DEPRESSION IS THE most common psychiatric disorder, affecting more than one in four Americans (Satcher, 1999). Of the 30,000 Americans who commit suicide every year, 90% have some mental disorder, often depression (Hyman, 2000). Although depression can be effectively treated, potential consumers conceal their symptoms and are reluctant to seek treatment. The present study explores the issue of how negative attitudes toward depression influence care seeking choices for depression.
The mental health community has long grappled with stigma as a barrier to care and recently the issue has gained momentum. The Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health cited the public’s stigmatization ...
THOSE OF US IN CLINICAL practice are well aware of the many problems associated with the high cost of psychotropic medications, particularly for the elderly. On several occasions within the last year, I have had an elderly patient who stopped taking his or her psychotropic medication because the individual could not afford the cost of the medication. The situation is complicated by the fact that many of these elderly individuals who suffer from a psychiatric condition also have numerous comorbid physical conditions. A typical example: When cost is a factor and the choice boils down to taking a medication for ...
I write this editorial as a follow-up to the most recent editorial in Archives (“Promises, Promises”) by our Editor, Judith Krauss (2004). Judy’s previous editorial focused on “recovery” as it is outlined in The New Freedom Commission on Mental Health and the role that relationships play in the generation of hope in the pathway to healing and recovery. My emphasis in the present editorial is on “advocacy” and the need for us, as mental health providers, to ensure that the “transformation of the mental health system”—as recommended by the Commission—be heard this time. Judy requested that all of our readers ...
IN GENERAL, HEALTH status in the United States has continually improved throughout the last century. However, tremendous disparities in health status exist across various segments of the population [Sebastian 1999, Wallace 1999 and Williams et al 1997]. African Americans have higher rates of death, disease, and disability than Caucasians, including higher rates for 13 of the 15 leading causes of death in the U.S. [Williams et al 1997].
Results from studies comparing mental health status of African Americans and Caucasians vary. Some researchers found that African Americans have higher levels of psychological distress [Fiscella and Franks 1997, Snowden 2003, Thompson 2002 ...
TO SPECIFICALLY tailor and implement psychosocial interventions to meet the mental health needs of spouses caring for a partner with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or a related disorder, health care professionals must first have the knowledge and understanding of the elements of the caregiver, care-receiver dyadic relationship, and the complexities that often result from the 10, 15, or even 20 years of “living” the role of a caregiving spouse. Research has consistently found that the adverse effects on the mental health of AD caregiving spouses, especially in the form of depression, has been much higher than either age- or gender-based population ...
ALTHOUGH THE REPORTED medication nonadherence rates for schizophrenia do not differ from those common in many other health problems [Fenton et al 1997], they are considered to be a serious problem resulting from the high levels of relapse and recidivism among patients who do not take their medication regularly [Adams and Scott 2000]. During recent years substantial efforts have thus been made to clarify the reasons for these patients’ noncompliance and to devise tools for its prediction [Fenton et al 1997 and Young et al 1999]. However, the reported risk of medication noncompliance in schizophrenia has not altered in recent ...
ADVANCED PRACTICE registered nurses (APRNs) with prescriptive practice in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing are being challenged to demonstrate the clinical and economic value of their role. Policymakers, insurers, employers, and society at large expect accountability for practice that is supported through data-based evaluations [Barrell et al 1997]. According to [Pearson 1999], more than 100 studies have documented the competencies of NPs and substantiated the ability of NPs to deliver safe care. However, there is a dearth of similar research in the area of psychiatric APRNs’ prescriptive practices. Nationally, the incidence of having a severe mental disorder is 2.8%, and those ...
Health status in the United States has continually improved throughout the last century. However, tremendous disparities in health status exist across various segments of the population. African Americans have higher rates of death, disease, and disability than Caucasians, including higher rates for 13 of the 15 leading causes of death in the U.S.
Results from studies comparing mental health status of African Americans and Caucasians vary. Some researchers found that African Americans have higher levels of psychological distress. However, results from the Epidemiological Catchment Area Study and the National Comorbidity Study found that African Americans have lower or equivalent rates of ...
Historical contextThedecade of the s was remarkable for the pace and magnitude of changein health care and information technologies, neuroscience, healtheconomics, and health policy. Among the many such changes affectingadvanced practice psychiatric nursing included the explosion of newknowledge about the biological bases of mental illnesses; thedizzying pace of health care reform, including relegation of its formand structure to the marketplace; the shift to primary care as asingle point of entry for comprehensive health care services, includingspecialty care like psychiatry; confusion about the degree to whichprimary care includes and is included in primary mental health care; the ...