Primary prevention in mental health : an annotated bibliography /

Mode of access: Internet.

Primary prevention in mental health : an annotated bibliography : 1983-1991 /

Includes index.

Mental health in Kansas: hospital treatment and community services.

Mode of access: Internet.

Mental and emotional disorders : mental health insurance study report /

Pursuant to 20 ILCS 1405/1405-30, the Illinois Division of Insurance was to conduct a study of mandates contained in 215 ILCS 5/370c covering the years 2002 through 2004. This study analyzed the cost and benefits dervived from the implementation of the coverage requirements for treatment of mental disorders and 'serious mental illness," as defined within Section 370c of the Illinois Insurance Code.

Performance audit : Funding provided by state agencies to Heartland Human Services /

"House Resolution Number 1307 directed the Office of the Auditor General to conduct a performance audit of the State moneys provided by or through State agencies to Heartland Human Services (Heartland). Heartland is a non-profit corporation in Effingham, Illinois that provides outpatient services and 24-hour residential services to adults with mental illness."

On overwork and premature mental decay: its treatment.

Mode of access: Internet.

Audit of selective and non-selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use in rural general practice

Aim: To identify the demographics and risk factors in a selected patient population prescribed non-selective and cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX- 2) selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Method: A structured clinical self-audit form was distributed in January to March 2001 to 155 interested general practitioners (GPs) in rural Queensland. Results: Seventy one GPs participated in the audit and contributed 1417 patient records - 790 patients had received nonselective NSAIDs and 627 had received COX-2 inhibitors (celecoxib or rofecoxib). Patients who received COX-2 inhibitors were significantly older, more likely to have clinically important concomitant illness, and more likely to be taking medication known to interact with NSAIDs. They were also twice as likely to have two or more risk factors for adverse effects. The most common reasons for switching from an NSAID to a COX-2 inhibitor were reported to be a previous side effect from an NSAID (primarily related to gastrointestinal effects) or the doctor's perception of the superior efficacy of COX-2 inhibitor therapy. Conclusions: This study has shown that COX-2 inhibitors were used in a distinctly different patient population compared to non-selective NSAIDs. There were significant variations in the demographics and number of risk factors - for example, cardiovascular and renal - between the two identified populations. These differences may be due to doctors selecting COX-2 inhibitors for patients at high risk of gastrointestinal complications. However, the prescribing pattern may also be partly due to misconceptions about the relative safety and efficacy of COX-2 inhibitor drugs.

Searching for schizophrenia in ancient Greek and Roman literature: A systematic review

Objective: The aim of this study was to systematically examine ancient Roman and Greek texts to identify descriptions of schizophrenia and related disorders. Method: Material from Greek and Roman literature dating from the 5th Century BC to the beginning of the 2nd Century AD was systematically reviewed for symptoms of mental illness. DSM IV criteria were applied in order to identify material related to schizophrenia and related disorders. Results: The general public had an awareness of psychotic disorders, because the symptoms were described in works of fiction and in historical accounts of malingering. There were isolated instances of text related to psychotic symptoms in the residents of ancient Rome and Greece, but no written material describing a condition that would meet modern diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia. Conclusion: In contrast to many other psychiatric disorders that are represented in ancient Greek and Roman literature, there were no descriptions of individuals with schizophrenia in the material assessed in this review.

Comparison of rural and urban attitudes to the conservation of Asian elephants in Sri Lanka: empirical evidence

There has been little study of economic and general attitudes towards the conservation of the Asian elephant. This paper reports and analyses results from surveys conducted in Sri Lanka of attitudes of urban dwellers and farmers towards nature conservation in general and the elephant conservation in particular. The analyses are based on urban and a rural sample. Contingent valuation techniques are used as survey instruments. Multivariate logit regression analysis is used to analyse the respondents' attitudes towards conservation of elephants. It is found that, although some variations occurred between the samples, the majority of the respondents (both rural and urban) have positive attitudes towards nature conservation in general. However, marked differences in attitudes toward elephant conservation are evident between these two samples: the majority of urban respondents were in favour of elephant conservation; rural respondents expressed a mixture of positive and negative attitudes. Overall, considerable unrecorded and as yet unutilised economic support for conservation of wild elephants exists in Sri Lanka. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Self-help organisations: A qualitative study of successful collaboration with general practice

Thousands of self-help organisations (SHOs) exist in Australia but little is known about how they relate to the mainstream health care system. This qualitative study, based in south-east Queensland, aimed to identify examples of collaboration between general practitioners (GPs) and SHOs in order to examine the attributes of successful partnerships. Representatives of six SHOs, identified by key informants as having good collaborative links with GPs, and seven GPs with whom they collaborated, completed semi-structured interviews. The interviews focused on evidence of collaboration and perceptions of benefits and barriers experienced. Maximum variation sampling enabled a cross-section of SHOs in terms of size, funding, and health issue. Although GPs readily identified SHO benefits, they referred patients to them only rarely. SHO credibility, evidence of tangible benefits for patients, ease of contacting the SHO, and correspondence between the SHO?s focus and the GP?s personal and professional interests appear to contribute to the success of partnerships. We conclude that mutually beneficial partnerships between GPs and SHOs exist but are under-utilised. A more coordinated effort is needed to strengthen links between the two sectors.

Mental health recovery and occupational therapy in Australia and New Zealand

Every individual with mental illness has the right to be safe and cared for. Most people will receive the love and care from their families and friends, but they will also expect mental-health professionals, occupational therapists and the community to work together to provide the necessary services to support their recovery from mental illness. This article highlights the development of the recovery approach for people with mental illness in Australia and New Zealand. The implications of recovery concepts for occupational therapy, in the areas of individualized approach, participation of service users and carers, person-centred assessment and intervention, intersectoral links and mental-health promotion, are discussed. There are a number of key areas requiring further research and debate, notably the most effective means of implementing and evaluating recovery-focused interventions.

Partnerships in mental health: Addressing barriers to social inclusion

Current trends in mental health services emphasize working in partnership with consumers and other government and non-government community organizations for improvement in quality of life for service users. People with a mental illness experience social exclusion, thereby limiting their ability to participate fully in community life. Occupational therapists have a substantial role to play in helping service users to overcome barriers to their community inclusion. Partnerships need to be formed to increase access to community resources and participation in activities that are enjoyed by other members of the community. Such partnerships have a health promotion emphasis and foster the relationship between mental-health services and the wider community, thus shifting the focus from direct occupational therapy service delivery to community-based rehabilitation interventions.This article describes the development, implementation and evaluation of an Australian healthy lifestyle course devised to meet the identified rehabilitation goals of people with mental illness to lose weight, get fit, commence vocational study and get a job. The course was run in partnership between mental health consumers, occupational therapists from the St George Mental Health Rehabilitation Service and staff and students from the Sutherland College of Technical and Further Education.

Complexity, conflict and uncertainty: Issues in collaboration between child protection and mental health services

This paper provides an analysis of data from a state-wide survey of statutory child protection workers, adult mental health workers, and child mental health workers. Respondents provided details of their experience of collaboration on cases where a parent had mental health problems and there were serious child protection concerns. The survey was conducted as part of a large mixed-method research project on developing best practice at the intersection of child protection and mental health services. Descriptions of 300 cases were provided by 122 respondents. Analyses revealed that a great deal of collaboration occur-red across a wide range of government and community-based agencies; that collaborative processes were often positive and rewarding for workers; and that collaboration was most difficult when the nature of the parental mental illness or the need for child protection intervention was contested. The difficulties experienced included communication, role clarity, competing primary focus, contested parental mental health needs, contested child protection needs, and resources. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.