Public perceptions on national health insurance: moving towards universal health coverage in South Africa.

Background: Since 1994, considerable progress has been made in transforming the South African health care system, implementing programmes that improve the health of the population, and improving access to health care services. However, amid escalating health care costs disparities continue to exist between the public and private health sectors. The implementation of a national or social health insurance remains elusive despite three government-appointed committees on the matter.

Single photon emission computed tomography in posttraumatic stress disorder before and after treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is recognized as a disorder mediated by specific neurobiological circuits. Functional imaging studies using script-driven trauma imagery and pharmacological challenges have documented altered cerebral function (activation and deactivation) in several brain regions, including the amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate. However, the neural substrates of PTSD remain poorly understood and the effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibition on regional cerebral activity is deserving of further investigation.

The psychiatric sequelae of human rights violations: a challenge for primary health care.

High rates of psychiatric morbidity have been documented in survivors of gross human rights abuses. Nevertheless, there has been relatively little focus on such patients in the context of primary care medicine. A sample of 134 survivors of gross human rights violations was assessed using a structured interview to determine exposure to violations and psychiatric status.

Community attitudes toward and knowledge of mental illness in South Africa.

Background: Although recent advances in psychiatry have increased our understanding of psychiatric disorders,many people with chronic or severe psychiatric disorders may be unaware that effective treatment is available. It is possible that ignorance and stigma prevent such persons from seeking appropriate help, and that community attitudes and beliefs play a role in determining the help-seeking behaviour and successful treatment of the mentally ill. Nevertheless, there is little research on the attitudes of lay persons toward mental illness within the South African community.

Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in an urban Xhosa primary care population: prevalence, comorbidity, and service use patterns.

Despite increased awareness of the prevalence and morbidity of psychiatric illnesses, relatively few studies have been undertaken in primary care settings in the African context. The authors determined the prevalence of trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a South African township primary health care clinic and assessed associated demographic factors, comorbidity, service use, service satisfaction, and quality of life. Subjects were directly interviewed using translated, standardized instruments to assess variables described.

Functional brain imaging and pharmacotherapy in trichotillomania. Single photon emission computed tomography before and after treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram.

The neurobiology and pharmacotherapy of trichotillomania has received increasing attention in recent years. Parallels have been drawn between findings in this disorder and those in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). To date, however, there has been little work on the effect of a pharmacotherapeutic intervention on functional brain imaging in trichotillomania.

Childhood trauma in obsessive-compulsive disorder, trichotillomania, and controls.

There is relatively little data on the link between childhood trauma and obsessive-compulsive/putative obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. The revised Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), which assesses physical, emotional, and sexual abuse as well as physical and emotional neglect, was administered to female patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD; n = 74; age: 36.1 plus minus 16.