Heatwaves and Hospital Admissions for Mental Disorders in Northern Vietnam.

Studies in high-income countries have shown an association between heatwaves and hospital admissions for mental disorders. It is unknown whether such associations exist in subtropical nations like Vietnam. The study aim was to investigate whether hospital admissions for mental disorders may be triggered, or exacerbated, by heat exposure and heatwaves, in a low- and middle-income country, Vietnam.

Exploring communication of traumatic experiences from Khmer Rouge genocide survivors to their offspring: In-depth interviews with both generations.

Background: Traumatic events experienced by parents who have survived genocide influence mental health among their offspring. This study aims at exploring how the communication of traumatic events between Khmer Rouge survivors and their offspring was perceived by both generations.

Methods: Qualitative interviews were performed with six Khmer Rouge survivors and with six young people representing the second generation and were analysed using a content analysis approach.

Professional care after deliberate self-harm: a qualitative study of young people's experiences.

Background: Deliberate self-harm (DSH) is increasingly common among young people. At the same time, treatment and support after DSH are often hampered by low compliance.

Aim: To explore young people's perceptions of care and support during a 6-month period following their first contact for DSH.

Mental health services in Cambodia, challenges and opportunities in a post-conflict setting.

Cambodia had suffered enormously due to war and internecine conflict during the latter half of the twentieth century, more so during the Vietnam War. Total collapse of education and health systems during the Pol Pot era continues to be a challenge for developing the necessary infrastructure and human resources to provide basic minimum mental health care which is compounded by the prevailing cultural belief and stigma over mental, neurological and substance abuse disorders (MNSDs). The mental health research and services in Cambodia had been predominantly 'trauma focused', a legacy of war, and there is a need to move toward epidemiologically sound public health oriented mental health policy and service development.

Long-term clinical course and outcome of schizophrenia in rural Ethiopia: 10-year follow-up of a population-based cohort.

Background: Although the few available studies from LMICs report favorable outcome, the course of schizophrenia is more complex than has been indicated so far.

Methods: A sample of 361 people with a standardized clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia were recruited from a predominantly rural community in Ethiopia and followed up regularly for an average of 10years. Psychiatrists used the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation chart to carry out assessment of illness course.

Five-year mortality in a cohort of people with schizophrenia in Ethiopia.

Background: Schizophrenia is associated with a two to three fold excess mortality. Both natural and unnatural causes were reported. However, there is dearth of evidence from low and middle income (LAMIC) countries, particularly in Africa.

Prevalence of mental distress and use of health services in a rural district in Vietnam.

Aims: The aims were to estimate the prevalence of mental distress in different socio-demographic groups; and to analyze use of health care services among persons reporting mental distress.

Methods: Face-to-face interviews with the Self-Reporting Questionnaires (SRQ-20) were conducted in a sample of 3,425 persons aged 18-60 years. A two-stage probability sampling design was applied to select study subjects.

Violence against women in relation to literacy and area of residence in Ethiopia.

Objective: This study explores violence against women in a low-income setting in relation to residency and literacy.

Setting: The study was conducted within the Butajira Rural Health Programme (a Health and Demographic Surveillance Site), which includes rural and semi-urban settings in south-central Ethiopia.

Design: This is a community-based cross-sectional study and is part of the WHO Women's Health and Life Events multi-country study.

Intimate partner violence and depression among women in rural Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Studies from high-income countries have shown intimate partner violence to be associated with depression among women. The present paper examines whether this finding can be confirmed in a very different cultural setting in rural Ethiopia.

Method: A community-based cross-sectional study was undertaken in Ethiopia among 1994 currently married women.

Clinical course and outcome of schizophrenia in a predominantly treatment-naive cohort in rural Ethiopia.

The established view that schizophrenia may have a favorable outcome in developing countries has been recently challenged; however, systematic studies are scarce. In this report, we describe the clinical outcome of schizophrenia among a predominantly treatment-naive cohort in a rural community setting in Ethiopia. The cohort was identified in a 2-stage sampling design using key informants and measurement-based assessment.

The Vietnamese version of the Self Reporting Questionnaire 20 (SRQ-20) in detecting mental disorders in rural Vietnam: a validation study.

Background: There is a need to develop instruments to measure mental disorders in developing countries because mental disorders are increasingly being recognised as a major public health problem. There has been no previous study in Vietnam validating screening instruments for mental health problems.

Aim: To adapt and to validate the Self Reporting Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20) in the Vietnamese community.

Schizophrenia and violent crime: the experience of parents.

Individuals with schizophrenia have an increased risk of committing a violent crime, although their contribution to the overall criminality in society is small. In this qualitative study we have interviewed parents of adult sons, diagnosed with schizophrenia and who recently had been referred to forensic psychiatric treatment due to a violent crime, with an aim to explore the parents' experiences and emotional reactions. Four events, or status passages, emerged as crucial and common for all parents.

Methodological development: structured outcome assessment and community risk monitoring (SORM).

This paper describes an effort to develop a clinical tool for the continuous monitoring of risk for violence in forensic mental health clients who have left their institutions and who are dwelling in the community on a conditional release basis. The model is called Structured Outcome Assessment and Community Risk Monitoring (SORM). The SORM consists of 30 dynamic factors and each factor in SORM is assessed in two ways: The current absence, presence or partial och intermittent presence of the factors, which is an actuarial (systematized and 'objective') assessment.