1,720,968 research outputs found
Attitudes of ambulance service staff towards people with mental illness: A cross-sectional survey in the Verona province, Italy
No full text: illness encounter during physical and mental health crises and their attitudes may be influenced by misconceptions and stereotyping views. This study aimed to assess the attitudes of ambulance personnel toward people with mental illness using the Opening Minds Stigma Scale for Health Care Providers (OMS-HC) and to evaluate its psychometric properties. The study involved 510 ambulance staff members from a non-profit organization. The original factor structure of the OMS-HC, comprising three subscales was confirmed. The internal consistency for the OMS-HC total score was good (α=0.75) and acceptable for the subscales (Social Distance α=0.66; Attitudes α=0.59; Disclosure/Help-Seeking α=0.61). One-third of respondents displayed stigmatizing attitudes on half of the OMS-HC items. Higher scores were associated with being male, having lower levels of education, and working as both rescuers and ambulance drivers and with feeling uncomfortable when dealing with patients with mental illness. Overall, stigmatizing attitudes towards individuals with mental illness are prevalent among ambulance staff. The Italian version of the OMS-HC for ambulance personnel demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties and is recommended for evaluating training programs targeting this population
Lived experience in Italian mental health services: a national survey of peer support and co-production practices
Full text linkBackground: Peer support has become a cornerstone of recovery-oriented mental health systems worldwide, with increasing recognition of its value in promoting recovery, empowerment, and inclusion. In Italy, despite a long-standing tradition of community-based care, the integration of peer support services (PSSs) remains fragmented and understudied. Methods: A national cross-sectional online survey was conducted between January and February 2025 targeting all Italian Mental Health Departments (MHDs). The survey explored the presence, organization, and perceived impact of peer support and co-production practices. Results: A total of 61 out of 135 MHDs (45%) responded. Among them, 55.7% reported implementing peer support initiatives, primarily within community-based services. Peer support workers (PSWs) were generally perceived as effective in fostering recovery and reducing stigma. However, major barriers included lack of formal recognition, insufficient funding, and cultural resistance (e.g., reluctance among some professionals to acknowledge experiential knowledge or to integrate non-clinical roles into multidisciplinary teams). Co-production practices were reported by more than half of the MHDs, though they remained largely consultative. Conclusions: Peer support and co-production are emerging within in Italy's mental health system but face substantial structural and cultural barriers. National frameworks and dedicated resources are required to support sustainable implementation and the full integration of experiential knowledge into mental health services
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on psychiatric rehabilitation in residential facilities: perspectives of staff and residents
Full text linkThe coronavirus pandemic imposed significant changes in the care of patients in psychiatric residential facilities, especially during lockdown periods. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the pandemic on patients and staff of psychiatric residential facilities (RFs). This cross-sectional survey was conducted between 30 June and 30 July 2021 and involved 31 RFs located in the province of Verona (Italy). In total, 170 staff members and 272 residents participated in this study. Staff showing clinically significant symptoms of anxiety, depression and burnout were, respectively, 7.7%, 14.2% and 6%. Staff were concerned about the risk that COVID-19 infection might spread among residents (67.6%) and that residents could not receive an acceptable service due to service reconfiguration because of the pandemic (50.3%). Residents found it very unpleasant not to be permitted to attend family members (85.3%), and not to be allowed to engage in outdoor activities due to the restrictions (84%). Both staff and residents agree that the main problematic areas for the residents was the interdiction to meet family members or friends and the interdiction to outdoor activities, whereas problems related to the COVID-19 infection were considered by the staff members as more frequently problematic than reported by residents. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the rehabilitation care and recovery journeys of the residents of psychiatric RFs. Therefore, sustained, and careful attention is needed to ensure that the rehabilitation needs of people with severe mental disorders are not neglected in time of pandemics. Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40737-023-00343-6
Development and psychometric validation of new questionnaires assessing experienced discrimination and internalised stigma among people with Covid-19.
Full text linkAIMS: To develop and validate two new standardised measures assessing, respectively, experienced discrimination (Covid-19 Experienced DISCrimination scale, CEDISC) and internalised stigma (COvid-19 INternalised Stigma scale, COINS) in people who had been infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or had developed coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) disease. METHODS: Both the CEDISC and the COINS were developed in Italian and tested for ease of use, comprehension, acceptability, the relevance of items and response options within a focus group session. Online cross-sectional validation survey was conducted among adults infected with SARS-CoV-2 or who developed Covid-19 disease, members of a closed Facebook discussion group in Italy. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with Promax oblique rotation; the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy and the Bartlett's test of sphericity were used to assess the suitability of the sample for factor analysis. Reliability was assessed as internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha and as test-retest reliability using weighted kappa and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Precision was examined by Kendall's tau-b coefficient. RESULTS: Overall, 579 participants completed the CEDISC, 519 also completed the COINS, 155 completed the retest for both scales after two weeks. The 12 items of the CEDISC converged over a 2-factor solution ('social life' and 'close relations') accounting for 49.2% of the variance (KMO = 0.894; Bartlett's test p < 0.001); the 13 items of the COINS converged over a 3-factor solution ('self-perception', 'close relations' and 'social life') accounting for 67.7% (KMO = 0.827; Bartlett's test p < 0.001). Cronbach's α was 0.848 for the CEDISC, and 0.837 for the COINS. The CEDISC showed three items (25%) with kappa between 0.61 and 0.80 and seven (58.4%) between 0.41 and 0.60, with only two items scoring 0.21 and 0.40; the COINS had ten items (76.9%) with kappa ranging from 0.41 to 0.60, and three items below 0.31. ICC was 0.906 (95% CI, 0.871-0.932) for the, CEDISC and 0.860 (95% CI, 0.808-0.898) for the COINS. Kendall's tau-b ranged from 0.360 to 0.556 (p < 0.001) for the CEDISC and from 0.290 to 0.606 (p < 0.001) for the COINS. CONCLUSIONS: Both the CEDISC and the COINS are two valid and reliable scales to be used in studies examining the role of stigma and discrimination of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 and Covid-19 patients, and in research evaluating interventions designed to mitigate stigma in this population
Association between persistent dyspnea and psychological distress in COVID-19 survivors. A cross-sectional evaluation at 11 months after hospitalization
No full text[no abstract available
Experienced discrimination and internalized stigma among people infected with SARS-CoV-2 and surviving COVID-19: Association with anxiety, depression, and insomnia symptoms
Full text linkPeople surviving COVID-19 may experience social stigma related to their condition even after clinical recovery. This study aimed to: (1) investigate COVID-19-related experienced discrimination and internalized stigma, and (2) explore their association with symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia. We conducted an online survey of people who survived COVID-19. Perception of stigma was assessed using the COVID-19 Experienced Discrimination Scale and the COVID-19 Internalized Stigma Scale. Depression, anxiety, and insomnia were assessed using, respectively, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the General Anxiety Disorder Scale-7, and the Insomnia Severity Index. Multivariable logistic regression analyses for each psychopathological domain were performed. A total of 579 participants participated in this study. Overall, 25% reported some degree of experienced discrimination, and 23% reported some degree of internalized stigma. Adjusted odds ratio showed that scoring higher on internalized stigma related significantly to higher symptoms of depression (2.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.35-3.39), anxiety (2.30; 95% CI, 1.48-3.59), and insomnia (2.54; 95% CI, 1.64-3.95), whereas experienced discrimination was associated to anxiety (1.55; 95% CI, 1.06-2.28) and insomnia (1.82; 95% CI, 1.24-2.69). Experiences of social stigmatization are frequent among people surviving COVID-19 and seem to be associated with levels of psychological disturbances. Further research is required to elucidate the direction of these relationships to implement effective treatment strategies
Assessing the effectiveness and the feasibility of a group-based treatment for self-stigma in people with mental disorders in routine mental health services in North-East Italy: study protocol for a pragmatic multisite randomized controlled trial
Full text linkBackground: Self-stigma refers to the process whereby individuals with mental disorders internalize negative societal attitudes and misconceptions about mental health conditions, potentially affecting their sense of self-worth and identity. This internalization can significantly impact various aspects of life, including treatment engagement, personal relationships, and overall well-being. Narrative Enhancement and Cognitive Therapy (NECT) was developed in the United States to counteract self-stigma and has been supported by multiple randomized controlled trials. However, NECT has not yet been implemented in Italy or within a public mental health system grounded in community psychiatry. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of the Italian version of the NECT within the public mental health sector in a large part of North-East Italy. Methods and analysis: This pragmatic, multisite, superiority, randomized, wait-list controlled trial with two parallel arms will recruit over four hundred patients with severe mental disorders from 26 public community-based mental health centers in North-East Italy. The experimental intervention, NECT, consists of 20 group-based sessions to reduce self-stigma. The study will assess NECT's impact on several psychological dimensions, including self-stigma levels (primary outcome), self-esteem, hope, empowerment, recovery perception, mental well-being, and stigma stress (secondary outcomes). Feasibility will be evaluated by collecting data on participant adherence and treatment implementation, including eligibility screening, participation rates, intervention completion, exposure levels, and reasons for dropout. Discussion: The findings of this research are expected to contribute to the understanding of effective treatments for patients with mental disorders, particularly those burdened by high levels of self-stigma, and to improve their recovery outcomes. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov; Identifier: NCT06567145
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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