Smoking cessation treatment outcomes among people with and without mental and substance use disorders: An observational real-world study.

Background: There is a lack of studies evaluating smoking cessation treatment protocols which include people with and without mental and substance use disorders (MSUD), and which allows for individuals with MSUD undergoing their psychiatric treatment.

Methods: We compared treatment success between participants with (n = 277) and without (n = 419) MSUD among patients in a 6-week treatment provided by a Brazilian Psychosocial Care Center (CAPS) from 2007 to 2013. Sociodemographic, medical and tobacco use characteristics were assessed at baseline.

A review of mental health policies from Commonwealth countries.

Background: The burden of disease related to mental disorders across the world is substantial. However, there remains inequality between funding for clinical and research activities between physical illness and mental illness in almost all countries.

Aims: One way of reducing this inequality is to ensure that mental health policies reflect this.

Qualitative analysis of the capacity to consent to treatment in patients with a chronic neurodegenerative disease: Alzheimer's disease / Analisi qualitativa sulla capacità a prestare consenso al trattamento in pazienti con malattie cronico degenerative neuropsicoorganiche: Demenza di Alzheimer.

Objective: Informed consent is an essential element in doctor-patient relationship. In particular, obtaining valid informed consent from patients with neurocognitive diseases is a critical issue at present. For this reason, we decided to conduct research on elderly patients with Alzheimer's disease ( Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) to assess their capacity to make treatment decisions.

Violence, victimization and mental health.

Introduction: Violence and victimization are often viewed in black and white terms by mental health professionals, an approach which is belied by more nuanced perspectives from outside psychiatry.

Methods: Given increasing empirical evidence of the pervasive burden of victimization in people with mental illness, authors focused on the available theories and evidences from the literature.

Results: Authors summarize the theories of victimizations, the possible measures of this phenomenon and underlie the role of research to clarify the link between psychiatry, violence and victimization.

Migration, violence, and the role of psychiatry in Italy.

Immigration to Italy has been increasing exponentially in the last decades due to the international political changes and conflicts in the Middle East. The relationship between immigration and crimes is a debated issue, and violent radicalization of second or third generations of migrants is under increased scrutiny. Consequently, many politicians and political parties use nationalist and xenophobic language.

Economic development does not improve public mental health spending.

As a result of rapid globalization the Gross Domestic product of countries may have changed, but the gap between the very rich countries and poor countries has changed too, along with a change in social and economic strata within each society; although the rates of psychiatric disorders are affected by industrialization and urbanization, the financial pressures add yet another layer of burden. Global burden of disease due to mental illness is tremendously high and yet, in spite of pressures, there is no equity and increased discrimination related to mental illness. This paper presents some of the issues related to the economic state of the countries.

Mental illness and the right to vote: a review of legislation across the world.

The right to vote is an important right signifying freedom of thought as well as full citizenship in any setting. Right to vote is enshrined and protected by international human rights treaties. The right of 'everyone' to take part in the political process and elections is based on universal and equal suffrage.

Legislative provisions related to marriage and divorce of persons with mental health problems: a global review.

Realization of right to marry by a person is an exercise of personal liberty, even if concepts of marriage and expectations from such commitment vary across cultures and societies. Once married, if an individual develops mental illness the legal system often starts to discriminate against the individual. There is no doubt that every individual's right to marry or remain married is regulated by their country's family codes, civil codes, marriage laws, or divorce laws.

Legal protection of the right to work and employment for persons with mental health problems: a review of legislation across the world.

The right to work and employment is indispensable for social integration of persons with mental health problems. This study examined whether existing laws pose structural barriers in the realization of right to work and employment of persons with mental health problems across the world. It reviewed disability-specific, human rights legislation, and labour laws of all UN Member States in the context of Article 27 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

Right to property, inheritance, and contract and persons with mental illness.

Discrimination against people with mental illness is rife across the globe. Among different types of discrimination is the policy in many countries where persons with mental illness are forbidden to inherit property, and they are not able to enter into a contract in a large number of countries. Using various databases, legislations dealing with law of contract, law of succession/inheritance, and law relating to testamentary capacity (wills) of all UN Member states (193 countries) were studied.

Dissociative trance and spirit possession: Challenges for cultures in transition.

The cross-cultural validity of dissociative possession and trance disorders is a matter of some debate, limiting research and meaningful interpretation of prevalence data. Intimate to these concerns is the status of spirit possession categories studied in the social sciences, particularly anthropology. These two categories are phenomenologically related and display similar epidemiological associations.