North Macedonia interprofessional dementia care (NOMAD) - personalized care plans for people with dementia and caregiver psychoeducation delivered at home by interprofessional teams.

Introduction: The increasing number of people living with dementia and its burden on families and systems particularly in low- and middle-income countries require comprehensive and efficient post-diagnostic management. This study aimed to explore the acceptability and efficacy of a multi-professional case management and psychoeducation model (North Macedonia Interprofessional Dementia Care, or NOMAD) delivered by mobile teams for people with dementia and their caregivers in North Macedonia.

Method: We conducted a two-arm randomized controlled trial comparing the intervention with treatment as usual.

Subjective Quality of Life of Women in the Perinatal Period: A Post Covid-19 Pandemic Exploration in North Macedonia.

Subjective quality of life could be considered one of the indicators of health behavior and wellbeing of women in the perinatal period. Accordingly, the aim of this paper was to examine how women in perinatal period perceive quality of life in various domains. Its relationship to age, number of pregnancies, course of pregnancies, and method of delivery and experience with Covid-19 pandemic was investigated, as well.

Perceived sustainability of psychosocial treatment in low- and middle-income countries in South-Eastern Europe.

Background: DIALOG+ is an evidence-based, generic, cost-saving and easily deliverable psychosocial intervention, adaptable to clinicians' personal manner of interaction with patients. It was implemented in mental health services in five low- and middle-income countries in South-Eastern Europe during a 12-month randomised-controlled trial (IMPULSE) to improve the effectiveness of out-patient treatment for people with psychotic disorders.

Aims: To investigate barriers and facilitators to the perceived sustainability of DIALOG+ that has been successfully implemented as a part of the IMPULSE project.

Maintenance Therapy of Psychosis Spectrum Disorders in a Real-World Setting: Antipsychotics Prescription Patterns and Long-Term Benzodiazepine Use.

Background: Maintenance therapy of patients with primary psychosis spectrum disorders (PSD) in the Western Balkans has received limited interest so far. The present study aimed to investigate long-term prescription patterns among outpatients with PSD.

Methods: Information about prescription of antipsychotics (AP), benzodiazepines (BZD) and other psychotropic medication over a 6-month period was collected from outpatients ( = 134; ICD-10 diagnosis F20-29) recruited by a larger multi-site study, to find mean daily number of psychotropic drugs, AP prescription patterns (including AP daily dose, route of administration, monotherapy .

Psychometric Characteristics of the Macedonian Version of Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS).

Background: Despite the importance of effective assessment and treatment of negative symptoms among patients with psychosis, no validated instruments are available in the Republic of North Macedonia. The aim of this paper was to explore psychometric properties, namely factorial structure, internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity of the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS).

Subjects And Methods: In this cross-sectional study 82 outpatients diagnosed with psychosis (64 with schizophrenia and 18 with bipolar disorder; female=34, mean age=41.

Experiences of healthcare staff providing community-based mental healthcare as a multidisciplinary community mental health team in Central and Eastern Europe findings from the RECOVER-E project: an observational intervention study.

Background: Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs) deliver healthcare that supports the recovery of people with mental illness. The aim of this paper was to explore to what extent team members of five CMHTs newly implemented in five countries perceived that they had introduced aspects of the recovery-oriented, strength-based approach into care after a training week on recovery-oriented practice. In addition, it evaluated what the team members' perceptions on their care roles and their level of confidence with this role were.

Perceived Support for Recovery and Level of Functioning Among People With Severe Mental Illness in Central and Eastern Europe: An Observational Study.

Many people with severe mental illness experience limitations in personal and social functioning. Care delivered in a person's community that addresses needs and preferences and focuses on clinical and personal recovery can contribute to addressing the adverse impacts of severe mental illness. In Central and Eastern Europe, mental health care systems are transitioning from institutional-based care toward community-based care.

Patient Satisfaction with Use of Telemedicine in University Clinic of Psychiatry: Skopje, North Macedonia During COVID-19 Pandemic.

There is increasing interest in the use of telemedicine as a means of health care delivery especially in circumstances of pandemics. This is partly because technological advances have made the equipment less expensive and simpler to use and partly because increasing health care costs and patient expectations have increased the need to find alternative modes of health care delivery. Telemedicine and telepsychiatry, in particular, are rapidly becoming important delivery approaches to providing clinical care and information to patients in cases wherein the medical resources and the patients are very hard to be brought together with respect to rules of behavior in case of epidemics.