psychologists toward the course of Piauí mental health policy. We concluded identifying that the participation of psychologists in Piauí mental health finds strength by the conduction of its macro and micropolitical professional action. The first one follows oriented by the lemma of social commitment, despite this movement doesn t have equivalence in the transformation of practices and political-professional postures of psychologists in the daily of services. The second is constituted in the every day of work, standing to the political action of the profession implicated with the preservation of the classic modus operandi of being psychologist. Therefore, it is about the actions that give little sustainability technicalassistance to the Psychiatric Reform underway in the State, and why not say in the country

A dimensão sociocultural da reforma psiquiátrica: articulando redes para a consolidação da estratégia de atenção psicossocial

This thesis aims to discuss on articulations that have been produced on the socio-cultural field in the Psychiatric Reform process and its pertinence to the streghtening of Psychosocial Care Strategy (EAPS) in Fortaleza/CE. Such interest has been justified by the need to promote not only the production of these networks, but also interfaces to enable strategies of support and sociability from the perspective of deinstitutionalization of madness. We were inspired by the cartography perspective of Deleuze e Guattari, and determined as objectives: 1) to discuss the complexity of Psychiatric Reform process and analyze the EAPS as a model for the current Mental Health policy in the country; 2) to map socio-cultural strategies connected to the CAPS network in the city, investigating experiences that already exist or may be constituted as everyday social support networks; 3) from that mapping to start, define and discuss some aspects that converge to the accomplishment for this new mental health paradigm, drawing a cartography of the issues and movements in progress. The mapping was carried out in 2009 and consisted of semi-structured interviews with the coordinators of the 14 existent CAPS and with some people connected to the Coordination of Mental Health. Besides, during the whole development of the study, we have taken part in public events that brought us clues on the connection between mental health and culture. From the survey produced, we defined three vectors for discussion (Art, Labour and Partnership with Social Movements) which have been highlighted as effective possibilities of intervention in the socio-cultural field of Psychiatric Reform in Fortaleza and reveal important paths on the fulfillment process of a new pattern of care. For each of these axes, we chose a field of empirical research (Projeto Arte e Saúde, COOPCAPS e MSMCBJ) in which we could better understand their strengths and difficulties, starting from open interviews with some of their actors and the production of a diary of sensations in 2010. We have seen that they are articulated with the proposal of EAPS, being part of the concerns to the National Mental Health Policy and also the municipal administration. However, we have noticed to be necessary to promote those dimensions further, focusing on its complexity at the macro and micro policies, with the purpose of leading the Psychiatric Reform process