Mental Health: Global Challenges Journal
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Interdependent: Mental Health, Social Development, Youth’ SociallyOriented Activity (on the example of a country in transition)
Get PDFThe need for of this investigation is also influenced by: the urgent need for youth of transitional countries to meet new social challenges and reflect on their changing social reality; issues of developing innovative social technologies to enhance social competences of youth, their perceptions of duties and risks in social activity; the need to develop conditions for building personal tolerance to or coping with the situation of uncertainty, and to positively impact their mental healt
Assessment of psychological distress in university students: A Quantitative study
Get PDFIntroduction: Psychological health is the expression of harmonic expression ofhuman’s personality and is often disrupted by multiple factors. Especially duringacademic years human has to confront various stressful situations that endanger hisPsychological health.Purpose: This study aims to assess psychological distress in university students and toexamine possible factors that are associated with it.Material and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in which 206 universitystudents were participated. Data were collected by the Hospital Anxiety and DepressionScale, HADS and a sheet contain information regarding demographic, social andacademic background special design for the purpose of the study. Spss v. 21 was usedfor analyzing data and the signicant level was set in p?0,05.Results: From the total of 206 students 76,2% were women (n=157) and 23,8% weremen with a mean age 30.1 ±7.15. Anxiety symptoms were negative associated withcohabitation and marital status (p=.019 and p=.001 respectively). While place ofresidence was also negative associated (p=.000).While monthly income and duration ofwere associated with the experience of anxiety symptoms. One the other handdepression was associated with sex (p=.004) place of residence and origins of students(p=.038 and p=.058 respectively). Finally the number of uncompleted courses andsexual preferences were associated with depression to (p=.009).Conclusions: Within the context of student life that is characterized by anxiety, crises ofinterpersonal relationships and uncertainty maintaining student’s mental health andwellbeing must be a top propriety among university services
CHILD SUICIDE: FAMILY’S REACTIONS
No full textIntroduction: Suicide is a major public health problem, in which relatives play an important role in the prevention of the said problem. However, suicide and suicidal behavior affect the relatives’ lives profoundly, both emotionally and socially.
Aim: This study is an initial investigation of families’ emotional and behavioral responses to adolescents’ suicide
Methodology: An extensive literary review of relevant articles for the period 2000-2017, was performed using Medline, PubMed and Google databases, with the following key words: “child suicide, parent’s reactions, bereavement, risk factors, warnings sign, and mental health problems”.
Results: Suicide is uncommon in childhood but becomes an extremely serious issue among adolescents. Several risk factors have been identified and include the presence of psychiatric illness, a previous suicide attempt, family factors, substance abuse, sexual and physical abuse, or bullying. The death of a child of any age is extremely painful for parents. Most parents experience a profound sense of guilt, shame, pain, depression when harm comes to their child, even if through no fault of their own. The same feelings are often present and are associated with help seeking in siblings bereaved by suicide. All of these factors lead to a devastating grief that is much longer lasting than most people realize.
Conclusion: Families that have experienced a suicide present severe prolonged grief with many psychological and physical symptoms such as depression, feelings of guilt, shame, pain, heart failure, hypertension, diabetes. However, the psychosocial impact on families is a very important issue who needs further investigation
TRAUMA-INFORMED APPROACH IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT IN THE HIGHER SCHOOL
Get PDFIntroduction: According to statistics, the number of students with disability at Lviv Polytechnic National University is 374 people; the number of veteran-students is 6; the number of students-children of veterans is 811. Moreover, there is a Ukraine-Norway Project conducted on the basis of Lviv Polytechnic providing retraining courses for veterans and their family members. In the five years of the project implementation, 428 people have been trained at Lviv Polytechnic. To meet the educational needs of those categories of students the Accessibility Services for students with disability and Veteran Services for combatants, their family members and IDPs have been established at Lviv Polytechnic. The activities of those services are aimed at providing support to students with disability, veteran students, students-family members of veterans, internally displaced persons; ensuring the provision of necessary information and assistance in higher education settings. For the successful functioning of these and similar services, it is important to study the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the trauma-informed approach (TIA). Furthermore, the realities of Ukrainian society give impetus to the experience of traumatic events not only to the above-mentioned categories of students, but also to others who do not belong to them. Therefore, it is advisable to comprehensively study and implement the trauma-informed approach in the educational process to ensure inclusive education environment for each category of students with special educational needs.
Purpose: The purpose of the article is to highlight the importance of the development of trauma-informed approach to meet the needs of students experiencing trauma, students with disabilities and veteran-students particularly.
Methods: Theoretical research methods were used to determine the needs of students experiencing trauma to be met in educational process using the trauma-informed approach at higher schools of Ukraine on the example of Accessibility and Veteran Services at Lviv Polytechnic.
Results: Inclusive education has been considered as a part of social inclusion. Key issues of the development of inclusive education environment are addressed based on applying trauma-informed approach. The purpose to implement a trauma-informed approach in academic environment is identified based on scientific research data and needs assessment. The two basic concepts of trauma-informed approach realization have been developed.
For the first time in the national scientific opinion the possibilities of implementing an inclusive educational environment in the higher education institutions of Ukraine, taking into account the needs and problems of students experiencing trauma were described.
During the educational process, the trauma-informed approach is important to be used when detecting the following symptoms: limited ability to focus, anxious or obsessive thoughts, inability to consistently do research and attend classes, panic attacks with difficulty of breathing, rapid heartbeat, sweating, and deep agitation of short and / or long-term memory, fatigue, decreased concentration and attention, lack of initiative and motivation, irritability and increased sensitivity to stress, inappropriate behavior and poor social skills, slow response rates, difficulty in solving problems, difficulties in planning and sequencing, depression, anxiety and low self-esteem, impulsiveness, loss of taste and smell, dizziness and difficulty with balance, epilepsy and convulsions, headaches, decrease or change in vision, chronic pain, paralysis, difficulty in reading and summarizing (processing information).
Some of these characteristics are very individual, others are the opposite, and are noticeable at once. That is why it is important to disseminate information among the academic community. At the same time, the above-mentioned attributes not only to students who are experiencing/have experienced trauma, but also may concern students with mental health disorders, which in turn make it possible to create an inclusive educational environment tailored to these categories of students as well.
It is important to understand that a student with special educational needs has the same responsibilities as all other students. It is to attend classes and fulfill the basic requirements of the course. The role of the instructor is to help the student in finding solutions to fulfill these responsibilities, not to lower expectations because of the student's special educational needs, abide by the principles of confidentiality regarding the personal information of the student with special educational needs.
To address the above need, we plan to carry out further research in this field in relation to the practical work of the “No Limits” Accessibility Services and the Veteran Services at Lviv Polytechnic, taking into account the international experience, with a focus on the American and Canadian approaches.
Conclusion: To achieve the research goal and objectives in creating the environment friendly to people in difficult life circumstances the trauma-informed approach to providing educational services is suggested to be implemented. In the practice of trauma-informed approach realization, the two foci are distinguished, i.e., achieving personal development and wellness of the students experiencing trauma via special services provided for them (by Students Accessibility Services and Veteran Services at Lviv Polytechnic) and transforming the environment through educational work with the University academic communit
Interdisciplinary Technologies in Socio-Political Rehabilitation
Get PDFThe purpose of the research is to develop a technology of socio-political rehabilitation of the individuals who experienced a traumatic event or suffer from PTSP. The technology is supposed to use a modern diagnostic device system to measure psychological and psychophysiological characteristics of an individual. The research allowed verification of the assumption that control of the dynamics of the changes occurring in the state of the patient under the influence of the rehabilitation measures increases effectiveness of the psychological support. The control is mainly performed immediately after the completion of the whole set of rehabilitation measures and/or in a certain period after their completion (in order to determine the action after effect). To develop the ability to regulate emotional states of the individuals who experienced a posttraumatic event it is suggested to apply the technology of socio-psychological rehabilitation, which can be implemented with the help of special equipment. Therefore, one of the tasks of the study was to develop a diagnostic system to perform step-by-step control of effectiveness of the rehabilitation procedures
COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH: HEALTH BUDGETS IN A MULTIFACTORIAL CONTEXT
Get PDFIn the last three years the Department of Mental Health of the ASP (Provincial Health Company) Agrigento (Italy) has become the protagonist of an attempt to change the cultural reality of mental health in its own territory, to ready local communities to overcome the prejudices linked to the stigma connected to psychiatric pathology through the implementation of an experimental project funded by the Sicily Region, the PON (National Operational Plan) 19.2. At the same time, the Department of Mental Health of the Provincial Health Authority (ASP) has experimented with the introduction of flexibility in care pathways for serious patients so as to pursue a model of integrated intervention combining the efforts public health, private social, citizens (training / work, residential care) in which public health continues to respect the responsibility and ownership of the service but is enriched with new human resources to promote patient citizenship itineraries.
All this is in order to prevent mental health problems, stimulate the inclusion and active participation of those suffering from mental health problems - recognizing the experience and skills of patients and caregivers as an essential basis for the planning and development of mental health services.
The goal of the project was to reduce the isolation of psychiatric patients by adopting new methods that determined an economic saving and a higher quality in therapeutic results: tools within the Health Budget
 
The role of psychotherapy in the treatment of Post-partum depression in Nigeria
Get PDFStatement of the problem: After childbirth, the levels of hormones (oestrogen and progesterone) in a woman’s body quickly drop. This leads to chemical changes in her brain that may trigger mood swings. In addition, many mothers are unable to get the rest they need to fully recover from giving birth. The new mother cannot explain why she is not happy yet tries to smile and giggle when people are with her. She perhaps feels unhappy but cannot decipher why she feels this way.Postpartum depression does not have a single cause, but likely results from a combination of physical and emotional factors. The relationship between both mother and child is for the first three weeks awkward as she struggles with the feeling of lowliness that cannot be explained.Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: A total of 20 women were interviewed. Ten within two weeks post-delivery were engaged in a conversation to find out how they felt about their new state of life. Another ten in about two months post-delivery also bore their minds. These women reside in Lagos, South-West Nigeria and their experiences are similar to what is seen in other parts of the country.Of all living subjects investigated, of the ten within the first two weeks of child birth explained to have sought the help of a therapist when they couldn’t no longer bear it. It was liberating and they claimed to have a deeper and greater level of affection for their babies respectively.Conclusion: Post-partum depression in Nigeria is between 15%-57% of the entire maternal cycle which means it is very common amongst nursing mothers. Psychotherapy or any form of therapy as whole is not so embraced in the Nigeria just as mental illness is still been seen as a religious battle thereby having a low number of them refusing to seek medical help. It is believed that the first step to getting treatment is by speaking out and this in itself is a technique in psychotherap
INTEGRATED SOCIAL SERVICES BASED ON PRESERVATION AND PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY HEALTH: AN ANALYSIS OF THE STATE AND PROSPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT
Get PDFIntroduction: At the final stage of administrative-territorial reform in Ukraine, it is important to realistically assess the social needs and social problems that exist in newly created territorial communities. Territorial communities should be based on healthy families and healthy individuals, whose initiative will help ensure the continued social development of the community. In its turn, the community should be built on the principles of friendly to its own citizens, meeting their needs, first of all, the needs of the least protected categories - children, people with disabilities and chronic diseases, elderly people. Therefore, integrated social services based on the principles of preserving and promoting health are a tool for solving social problems in the community (Klos, Khudoba, Shkoliar, 2019, p. 26).
Purpose. The purpose of the study is to show the importance of using integrated social services in the community based on the principles of preservation and promotion of health as an important means of promoting territorial community development and social development of the country.Methods. The study used theoretical methods of research, in particular, the search and collection of statistical information on the formation, normalization and approval of the composition of territorial communities; collection and analysis of sources on the problem of social services and social protection of the population of territorial communities; systematization of sources and their analysis by blocks of tasks; analysis, comparison, synthesis and implementation of the results of the study of social services based on the principles of promoting and preserving community health.Results. Within the framework of the U-LEAD Program with Europe and the ICO Partnership Every Child, the project “Community for Human: Enhancing Communities' Competence for the Development of Social Services” and understanding the peculiarities of organizing social support for vulnerable segments of the UTC population through the implementation of the social services model. Among the objectives of the project were, inter alia, to study the status of providing local communities with social workers, the range of social services provided in the community, taking into account the real needs of the population in social assistance (ICO Partnership for Every Child, 2019, p. 5-6).The study covered 245 projected territorial communities in Ukraine. Because most communities did not have the information to make appropriate decisions about the services they needed, a special methodology was used to assess the needs of the population in social services. An appropriate tool for monitoring the needs of the population in social services was developed and tested at the Oxford Policy Management Consortium with the participation of the Every Child Partnership, in collaboration with UNICEF, and with financial support from the European Union. The aggregate index of providing the population with social services of the population of the UTC is determined by the set of indicators: the index of provision of social services for children and families with children; index of provision of social care services for orphans and children deprived of family care; the index of provision of social services for the elderly; index of provision of social services for persons with disabilities; index of provision of social services to persons in need of adaptation and integration (reintegration); index of provision of social services to persons in need of emergency or crisis intervention (ICO Partnership for Every Child, 2019, p. 28).Mostly communities use the resource of available social services already at their disposal, their range is limited and needs improvement and review, taking into account real social problems and needs of consumers. An important tool for addressing the issues that are relevant to UTC members is those based on the principles of preserving and promoting health. In particular, social prevention, community representation services, crisis and emergency intervention, social support / patronage, asylum, home care, day care, supported living.Conclusion: The study of the results of the mentioned project and the current state of providing territorial communities with social services lead to the conclusion that there is a high level of community needs for social work professionals who are able and able to provide integrated social services in the community on the grounds of preservation and promotion of health. To do this, professional training of skilled social workers for the provision of integrated social services in the community should be stepped u
Preserving human mental health through control of pathogenic text in mass media by means of indexing and marking
Get PDFSubject of this research paper is problem of pathogenic text as method for manipulating human consciousness and its dissemination through mass media, which due to their specific, make such manipulation most effective. Mass media have mastered metaphoric language, which can flawlessly influence readers’ imagination.
We need to separately highlight our interest in text-based mass media (printed or blogs) versus audio-visual mass media (broadcast and digital), where flow of negative information seems to be magnitudes larger. In particular, paper touches specifics of written information perception.
Paper describes different negative consequences of pathogenic information consumption for human mental health, such as: lack of creative activity, depression, ambivalence, development of adrenaline addiction, etc.
In this paper, we analyze existing solutions of the problem of negative impact of pathogenic information, implemented in various countries and communities, substantiating their deficiencies in today’s realities, especially considering opposition to censorship and governmental limitations.
We see resolution for the pathogenic text influence on human consciousness in person herself, in her self-awareness and ability to independently assess situation and make decisions. One of approaches to protecting society from pathogenic text without censorship, could be marking of pathogenic level of each specific article or publication. We also suggest not to limit markings to “pathogenic” or “non-pathogenic” labeling, but show percentage of text pathogenicity. By informing consumer of level of negative impact by particular text, we give him/her opportunity to decide about necessity or desire to read this text.
We propose automatic classification method based on Bayesian filters (Himmelblau, 1970), (Yerazunis, 2003).
Keywords: mental health, informational warfare, mass media, information, consciousness, influence, protection, text classification
University dropout. Causes and solution
Get PDFThe phenomenon of university dropout is met in all universities in the world and its effects are felt both at the economic level, at the level of society and at the personal level of students who abandon the university. Factors leading to university dropout may be of a social nature (student background, income level, so on.), psycho-pedagogical (inadequate academic training, inconsistency between prior training and university studies, lack of counseling services, so on)and personal (poor adaptability to the university, low levels of socio-emotional intelligence, so on). Universities need to cope with this phenomenon and adapt and develop prevention and intervention services so that students' retention rate rises. The paper analyzes this phenomenon in The Bucharest University of Economic Studies and identifies possible solutions for diminishing the phenomenon