Social, cultural, and structural factors are associated with delays in seeking help from mental health professionals and poor treatment adherence among patients with mood disorders. This qualitative study examined the perspectives on the services and response to treatments of individuals diagnosed with Bipolar Spectrum Disorder (BSD) in Iran through 37 in-depth semi-structured interviews with patients who had received BSD diagnosis and treatment (excluding Bipolar-I). Interviews explored two broad areas: 1) coping and help-seeking strategies; and 2) barriers to treatment and expectations of outcomes from treatment.
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December 2022
Gender differences in the prevalence of psychiatric disorders, with higher prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders among women, have been the focus of much debate. In Iran, the adoption of the construct of Bipolar Spectrum Disorder (BSD) and of the concept of "soft bipolarity" has been associated with a large gender difference in rates of diagnosis. This paper discusses the gendered meanings of the diagnosis of BSD in Iran.
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September 2020
In recent years, psychiatry in Iran witnessed a dramatic increase in the use of the diagnosis of bipolar spectrum disorder (BSD). This qualitative study maps the journey of the BSD diagnosis from the West to Iran, examines the controversy surrounding the diagnosis and its treatment, and explores some of the structural factors that facilitate and maintain the widespread use of the BSD diagnosis in Iran and related practices of prescribing neuroleptic and mood stabilizers. The study methods include archival research and semi-structured interviews with 25 prominent Iranian psychiatrists in the field of mood disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOccupational exposures in conventional and interventional radiology were investigated over a period of 10 years for all radiation workers. The statistical analysis carried out on the refined data showed that the average annual effective doses in conventional and interventional radiology were 0.28 and 0.
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