Contrasting beliefs often make cooperation between folk healers and modern doctors seem impossible. In the field of mental health, where communication is of such central importance, better mutual understanding is especially desirable. After reviewing the complexities involved, the author makes some suggestions on how the two kinds of practitioner could help each other.
Matched MeSH terms: Mental Health Services/organization & administration
Alternative and traditional healing methods are common and popular in Sudan, particularly for treating people with mental disorders, but little information is available about the outcome of theses traditional healing approaches.
Remarkable improvements in economic conditions and a considerable upgrade in the quality of life have been observed in many parts of Asia during the past several decades. At the same time, many mental health challenges face the people of Asia. Various social mental health indexes are reviewed here, with available data from China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and other Asian societies. The data are compared with data from the United States, Australia in the Pacific Rim, and some other Western countries to examine patterns of similarity or difference between East and West in the process of modernization. Common trends in mental health issues associated with rapid sociocultural change observed in different Asian societies are discussed, as well as the relative shortage of mental health personnel available in many Asian societies. It is emphasized that, in addition to expanding psychiatric services, there is an even more urgent need to promote mental health knowledge and concern through education in the general population. Mental health needs to be cultivated and maintained by social forces and cultural strengths. It is stressed that there is a challenge for Asian people to advance mental health beyond economic development in the 21st century.
Matched MeSH terms: Mental Health Services/organization & administration*; Mental Health Services/standards; Mental Health Services/trends
A pragmatic and rational approach to the management of five child psychiatric cases in Malaysia is briefly reviewed. The significance of sociocultural factors in treating these cases within the context of a rapidly developing plural society is emphasized. The implications of overemphasis on educational and material achievements are noted.
Matched MeSH terms: Community Mental Health Services/utilization
This paper examines four drug rehabilitation systems in Malaysia from an organizational perspective. It focuses on authority structures in rehabilitation centres and their impact on rehabilitees' identities. The findings show that there are important differences between government-run and private centres in terms of administration and approach to therapy. Some policy implications are derived from a comparison of these systems.
Matched MeSH terms: Community Mental Health Services/organization & administration
The Profile of Community Psychiatry Clients (PCPC) was developed in a Sydney-based sample of those with a mental illness as a 35-item measure of likely need for service recognition, review and possible assistance.
Matched MeSH terms: Community Mental Health Services/standards*; Community Mental Health Services/supply & distribution*
We argue the advantages of a measure profiling common problems faced by psychiatric patients in the community and indicating a likely need for service recognition, review and possible assistance. We describe the development of such a measure, the 35-item Profile of Community Psychiatry Clients (PCPC), and the identification of four relevant domains. Component scales assess coping limitations, behavioural problems, levels of social support and organic problems. High test-retest reliability was established, and a number of tests of the measure's validity were undertaken. Discriminant validity was established by demonstrating that those case managed by a community mental health service returned significantly higher scale scores than a comparison group who, while having a similar diagnostic profile, were not case managed. Additionally, scale scores were associated with a number of categorical and dimensional validators reflecting aspects of service need, and distinctly with service costs. We demonstrate that PCPC scores correspond with scores generated by the Life Skills Profile (LSP), a measure of disability, and examine the extent to which PCPC scales correspond to those contained in the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS). We argue for the scale's capacity to provide both a profile of central problems faced by patients and their likely need for community-based service assistance.
Matched MeSH terms: Community Mental Health Services/organization & administration*
In February to March 1982 at the psychiatric emergency service of the University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, some data on 491 patients (92% of 531 patients seen) were collected. Two-hundred and eighty-three patients had received psychiatric treatment and 65 had previously received medical treatment. Fifty-three per cent of the patients have schizophrenic disorders, 5.1% had situational reactions and 1.63% had chronic alcoholism. Of the 111 patients presented with either physical complaints or insomnia, eleven of them were admitted to the psychiatric wards. Three-hundred and eleven patients were followed-up in the psychiatric outpatient clinics. The availability of a psychiatric emergency service in a general hospital can contribute towards early psychiatric case findings and preventive Intervention. II provides an opportunity for liaison and consultation with other medical colleagues in the care of patients with physical complaints and attempted suicides.
Study site: Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC)
Matched MeSH terms: Mental Health Services/supply & distribution*
Assertive community treatment (ACT) is one of the most important elements of mental health care reform in Malaysia. Many studies worldwide have reliably found that ACT has positive impact on several outcome domains such as reduced hospitalization rate, improvement of symptoms and quality of life. This study aimed to assess the outcome of ACT in the aspect of symptom remission and its influencing factors among patients with schizophrenia in the urban city of Kuala Lumpur. A cross sectional study was conducted on 155 patients with schizophrenia who received ACT in Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL). The selection was made by simple random sampling. The abbreviated Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) was used to determine the status of symptom remission. The socio demographic and relevant clinical data were also assessed. A total of 76% (118) was noted to be in remission. According to logistic regression, the strongest predictor of patients receiving ACT with symptom remission was having good social support (p<0.001) and with higher educational level (p=0.024). The study revealed the effectiveness of ACT in terms of high prevalence of patients with symptom remission. This was despite the model of ACT being studied not fulfilling all fidelity measurements of the standard version of the service. The finding would hopefully act as a propeller for further development in this service area. However, the study
needs to be replicated through studies with better designs and involving more psychiatric centers.
Matched MeSH terms: Community Mental Health Services
The majority of prevention and intervention research in problem gambling (PG) has focused on identifying negative risk factors. However, not all at-risk individuals go on to develop anticipated disorders and many thrive in spite of them. In healthcare settings, PG and other disorders are typically conceptualized from the biomedical perspective that frame disorders as something negative residing within the individual and reduction in negativity is seen as success. Indeed, this problem-focused conceptualization may be adequate in many cases as reducing PG behaviour is undoubtedly an important outcome, but the focus on negativity alone is too narrow to capture the complexity of human behaviour. Hence, this study attempts to bridge the gap in literature by providing an evaluation of the predictive ability of the positive dispositions on problem gambling severity, gambling-related cognitions, and gambling urges. The positive psychological dispositions examined were curiosity, gratitude, hope, personal growth initiative, and mindfulness. Participants consisted of 801 Taiwanese Chinese students and community individuals (Mean age = 25.36 years). Higher levels of gratitude and hope have been found to predict lower PG, gambling-related cognitions, or gambling urges. Meanwhile, higher mindfulness predicted lower PG, but only among Chinese males. However, lower personal growth initiative predicted lower PG, gambling-related cognitions, and gambling urges. These analyses have small to medium effect sizes with significant predictions. Findings of this study have essential implications in understanding and treating Chinese problem gamblers. These positive dispositions should be addressed by mental health professionals in preventative and treatment programs among Chinese individuals. Further implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Matched MeSH terms: Mental Health Services/organization & administration
This case report emphasizes the role of Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) in managing a family with four members suffering from mental illness, mainly schizophrenia. We report a case of middle-aged lady who was diagnosed with treatment resistant schizophrenia (TRS) living with two other family members with the same illness and their carer who developed major depression from shouldering the burden of caring for mentally ill family members. ACT, through its holistic approach, proved to have reduced hospitalizations and improve symptom control and quality of life in this family.
Matched MeSH terms: Community Mental Health Services