Care arrangements for people with dementia in developing countries

Background: Rapid demographic ageing will soon lead to large increases in the numbers of persons with dementia in developing countries. This study is the first comprehensive assessment of care arrangements for people with dementia in those regions. Methods: A descriptive and comparative study of dementia care; caregiver characteristics, the nature of care provided, and the practical, psychological (Zarit Burden Interview, General Health Questionnaire) and economic impact upon the caregiver in 24 centres in India, China and South East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa. Results: We interviewed 706 persons with dementia, and their caregivers. Most caregivers were women, living with the person with dementia in extended family households. One-quarter to one-half of households included a child. Larger households were associated with lower caregiver strain, where the caregiver was co-resident. However, despite the traditional apparatus of family care, levels of caregiver strain were at least as high as in the developed world. Many had cutback on work to care and faced the additional expense of paid carers and health services. Families from the poorest countries were particularly likely to have used expensive private medical services, and to be spending more than 10% of the per capita GNP on health care. Conclusions: Older people in developing countries are indivisible from their younger family members. The high levels of family strain identified in this study feed into the cycle of disadvantage and should thus be a concern for policymakers in the developing world. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Psychosocial factors for risk and protection to child malnutrition in mothers of malnourished and eutrophic children: the role of maternal mental health

In this study, the relationship between child malnutrition, depression, anxiety and other maternal socio-demographic variables was investigated in mothers of malnourished (MD) and eutrophic (ME) children. The causes attributed by mothers to malnutrition were also studied. Ten mothers from each group, with children aged from 11 months to three years and who were users of primary health care units, participated in the study. They answered Beck depression and anxiety inventory, a questionnaire on vital events and an open question concerning the causes of malnutrition. The evaluation instruments were corrected according to proper guidelines and comparative analyses between the groups were performed. The answers to the open question were qualitatively evaluated, submitted to content analysis. The mothers in the two groups were nearly 30 years old or older. They had a steady partner and were subject to very similar life conditions. They had attended school for 5.5 years and were housewives or worked in low-income jobs. Concerning mental health indicators, a significantly larger number of mothers in the MM group showed depression indicators when compared to mothers in the EM group. Most mothers attributed malnutrition to biological factors or to the lack of maternal care, with more moralist statements in the EM group, and statements filled with guilt in MM. Results suggest that in order to fight malnutrition, in addition to nutritional interventions, it is necessary to heed attention to maternal socio-emotional issues.

Encontros e desencontros: a estratégia de saúde da família em sua relação com a rede de serviços e dispositivos submetidos em saúde mental

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Interface entre políticas públicas de saúde mental e economia solidária: a inserção socioprodutiva de pessoas com transtornos mentais

A interface trabalho e loucura têm sido construída e reconstruída ao longo da história, diante disto, o uso do trabalho não se constitui uma novidade no campo da saúde mental, ele está relacionado ao nascimento da psiquiatria, em um contexto de transformações das relações de produção, com a justificativa e finalidade de controle social, exploração de mão de obra e tratamento moral.No entanto, a partir do Processo de Reforma Psiquiátrica o trabalho entra em cena sob novas perspectivas. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo aborda a relação entre as políticas de saúde mental em que o trabalho é associado à economia solidária, a fim de compreender o sentido atribuído ao trabalho relacionado, buscando identificar suas práticas de inserção socioprodutiva e como é incorporado ao campo da saúde mental no Estado do Pará. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, com base em entrevistas, observações in locos, levantamento de material documental e institucional. Paralelamente, efetivouse o tratamento do material recolhido, com o intuito de ordenar os dados obtidos, de evidenciar as experiências observadas por meios das oficinas de trabalho e/ou produção desenvolvidas nos serviços substitutivos, bem como, por meio das associações e cooperativas. Obteve-se como resultado as atividades sociais e produtivas relacionadas à saúde mental fazem parte dos serviços desenvolvidos nos CAPS, mas também são incentivadas a partir desses espaços como é o caso da Brilho e Luz, única associação de pessoas com transtornos mentais. Malgrado, se mostrarem incipientes e frágeis em sua constituição, necessitando de infraestrutura adequada e recursos, portanto, sem possibilidade de autonomia e independência em relação aos seus parceiros, principalmente governamentais, verifiquem-se aspectos positivos no âmbito individual das pessoas inseridas. Importa ressaltar que são experiências recentes no Brasil, sobretudo, no estado do Pará enquanto políticas públicas de saúde mental em interface com a economia solidária, constituindo-se em um processo em construção.

Programa informativo sobre deficiência mental e inclusão: mudanças nas atitudes socias de crianças sem deficiência

This article presents part of a study that analyzed the concepts, feelings and attitudes of children without disabilities about mental retardation and inclusion and evaluated the effects of an informative program that deals with the issue. The study included forty children from two first grade classrooms in a public school in Marília-SP. One classroom participated as a control group. All children underwent pre and post tests in the form of interviews on the subject and a scale of children's social attitudes towards inclusion was applied. The experimental group participated in the informative program, composed of thirteen weekly meetings, in which the limitations and possibilities of people with mental retardation, specialized care, their schooling and family and social aspects, were discussed, using various educational and recreational strategies. The data collected in the interviews were categorized and content analysis was conducted. With the scale, individual scores were obtained. Statistical calculations were performed to verify the significance of differences between groups. In this paper we discuss the data obtained with the scale which were crossed with interview data. The results of the interviews and the scale indicated several changes in children's attitudes towards inclusion, but relations between many of these data could not be statistically confirmed. These results indicate the importance of expanding the research on the relationship between the phenomena presented.

Meaning of aromatherapy massage in mental health

Objective: To understand the meaning of the aromatherapy massage intervention in mental health for the patient during psychiatric hospitalization.Methods: A qualitative study including 22 participants with a diagnosis of personality disorder hospitalized in a psychiatric unit of a general hospital. We used semi-structured interviews with a guiding question for participants, for whom the aromatherapy massage intervention was performed. The content of the interviews was assessed according to content analysis.Results: Among the study subjects, there was a predominance of females and the majority presented a diagnosis of Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder. Two categories that emerged were identified from qualitative data: "Identifying the benefits of aromatherapy" and "Enabling self-knowledge."Conclusion: The meaning of the aromatherapy massage intervention was represented by improvements in nursing care and treatment during psychiatric hospitalization, while assisting in the reduction of anxiety symptoms and coping with mental illness.

Obstacles to Inter-Racial Understanding: Some Clinical Implications for Mental Health Practitioners in Predominantly White Institutions

in the context of predominantly white institutions. In this paper concepts such as projection, projective identification, splitting, scapegoating, superiority and denial will be employed to illustrate why racial prejudice is a deeply-rooted collective psychological disorder that affects even educated mental health practitioners. Clinicians have an ethical responsibility to demonstrate cultural sensitivity and empathy when working with minority clients, colleagues, staff and students, to examine and root out their own prejudices, and to encourage others to do the same.

The Brazilian National Health Agency and the Mental Health Policy in the Context of the Private Health System: developments and challenges

This work analyses the mental health policy-making activity of the Brazilian National Health Agency (ANS), responsible for controlling health insurance companies. Three points are discussed: a) the framework of an economic and private health assistance regulatory activity, b) the ANS and its regulation activity and c) the rules produced by ANS in the mental health care field. It was concluded that, despite advances like the legal obligation to ensure medical treatment to all the diseases listed in ICD-10, the inclusion of suicidal patient damage and self-inflicted damage care, care provided by a multiprofessional team, the increase in the number of sessions with a psychologist, with an occupational therapist and of psychotherapy sessions, and mental health day hospitals included as part of the services offered, the authors identified specific regulatory gaps in this area. Some issues that ANS has to solve so that it can really play its institutional role of defending the public interest in the private health system are: the regulation of co-participation and franchise mechanisms, the increasing co-participation as a limitation of psychiatric hospitalization, and the limited number of crisis intervention psychotherapy sessions.

PROFILE OF CAREGIVERS OF ELDERLY PEOPLE WITH ALZHEIMER DISEASE ASSOCIATED TO RESILIENCE

This exploratory and descriptive study described sociodemographic and health variables of caregivers of elderly people with Alzheimer's disease, associating care provided with resilience. Participants were 101 caregivers over 18 years old who accompanied older adults in a Primary Care Unit of a Brazilian public hospital in 2009. Questionnaires regarding the profile, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Resilience Scale were used. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed. Most caregivers were female, without depression, aided by other people in providing care, and had a high degree of resilience. The variables degree of kinship, medical treatment, the use of medication, tiredness, prostration, discouragement, and caregivers' mental health had significant association with resilience. Physical health was significantly associated to experience in care, with 82 elderly people presenting acute cognitive damage. Older adults in the family context can benefit from a more resilient caregiver.

Parent psychopathology and offspring mental disorders: results from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys

Background Associations between specific parent and offspring mental disorders are likely to have been overestimated in studies that have failed to control for parent comorbidity. Aims To examine the associations of parent with respondent disorders. Method Data come from the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health Surveys (n = 51 507). Respondent disorders were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and parent disorders with informant-based Family History Research Diagnostic Criteria interviews. Results Although virtually all parent disorders examined (major depressive, generalised anxiety, panic, substance and antisocial behaviour disorders and suicidality) were significantly associated with offspring disorders in multivariate analyses, little specificity was found. Comorbid parent disorders had significant sub-additive associations with offspring disorders. Population-attributable risk proportions for parent disorders were 12.4% across all offspring disorders, generally higher in high- and upper-middle-than low-/lower-middle-income countries, and consistently higher for behaviour (11.0-19.9%) than other (7.1-14.0%) disorders. Conclusions Parent psychopathology is a robust non-specific predictor associated with a substantial proportion of offspring disorders.

Stigma and higher rates of psychiatric re-hospitalization: Sao Paulo public mental health system

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess re-hospitalization rates of individuals with psychosis and bipolar disorder and to study determinants of readmission. Methods: Prospective observational study, conducted in Sao Paulo, Brazil. One hundred-sixty-nine individuals with bipolar and psychotic disorder in need of hospitalization in the public mental health system were followed for 12 months after discharge. Their families were contacted by telephone and interviews were conducted at 1, 2, 6 and 12 months post-discharge to evaluate readmission rates and factors related. Results: One-year re-hospitalization rate was of 42.6%. Physical restraint during hospital stay was a risk factor (OR = 5.4-10.5) for readmission in most models. Not attending consultations after discharge was related to the 12-month point readmission (OR = 8.5, 95% CI 2.3-31.2) and to the survival model (OR = 3.2, 95% CI 1.5-7.2). Number of previous admissions was a risk factor for the survival model (OR = 6.6-11.9). Family's agreement with permanent hospitalization of individuals with mental illness was the predictor associated to readmission in all models (OR = 3.5-10.9) and resulted in shorter survival time to readmission; those readmitted were stereotyped as dangerous and unhealthy. Conclusions: Family's stigma towards mental illness might contribute to the increase in readmission rates of their relatives with psychiatric disorders. More studies should be conducted to depict mechanisms by which stigma increases re-hospitalization rates.

Mental Disorders in Megacities: Findings from the Sao Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey, Brazil

Background: World population growth is projected to be concentrated in megacities, with increases in social inequality and urbanization-associated stress. Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area (SPMA) provides a forewarning of the burden of mental disorders in urban settings in developing world. The aim of this study is to estimate prevalence, severity, and treatment of recently active DSM-IV mental disorders. We examined socio-demographic correlates, aspects of urban living such as internal migration, exposure to violence, and neighborhood-level social deprivation with 12-month mental disorders. Methods and Results: A representative cross-sectional household sample of 5,037 adults was interviewed face-to-face using the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), to generate diagnoses of DSM-IV mental disorders within 12 months of interview, disorder severity, and treatment. Administrative data on neighborhood social deprivation were gathered. Multiple logistic regression was used to evaluate individual and contextual correlates of disorders, severity, and treatment. Around thirty percent of respondents reported a 12-month disorder, with an even distribution across severity levels. Anxiety disorders were the most common disorders (affecting 19.9%), followed by mood (11%), impulse-control (4.3%), and substance use (3.6%) disorders. Exposure to crime was associated with all four types of disorder. Migrants had low prevalence of all four types compared to stable residents. High urbanicity was associated with impulse-control disorders and high social deprivation with substance use disorders. Vulnerable subgroups were observed: women and migrant men living in most deprived areas. Only one-third of serious cases had received treatment in the previous year. Discussion: Adults living in Sao Paulo megacity had prevalence of mental disorders at greater levels than similar surveys conducted in other areas of the world. Integration of mental health promotion and care into the rapidly expanding Brazilian primary health system should be strengthened. This strategy might become a model for poorly resourced and highly populated developing countries.

Lifetime Prevalence, Age and Gender Distribution and Age-of-Onset of Psychiatric Disorders in the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area, Brazil: Results from the Sao Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey

Objectives: To estimate prevalence, age-of-onset, gender distribution and identify correlates of lifetime psychiatric disorders in the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area (SPMA). Methods: The Sao Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey assessed psychiatric disorders on a probabilistic sample of 5,037 adult residents in the SPMA, using the World Mental Health Survey Version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Response rate was 81.3%. Results: Lifetime prevalence for any disorder was 44.8%; estimated risk at age 75 was 57.7%; comorbidity was frequent. Major depression, specific phobias and alcohol abuse were the most prevalent across disorders; anxiety disorders were the most frequent class. Early age-of-onset for phobic and impulse-control disorders and later age-of-onset for mood disorders were observed. Women were more likely to have anxiety and mood disorders, whereas men, substance use disorders. Apart from conduct disorders, more frequent in men, there were no gender differences in impulse-control disorders. There was a consistent trend of higher prevalence in the youngest cohorts. Low education level was associated to substance use disorders. Conclusions: Psychiatric disorders are highly prevalent among the general adult population in the SPMA, with frequent comorbidity, early age-of-onset for most disorders, and younger cohorts presenting higher rates of morbidity. Such scenario calls for vigorous public health action.

Influence of psychosocial risk factors on the trajectory of mental health problems from childhood to adolescence: a longitudinal study

Background Longitudinal epidemiological studies involving child/adolescent mental health problems are scarce in developing countries, particularly in regions characterized by adverse living conditions. We examined the influence of psychosocial factors on the trajectory of child/adolescent mental health problems (CAMHP) over time. Methods A population-based sample of 6- to 13-year-olds with CAMHP was followed-up from 2002–2003 (Time 1/T1) to 2007–2008 (Time 2/T2), with 86 out of 124 eligible children/adolescents at T1 being reassessed at T2 (sample loss: 30.6%). Outcome: CAMHP at T2 according to the Child Behavior Checklist/CBCL’s total problem scale. Psychosocial factors: T1 variables (child/adolescent’s age, family socioeconomic status); trajectory of variables from T1 to T2 (child/adolescent exposure to severe physical punishment, mother exposure to severe physical marital violence, maternal anxiety/depression); and T2 variables (maternal education, child/adolescent’s social support and pro-social activities). Results Multivariate analysis identified two risk factors for child/adolescent MHP at T2: aggravation of child/adolescent physical punishment and aggravation of maternal anxiety/depression. Conclusions The current study shows the importance of considering child/adolescent physical punishment and maternal anxiety/depression in intervention models and mental health care policies.

O lazer e a saúde mental das pessoas hipertensas: convergência na educação para a saúde

Em hipertensos, as questões relativas à manutenção da saúde mental estão sempre presentes em virtude dos determinantes psicossociais desta doença, para os quais o lazer representa importante estratégia de controle. Este trabalho objetivou realizar, por meio de uma pesquisa-ação, a Educação para a Saúde junto a um grupo de hipertensos baseada na pedagogia crítico-social, partindo da percepção dos participantes quanto ao lazer, desenvolvendo atividades educativas e, posteriormente, avaliando a opinião dos envolvidos quanto ao impacto para a vida e para a saúde mental. O lazer foi percebido pelo grupo como estratégia de enfrentamento da solidão; como construção tardia de independência; como socialização e como promoção de saúde mental. Estas percepções levaram à identificação de dois temas geradores: envelhecimento, lazer e doença crônica; conhecimento e vivências do lazer, para os quais ações educativas foram programadas, tais como dinâmicas e grupos de discussão, a fim de favorecer condições que permitiram a socialização e a troca de experiências.