METHOD: A total of 431 medical interns at 26 Malaysian Ministry of Health hospitals participated in this cross-sectional study in 2017. Self-administered questionnaires consisting of sociodemographic characteristics, items from DASS and BRIEF COPE were used. Descriptive analysis was done followed by further analysis with chi-square and Spearman correlation tests.
RESULTS: The prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression was 29.7%, 39.9%, and 26.2%, with a significantly higher prevalence among female and younger interns. Three-quarters of them (73.1%) applied problem-focused strategies as the main coping mechanism. Emotion-focused coping strategies showed a significant but weak correlation with anxiety and stress whereas avoidance-based coping strategies were significantly correlated with depression, anxiety, and stress.
DISCUSSION: Medical internship is a highly grueling period. Besides emphasizing clinical competency, internship training should also impart the practice of healthy coping mechanisms. The vulnerable groups of females and younger interns should be taught positive coping skills so that they are empowered to handle any stressors on their personal and professional lives. Optimum psychological wellbeing of the medical interns can improve the overall work performance and quality of care for patients.
METHODS: An extensive search using various keywords was conducted in Science Direct, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, JSTOR, Springer Link, and Taylor Francis. The screening process was compliant with the PRISMA guideline, while the quality of the selected studies was assessed using the QuADS tool.
RESULTS: The analysis included 15 research from 12 different countries with 6031 postpartum mothers. A decreased risk of PPD for postpartum mothers is shown to be significantly correlated with greater emotional support, and vice versa.
DISCUSSION: Asian women are less likely to seek emotional assistance than other mothers, which is influenced by culture. There needs to be more research on the impact of culture on postpartum mothers' emotional support. Additionally, this review hopes to raise awareness among the mothers' friends and family as well as the medical community to be more attentive to postpartum mothers' emotional needs and offer specialized assistance.
METHODS: Patients (N = 281) with schizophrenia who had completed a randomized, double-blind (DB), 6-week comparison of lurasidone (40 and 80 mg/day) and placebo were enrolled in a 26-week extension study in which all patients received open-label (OL), flexible doses of lurasidone (40 or 80 mg/day). Effectiveness was measured using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scale.
RESULTS: Fifty-seven percent of patients completed the OL extension study; 16.7% discontinued early due to lack of effectiveness; and 10.3% due to adverse events. The most common adverse events were insomnia (11.3%), akathisia (11.0%), and nasopharyngitis (10.6%). Adverse events related to weight gain, metabolic parameters, prolactin, and ECG measures were uncommon. Mean change in the PANSS total score from the DB baseline to OL endpoint was -28.4, with mean improvement of -7.5 observed from baseline to OL endpoint, and with a PANSS responder rate of 73.7%.
DISCUSSION: The results of the current 26-week extension study found lurasidone to be a generally safe, well-tolerated, and effective long-term treatment for schizophrenia in Asian patients.