Quality of life in elderly with dizziness.

Unlabelled: Dizziness is frequent in elderly people.

Aims: To evaluate the Quality of Life (QoL) in elderly subjects with dizziness, relate it with gender and age.

Material And Method: A prospective study comprising 120 elderly patients with dizziness evaluated with Brazilian versions of the Whoqol-bref and the dizziness handicap inventory (DHI).

Public beliefs about the treatment of schizophrenia and depression in Brazil.

Background: Little is known about public beliefs concerning the treatment of mental disorders in developing countries.

Aims: To assess preferences on sources of help and treatment and the perception of prognosis for schizophrenia and depression.

Method: A household survey was carried out in 2002 with a probabilistic sample of 1000 individuals, residents of São Paulo city, Brazil, with ages ranging from 18-65.

Public stigma in relation to individuals with depression.

Objective: To assess public stigma in relation to individuals with depression and possible factors associated with this phenomenon.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a probabilistic sample of 500 individuals who live in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, and are aged between 18 and 65 years. A structured questionnaire was used, and it was applied in person.

How should alcohol dependence be treated? The public view.

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess public preferences on sources of help and treatment, and perception of prognosis for alcohol dependence.

Method: A household survey was administered in 2002 to a probabilistic sample of 500 individuals, all residents of the city of São Paulo, Brazil, with ages ranging from 18 to 65. A vignette in colloquial language describing an individual with alcohol dependence (according to DSM-IV and ICD-10 criteria) was presented together with a structured questionnaire with questions about the vignette.

Public conceptions of schizophrenia in urban Brazil : symptom identification and causal attributions.

Objective: Little is known about public conceptions of mental disorders in Latin America and the Caribbean. The aim of this article is to assess how the population identifies symptoms of schizophrenia and the causes attributed to this disorder in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.

Method: A household survey was carried out in 2002 with a probabilistic sample of 500 individuals, residents of São Paulo with ages ranging from 18 to 65.

Public perception of alcohol dependence.

Objective: To describe how the population of the city of São Paulo identifies alcohol dependence, which causes they attribute to this disorder and what is reported regarding stigma perception, risk of violence and emotional reactions.

Method: Cross sectional study involving a probabilistic sample of 500 individuals in São Paulo aged 18 to 65 years. A structured questionnaire was used and started with a vignette describing an individual with alcohol dependence according to the DSM-IV and ICD-10, followed by a questionnaire divided into various sections examining the causes, stigma, risk of violence and emotional reactions to the case presented in the vignette.

The Public's ability to recognize Alzheimer disease and their beliefs about its causes.

The authors report how the population identifies symptoms of Alzheimer disease (AD) and the causes attributed to this disorder in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. A total of 500 household residents aged 18 years and above were examined in a cross-sectional design, in São Paulo. Instruments were a case vignette depicting AD and a structured questionnaire.

[Public perception of depression in the city of São Paulo].

Objective: To assess how the population identifies symptoms of depression as well as its causes.

Methods: A household survey with a probabilistic sample of 500 individuals, residing in the city of São Paulo and aged between 18 and 65 years, was conducted in 2002. A structured questionnaire including sociodemographic data and a vignette presentation describing a person with depression, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV and the International Classification of Diseases-10 was used during the in-person interviews carried out by trained, qualified interviewers.

Community perception of mental disorders - a systematic review of Latin American and Caribbean studies.

Background: Little is known about the perception of mental disorders and stigma in developing countries. The aim of this study was to review the literature on popular perception of mental disorders in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Methods: Electronic search was made on Medline and Lilacs for original articles published from January 1980 to December 2001, using "public attitudes" and "mental disorders" as key words on Medline and "attitudes about health" as well as "stigma" as key words on Lilacs.