517 research outputs found
Mental disorders among homeless people in western countries.
No full textHelen Herrman discusses the implications of a new systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of mental disorders in homeless people in Western countries
Empowerment of women and mental health promotion: a qualitative study in rural Maharashtra, India.
No full textBACKGROUND: The global burden of mental illness is high and opportunities for promoting mental health are neglected in most parts of the world. Many people affected by mental illness live in developing countries, where treatment and care options are limited. In this context, primary health care (PHC) programs can indirectly promote mental health by addressing its determinants i.e. by enhancing social unity, minimising discrimination and generating income opportunities. The objectives of this study were to: 1. Describe concepts of mental health and beliefs about determinants of mental health and illness among women involved with a PHC project in rural Maharashtra, India; 2. Identify perceived mental health problems in this community, specifically depression, suicide and violence, their perceived causes, and existing and potential community strategies to respond to them and; 3. Investigate the impact of the PHC program on individual and community factors associated with mental health METHOD: We undertook qualitative in-depth interviews with 32 women associated with the PHC project regarding: their concepts of mental health and its determinants; suicide, depression and violence; and the perceived impact of the PHC project on the determinants of mental health. The interviews were taped, transcribed, translated and thematically analysed. RESULTS: Mental health and illness were understood by these women to be the product of cultural and socio-economic factors. Mental health was commonly conceptualised as an absence of stress and the commonest stressors were conflict with husbands and mother-in-laws, domestic violence and poverty. Links between empowerment of women through income generation and education, reduction of discrimination based on caste and sex, and promotion of individual and community mental health were recognised. However, mental health problems such as suicide and violence were well-described by participants. CONCLUSION: While it is essential that affordable, accessible, appropriate treatments and systems of referral and care are available for people with mental illness in developing country settings, the promotion of mental health by addressing its determinants is another potential strategy for reducing the burden of mental illness for individuals and communities in these settings
‘Within the reach of everyone’: Tracing the Global Strands of Herrman, Sternbach & Co.’s 1880s Imitation Furs
No full textLong before faux furs became trendy, vegan-friendly materials, weavers and textile designers in eighteenth and nineteenth century Europe developed a range of woven goods that offered the haptic qualities of animal pelts. Surprisingly, given their popularity, little research has focused on imitation fur production and consumption at the turn of the twentieth century and its earlier roots. This paper traces the strands linking a group of textile samples donated by New York merchant H. Herrman, Sternbach & Co. in 1884 to (what is today) the Smithsonian National Museum of American History through connecting threads of global production, innovation, and consumption. These fourteen swatches, each carefully labeled as made in either Huddersfield, England or Chemnitz, Saxony, imitate a range of fashionable materials, from astrachans to sealskin, fox fur to beaver. Each is meticulously woven with a cotton backing in a compound, supplementary warp technique first developed for velvets and other plush, piled fabrics. Imported by Henry Herrman to New York, these silk and mohair plushes satisfied an increasing market demand for luxury goods to trim coats, hats, mantles, and other clothing. Beginning with a careful analysis of these goods and their production, the paper slides along those connecting strands, examining the broad range of plushes and other imitation furs popular from 1880s to 1930 and in the process illuminates the social lives of Huddlesfield mill workers, the wealthy New York Herrman family, and finally the designers and dressmakers who embraced these new fabrics
Despair and outcome in schizophrenia
No full textProf H E Herrman$AUD 91,199.06NHMRC Project GrantsStandard Project Gran
Interventions in the Health and Non-health Sectors Aimed at Promoting Mental Health
No full textThe impact of social determinants on women's mental health is becoming clearer worldwide. Poverty, violence and communal insecurity are among the main challenges to women's mental health and the health of their families. Depression is one of the most common mental disorders experienced by women. It typically has an early onset in life and is more frequently found in women made vulnerable by trauma.Improving mental health for women and girls requires early intervention for depression and other mental disorders; with gender sensitive clinical care and support for recovery in primary health care, and mother, child and reproductive health settings. Early intervention in primary health care and collaboration with patients and family carers encourage integration of mental health with the health care system, in turn protective of human rights.In addition, gender equity and observance of human rights need to be embedded in policy and practice in health and non-health sectors to ensure that women's mental health is promoted and mental illnesses adequately prevented and treated. Effective promotion of mental health and prevention of mental disorders is possible in countries of all income levels.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.</jats:sec
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