Perfil dos usuários de serviços de Saúde Mental do município de Lorena - São Paulo

OBJETIVOS: Identificar o perfil dos usuários do Ambulatório de Saúde Mental e do Centro de Atenção Psicossocial de Lorena - São Paulo. MÉTODOS: Estudo exploratório descritivo com dados coletados em 5.830 prontuários dos usuários desses dois serviços de Saúde Mental. RESULTADOS:Foram analisados 5.490 prontuários no Ambulatório e 340 no Centro de Atenção Psicossocial. No Ambulatório 68% dos usuários eram mulheres e no Centro de Atenção Psicossocial, 61% eram homens. Os diagnósticos que prevaleceram no Ambulatório foram: transtornos neuróticos, relacionados ao estresse e os somatoformes, e no Centro de Atenção Psicossocial, foram os transtornos decorrentes do uso de substâncias psicoativas. O grupo de medicamentos mais prescritos no Ambulatório foi o de antidepressivos, e no Centro de Atenção Psicossocial, os antipsicóticos. CONCLUSÃO: Verificou-se que os serviços de Saúde Mental atuam de forma desarticulada com a Atenção Básica de Saúde e faz-se necessário implantar o apoio matricial nesse município.

Território e serviço comunitário de saúde mental: as concepções presentes nos discursos dos atores do processo da reforma psiquiátrica brasileira

Uma das proposições dos Centros de Atenção Psicossocial (CAPS), serviços substitutivos de assistência à saúde mental de base comunitária e territorial, , é a intervenção no contexto de vida dos usuários, buscando explorar os recursos existentes para a viabilização dos projetos terapêuticos, os quais devem possibilitar transformações concretas no cotidiano. Nesse contexto, foi desenvolvida a pesquisa que tem como referencial metodológico a teoria da vida cotidiana, proposta por Agnes Heller, e as categorias analíticas, território e reabilitação psicossocial. Trata-se de um estudo de caso com a finalidade de identificar e discutir as possibilidades das práticas territoriais na produção de mudanças no cotidiano dos usuários. Nesse artigo, buscamos discutir um dos objetivos delineados no estudo: compreender a representação que a equipe multiprofissional tem sobre "território" e "serviço de saúde mental de base territorial". O campo do estudo constituiu-se em um dos CAPS III da cidade de Campinas/SP e os colaboradores desta pesquisa foram os trabalhadores de saúde mental, os usuários e não usuários do serviço. Os dados foram coletados por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas e sessões de grupo focal. Na análise dos dados, sob o enfoque da Análise do Discurso, obteve-se como resultado o reconhecimento de três categorias empíricas, dentre as quais o território. As ações no território é que dão significado para o cotidiano do serviço e nisso reside a importância dessas intervenções, as quais diferenciam um hospital psiquiátrico de um serviço comunitário.

Projeto terapêutico nos serviços extra-hospitalares de saúde mental: uma reflexão crítica sobre a forma de elaboração e gestão dos projetos terapêuticos nos serviços

Com base em uma pesquisa realizada no município de Ribeirão Preto, SP, em serviços extra-hospitalares de saúde mental, que teve como objetivo estudar a organização desses serviços, os projetos terapêuticos e a inserção da reabilitação psicossocial nas ações de saúde disponibilizadas, apresenta-se reflexão teórico-crítica sobre o processo de elaboração dos projetos terapêuticos pelas equipes dos serviços. A pesquisa, que foi desenvolvida em um Ambulatório e em um Centro de Atenção Psicossocial II, foi realizada com base em metodologia qualitativa; como técnicas de coleta de dados, utilizou-se entrevistas semidiretivas e grupos focais, e a análise dos dados apoiou-se em referencial hermenêutico dialético de Jürgen Habermas, seguindo técnica interpretativa reconstrutiva. A análise dos dados mostrou que os profissionais têm apresentado dificuldade na elaboração e gestão dos projetos terapêuticos. Ações de saúde são disponibilizadas sem o referencial concreto de uma proposta norteadora das atividades práticas do serviço. Os projetos terapêuticos são referenciados pelos profissionais como decorrentes das diretrizes provenientes de instâncias gestoras ou das orientações técnicas próprias a cada categoria profissional, mas não como atividade de construção representativa de uma filosofia de trabalho da equipe de saúde. Ao enfocar-se o projeto terapêutico como um tipo de consenso fundado, resultante de ação comunicativa orientada para o entendimento mútuo e intersubjetivo entre membros da equipe do serviço extra-hospitalar de saúde mental, evidencia-se a dificuldade das equipes dos serviços em organizarem-se dialogicamente para a construção coletiva do projeto terapêutico.

The stigma of mental illness in Southern Ghana: attitudes of the urban population and patients' views

PURPOSE: Stigma is a frequent accompaniment of mental illness leading to a number of detrimental consequences. Most research into the stigma connected to mental illness was conducted in the developed world. So far, few data exist on countries in sub-Saharan Africa and no data have been published on population attitudes towards mental illness in Ghana. Even less is known about the stigma actually perceived by the mentally ill persons themselves. METHOD: A convenience sample of 403 participants (210 men, mean age 32.4 ± 12.3 years) from urban regions in Accra, Cape Coast and Pantang filled in the Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Ill (CAMI) questionnaire. In addition, 105 patients (75 men, mean age 35.9 ± 11.0 years) of Ghana's three psychiatric hospitals (Accra Psychiatry Hospital, Ankaful Hospital, Pantang Hospital) answered the Perceived Stigma and Discrimination Scale. RESULTS: High levels of stigma prevailed in the population as shown by high proportions of assent to items expressing authoritarian and socially restrictive views, coexisting with agreement with more benevolent attitudes. A higher level of education was associated with more positive attitudes on all subscales (Authoritarianism, Social Restrictiveness, Benevolence and Acceptance of Community Based Mental Health Services). The patients reported a high degree of experienced stigma with secrecy concerning the illness as a widespread coping strategy. Perceived stigma was not associated with sex or age. DISCUSSION: The extent of stigmatising attitudes within the urban population of Southern Ghana is in line with the scant research in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa and mirrored by the experienced stigma reported by the patients. These results have to be seen in the context of the extreme scarcity of resources within the Ghanaian psychiatric system. Anti-stigma efforts should include interventions for mentally ill persons themselves and not exclusively focus on public attitudes.

Service Use and Mental Impairment Among the Elderly: Arguments for Consultation and Education

Compared the service use patterns of older adults with varying levels of mental impairment, and assessed the effects of services received on their mental health status over a 1-yr period. Data were obtained from a US General Accounting Office (1977, 1979) study of 531 elderly persons (mean age 76.1 yrs), which included administration of a modified version of the Older Americans Resources and Services Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire. Ss were interviewed twice, 1 yr apart. 174 Ss were classified as having a mild psychiatric impairment, and 118 Ss had a severe psychiatric impairment. The existence of mental impairment was related to marital status, race, and level of education. Usage of mental health services was low, although mentally impaired Ss were more likely than unimpaired Ss to use social and medical services. Results also suggest that such services can have an important effect on the mental health of older persons.

The Mental Health System and Older Adults in the 1990s

Trends in mental health services for older adults during the past decade were used to predict salient issues for the current decade. These include overreliance on inpatient treatment, increased use of general hospitals as treatment sites, inadequate integration with the nursing-home industry, and insufficient mental health referrals from general medical providers. In the decade ahead, the mental health needs of older adults are unlikely to be an identified focus; rather the issues will overlap with other priorities (e.g., biomedical research on brain functioning, alternative treatment programs for the chronically mentally ill, and containing health care costs). Advocates for the elderly will be successful to the extent that they cast aging services within the context of these other concerns.

Mental Disorders of Aging: An Emerging Public Health Crisis?

Focuses on the emergence of public health crisis in the U.S. in connection with the projected increase in the number of older adults with mental disorders. Disorders which are commonly associated with older adults; Sources of mental health services for older adults; Factors that contribute to high levels of psychopathology; Impact of the economic costs of mental disorders on direct and indirect costs for healthcare; Recommendations for the expected crisis in geriatric mental health.

Aging and mental health in the decade ahead: What psychologists need to know

Until relatively recently, most psychologists have had limited professional involvement with older adults. With the baby boomers starting to turn 65 years old in 2011, sheer numbers of older adults will continue to increase. About 1 in 5 older adults has a mental disorder, such as dementia. Their needs for mental and behavioral health services are not now adequately met, and the decade ahead will require an approximate doubling of the current level of psychologists' time with older adults. Public policy in the coming decade will face tensions between cost containment and facilitation of integrated models of care. Most older adults who access mental health services do so in primary care settings, where interdisciplinary, collaborative models of care have been found to be quite effective. To meet the needs of the aging population, psychologists need to increase awareness of competencies for geropsychology practice and knowledge regarding dementia diagnosis, screening, and services. Opportunities for psychological practice are anticipated to grow in primary care, dementia and family caregiving services, decision-making-capacity evaluation, and end-of-life care. Aging is an aspect of diversity that can be integrated into psychology education across levels of training. Policy advocacy for geropsychology clinical services, education, and research remains critical. Psychologists have much to offer an aging society

Ordinary Families -Extraordinary Care Giving

Children with severe emotional problems often have multiple needs that require disparate services including child welfare, juvenile justice, health, mental health, substance abuse, and mental retardation (Stroul, 1996). However, the primary care giving responsibilities for these youngsters still remain with their families. It is the family who shelters and clothes them; provides guidance, affection, recreation, nurturing; gets them to appointments with doctors and therapists and to school dayin- and-day-out, year after year (Lourie, 1995). Despite the invaluable and irreplaceable care provided by families, they are often maligned by a system which characterizes them as having their own problems and inadequacies. The purpose of this research is to learn more about the strengths of families who care for children with severe emotional disabilities (SED). This exploratory descriptive study made use of focus groups attended by parents who are caring for such children. In order to improve services to these families, it is important that we understand how the notion of strengths play out in their everyday lives. Observations are made about the care giving plan, which all families devise in the course of caring for their child with special needs. Implications for paid professionals who serve these families are offered by presenting a model for putting family care givers at the hub of the service provision wheel.

A novel mutation in BCS1L associated with deafness, tubulopathy, growth retardation and microcephaly

We report a novel homozygous missense mutation in the ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase synthesis-like (BCS1L) gene in two consanguineous Turkish families associated with deafness, Fanconi syndrome (tubulopathy), microcephaly, mental and growth retardation. All three patients presented with transitory metabolic acidosis in the neonatal period and development of persistent renal de Toni-Debré-Fanconi-type tubulopathy, with subsequent rachitis, short stature, microcephaly, sensorineural hearing impairment, mild mental retardation and liver dysfunction. The novel missense mutation c.142A>G (p.M48V) in BCS1L is located at a highly conserved region associated with sorting to the mitochondria. Biochemical analysis revealed an isolated complex III deficiency in skeletal muscle not detected in fibroblasts. Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) revealed normal super complex formation, but a shift in mobility of complex III most likely caused by the absence of the BCS1L-mediated insertion of Rieske Fe/S protein into complex III. These findings expand the phenotypic spectrum of BCS1L mutations, highlight the importance of biochemical analysis of different primary affected tissue and underline that neonatal lactic acidosis with multi-organ involvement may resolve after the newborn period with a relatively spared neurological outcome and survival into adulthood. CONCLUSION Mutation screening for BCS1L should be considered in the differential diagnosis of severe (proximal) tubulopathy in the newborn period. What is Known: • Mutations in BCS1L cause mitochondrial complex III deficiencies. • Phenotypic presentations of defective BCS1L range from Bjornstad to neonatal GRACILE syndrome. What is New: • Description of a novel homozygous mutation in BCS1L with transient neonatal acidosis and persistent de Toni-Debré-Fanconi-type tubulopathy. • The long survival of patients with phenotypic presentation of severe complex III deficiency is uncommon.

Physician coding for mental illness reimbursement and the need for mental health parity

Many patients with anxiety and depression initially seek treatment from their primary care physicians. Changes in insurance coverage and current mental parity laws, make reimbursement for services a problem. This has led to a coding dilemma for physicians seeking payment for their services. This study seeks to determine first the frequency at which primary care physicians use alternative coding, and secondly, if physicians would change their coding practices, provided reimbursement was assured through changes in mental parity laws. A mail survey was sent to 260 randomly selected primary care physicians, who are family practice, internal medicine, and general practice physicians, and members of the Harris County Medical Society. The survey evaluated the physicians' demographics, the number of patients with psychiatric disorders seen by primary care physicians, the frequency with which physicians used alternative coding, and if mental parity laws changed, the rate at which physicians would use a psychiatric illness diagnosis as the primary diagnostic code. The overall response rate was 23%. Only 47 of the 59 physicians, who responded, qualified for the study and of those 45% used a psychiatric disorder to diagnose patients with a primary psychiatric disorder, 47% used a somatic/symptom disorder, and 8% used a medical diagnosis. From the physicians who would not use a psychiatric diagnosis as a primary ICD-9 code, 88% were afraid of not being reimbursed and 12% were worried about stigma or jeopardizing insurability. If payment were assured using a psychiatric diagnostic code, 81% physicians would use a psychiatric diagnosis as the primary diagnostic code. However, 19% would use an alternative diagnostic code in fear of stigmatizing and/or jeopardizing patients' insurability. Although the sample size of the study design was adequate, our survey did not have an ideal response rate, and no significant correlation was observed. However, it is evident that reimbursement for mental illness continues to be a problem for primary care physicians. The reformation of mental parity laws is necessary to ensure that patients receive mental health services and that primary care physicians are reimbursed. Despite the possibility of improved mental parity legislation, some physicians are still hesitant to assign patients with a mental illness diagnosis, due to the associated stigma, which still plays a role in today's society. ^

THE DISCHARGED PSYCHIATRIC PATIENT: POST-HOSPITAL ADJUSTMENT AND FACTORS AFFECTING REHOSPITALIZATION

Discharged psychiatric patients were studied six months post-discharge to determine those demographic, social and clinical characteristics affecting positive or negative adjustment and the degree to which the use of mental health services and medication compliance mediated the effects. With the exception of those with primary or secondary diagnoses of OBS, substance abuse or mental retardation, sixty-three psychiatric subjects between the ages of eighteen and sixty-four were chosen from all admissions into the hospital and interviewed six months after discharge using a specially designed questionnaire.^ The subjects' adjustment to community living was found to be marginal. Although not engaged in destructive activities, over half were living with their family members who supported them financially and emotionally. Most were unemployed and had been so for a long time. Others worked sporadically and frequently changed residences. Most did have substantial social ties with extended family and with friends with whom they interacted regularly, but one-fourth were socially isolated. Almost three-quarters continued to obtain regular mental health services after discharge and followed medication instructions under the supervision of their physician. The use of mental health services after discharge and the use of medication did not appear to affect the subjects' community adaption or their rate of rehospitalization.^ Forty percent of those discharged were rehospitalized by the end of the follow-up period. Four levels of risk of rehospitalization emerged. The highest risk was associated with a history of five or more prior hospitalizations, living alone, and social isolation. One third or more of the subjects expressed a need for more counseling, leisure time activities, case-manager assistance, vocational guidance, supervised housing, and placement into a transitional residential treatment program.^ Recommendations were made to enhance the ability to predict recidivism, to develop interorganizational casework management programs linking the patient and family to the community mental health system and to create computerized tracking and monitoring programs that systematically report patient treatment regimen and progress cross-sectionally and longitudinally. ^

Understanding mental illness in Nigeria: Bringing culture and traditional medicine into mental health policy

One of the major challenges in treating mental illness in Nigeria is that the health care facilities and mental health care professionals are not enough in number or well equipped to handle the burden of mental illness. There are several barriers to treatment for individual Nigerians which include the following: such as the lack of understanding of the root causes of mental illness, lack of financial support to get mental treatment, lack of social support (family, friends, neighbors), the fear of stigmatization concerning being labeled as mentally ill or being in association with the mentally ill, and the consultation of traditional native healers who may be unknowingly prolonging illness, rather than addressing and treating them due to lack of formal education and standardization of their treatments. Another barrier is the non-health nature of the mental health services in Nigeria. Traditional healers are essentially the mental health system. The elderly, women, and children are the most vulnerable groups in times of strife and hardships. Their mental well-being must be taken into account as well as their special needs in times of personal or societal crisis. ^ Nigerian mental health policy is geared toward forming a mental health system, but in actuality only a mental illness care system is the observed result of the policy. The government of Nigeria has drafted a mental health policy, yet its actual implementation into the Nigerian health infrastructure and society waits to be materialized. The limited health legislation or policy implementations tend to favor those who have access to these urban areas and the facilities' health services. Nigerians living in rural areas are at a disadvantage; many of them may not even be aware of services available to help them understand and treat mental illness. Perhaps, government driven health interventions geared toward mental illness in rural areas would reach an underserved Nigerians and Africans in general. Issues with political instability and limited infrastructure often hinder crucial financial resources and legislation from reaching the people that are truly in need of governmental leadership in regards to mental health policy.^ Traditional healers are a severely untapped resource in the treatment of mental illness within the Nigerian population. They are abundant within Nigerian communities and are meeting a real need for the mentally ill. However, much can be done to remove the barriers that prevent the integration of traditional healers within the mental health system and improve the quality of care they administer within the population. Mental illness is almost exclusively coped with through traditional medicine practices. Mobilization and education from each strata of Nigerian society and government as well as input from the medical community can improve how traditional medicine is utilized as a treatment for clinical illness and help alleviate the heavy burden of mental illness in Nigeria. Currently, there is no existing policy making structure for a working mental health system in Nigeria, and traditional healers are not taken into account in any formulation of mental health policy. Advocacy for mental illness is severely inadequate due to fear of stigmatization, with no formally recognized national of regional mental health association.^

Gender disparities in utilization, unmet need and expenditure for mental health care

Objectives: To compare mental health care utilization regarding the source, types, and intensity of mental health services received, unmet need for services, and out of pocket cost among non-institutionalized psychologically distressed women and men. ^ Method: Cross-sectional data for 19,325 non-institutionalized mentally distressed adult respondents to the “The National Survey on Drug Use and Health” (NSDUH), for the years 2006 -2008, representing over twenty-nine millions U.S. adults was analyzed. To assess the relative odds for women compared to men, logistic regression analysis was used for source of service, for types of barriers, for unmet need and cost; zero inflated negative binomial regression for intensity of utilization; and ordinal logistic regression analysis for quantifying out-of-pocket expenditure. ^ Results: Overall, 43% of mentally distressed adults utilized a form of mental health treatment; representing 12.6 million U.S psychologically distressed adults. Females utilized more mental health care compared to males in the previous 12 months (OR: 1. 70; 95% CI: 1.54, 1.83). Similarly, females were 54% more likely to get help for psychological distress in an outpatient setting and females were associated with an increased probability of using medication for mental distress (OR: 1.72; 95% CI: 1.63, 1.98). Women were 1.25 times likelier to visit a mental health center (specialty care) than men. ^ Females were positively associated with unmet needs (OR: 1.50; 95% CI: 1.29, 1.75) after taking into account predisposing, enabling, and need (PEN) characteristics. Women with perceived unmet needs were 23% (OR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.59, 0.99) less likely than men to report societal accommodation (stigma) as a barrier to mental health care. At any given cutoff point, women were 1.74 times likelier to be in the higher payment categories for inpatient out of pocket cost when other variables in the model are held constant. Conclusions: Women utilize more specialty mental healthcare, report more unmet need, and pay more inpatient out of pocket costs than men. These gender disparities exist even after controlling for predisposing, enabling, and need variables. Creating policies that not only provide mental health care access but also de-stigmatize mental illness will bring us one step closer to eliminating gender disparities in mental health care.^

El estado del peso corporal en sujetos con retraso mental en un centro de día

La investigación del peso corporal en sujetos con retraso mental (RM) ha sido emparentada con la obesidad y, en menor medida, con el bajo peso. Con el motivo de determinar el estado del peso corporal y establecer si existen desviaciones respecto al peso normal, es que se realizó un estudio con diseño descriptivo transversal teniendo en cuenta las diferentes variables que afectan a sujetos con retraso mental, tomando como indicadores de evaluación el Índice de Masa Corporal y el IMC para la Edad, recolectándose los datos en concurrentes a un Centro de Día. Según este trabajo, el estado de peso corporal en sujetos con RM varía entre el peso normal y el exceso de peso en forma de sobrepeso y de obesidad, en menor medida el bajo peso. Los grupos de mujeres, individuos mayores de edad, sujetos con capacidad ambulatoria, discapacidad mental, menor grado de retraso mental, poseen mayor riesgo de sobrepeso y obesidad según los porcentuales obtenidos; mientras que los conjuntos de sujetos menores de 20 años, discapacidad motora, mayor grado de retraso mental, parálisis cerebral, individuos cuyo desplazamiento ambulatorio es nulo o casi nulo, y en menor medida varones y personas con discapacidad visual, presentaron tendencia al peso normal y el bajo peso como grupo. En los sujetos que recibían medicación su peso corporal se distribuía en valores proporcionales entre los diferentes estados. Nuevas investigaciones que muestren preocupación por las personas con discapacidad intelectual favorecerán la calidad de vida y el desenvolvimiento de este conjunto en la sociedad