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Abstract Introduction Suicide attempts are the most predictive risk factor for suicide deaths. Most people who attempt suicide receive care from out-of-hospital Emergency Services (OES), where these requests are managed and classified. Objective Validate the Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) classification for the detection of suicidal behavior requests. Method A descriptive, cross-sectional study of requests to the ECC of Málaga (Spain) during 2013 and 2014 was conducted. To classify the requests, the authors considered the ECC categorization when answering the call and the clinical assessment of the healthcare professional when attending the person who had made the call at the scene, which was considered the reference standard. To analyze the validity of the ECC classification system, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV) were calculated. Results The total number of requests for medical assistance analyzed was 112,599. The validity indicators of the classification system for suicidal behavior were sensitivity = 44.78%, specificity = 99.34%, PPV = 46.91% and NPV = 99.28%. Discussion and conclusion The ECC classification system has a lower capacity to detect the presence of suicidal behavior and a higher capacity to identify its absence in the requests received. OES provide key information on suicidal behavior requests as they can be one of the first places people with this problem go to. It would therefore be extremely useful to improve the classification systems for requests related to suicidal behavior.
Resumen Introducción Los intentos de suicidio constituyen el factor de riesgo más predictivo de todos los casos de suicidio consumado. La mayoría de las personas que intentan suicidarse reciben atención en los Servicios de Urgencias Extrahospitalarios (SUE) donde se gestionan y clasifican estas demandas. Objetivo Validar la clasificación del Centro Coordinador de Urgencias y Emergencias (CCUE) para detectar las demandas relacionadas con la conducta suicida. Método Se llevó a cabo un estudio descriptivo y transversal de las demandas al CCUE de Málaga (España) realizadas durante 2013 y 2014. Para su clasificación se tuvo en cuenta la categorización en el CCUE al responder la llamada y el juicio clínico del profesional sanitario cuando atiende al demandante in situ, considerando éste como patrón de referencia. Para evaluar la validez del sistema de clasificación se calcularon la sensibilidad, la especificidad y los valores predictivos positivo (VPP) y negativo (VPN). Resultados El total de demandas sanitarias analizadas fue de 112,599. Los indicadores de validez del sistema de clasificación para las demandas por conductas de suicidio fueron una sensibilidad = 44.78%, especificidad = 99.34%, VPP = 46.91% y VPN = 99.28%. Discusión y conclusión El sistema de clasificación del CCUE presenta una capacidad más baja para detectar presencia de conducta suicida comparada con una capacidad más alta para identificar su ausencia en las demandas recibidas. Los SUE aportan información relevante sobre las demandas por conducta suicida ya que pueden ser uno de los primeros lugares a los que acuden las personas con este problema. Por ello, sería de gran utilidad mejorar los sistemas de clasificación de las demandas por conducta suicida.
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BACKGROUND: There is evidence of negative attitudes among health professionals towards people with mental illness but there is also a knowledge gap on what training must be given to these health professionals during their education. The purpose of this study is to compare the attitudes of students of health sciences: nursing, medical, occupational therapy, and psychology. METHODS: A comparative and cross-sectional study in which 927 final-year students from health sciences university programmes were evaluated using the Mental Illness: Clinicians' Attitudes (both MICA-2 and MICA-4) scale. The sample was taken in six universities from Chile and Spain. RESULTS: We found consistent results indicating that stigma varies across university programmes. Medical and nursing students showed more negative attitudes than psychology and occupational therapy students in several stigma-related themes: recovery, dangerousness, uncomfortability, disclosure, and discriminatory behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: Our study presents a relevant description of the attitudes of each university programme for education against stigma in the formative years. Results show that the biomedical understanding of mental disorders can have negative effects on attitudes, and that education based on the psychosocial model allows a more holistic view of the person over the diagnosis.
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Atitude do Pessoal de Saúde , Transtornos Mentais , Chile , Estudos Transversais , Humanos , EspanhaRESUMO
Resumen: Introducción: En los últimos años se ha producido un importante aumento de la demanda asistencial de urgencias a nivel prehospitalario. Objetivo: El presente estudio tiene como objetivo principal identificar las variables asociadas a las demandas clasificadas como psiquiátricas a los Servicios de Urgencia y Emergencias Médicos Prehospitalarios (SUEMP) de la provincia de Málaga. Método: Estudio observacional retrospectivo de las demandas registradas en la base de datos informatizada (computarizada) del Centro Coordinador de Urgencias y Emergencias durante un año (N = 163 331). Se han considerado: 1) variables sociodemográficas: la edad y el sexo, y 2) variables relacionadas con la demanda: la franja horaria, el tipo de día, el trimestre del año, el sujeto alertante, el número de recursos movilizados, el número de personas atendidas y si hubo trasporte sanitario. Para la comparación de las variables se empleó la prueba χ2. También se realizó un análisis de regresión logística multivariante. Resultados: El 7% de las demandas a los SUEMP se clasificaron como psiquiátricas. Entre las variables relacionadas con las demandas psiquiátricas se encontraron tener menor edad, ser mujer, demanda realizada por la noche y la tarde, menor número de personas atendidas, que la alerta no fuera efectuada por el propio usuario y la no realización de traslado sanitario. Discusión y conclusión: Las demandas por problemas de salud mental presentan características diferenciales al resto de demandas a los SUEMP, lo que hay que tener en cuenta para mejorar la atención a dichos pacientes.
Abstract: Introduction: In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the demand for prehospital emergency care in different countries. Objective: The aim of the present study was to identify the variables associated with psychiatric calls to the Prehospital Emergency Care Services (PECS) in the province of Malaga. Method: An observational retrospective study based on calls made to the PECS and registered in the computerized database of the Coordination Emergency Centre during one year (N = 163 331). Independent variables included 1. sociodemographic variables: sex and age; and 2. variables related with the characteristics of each call: time of day, type of day, time of year, caller identification, number of resources needed, number of patients attended and type of solution. The χ2 test was used to compare of the variables. A multivariant logistic regression analysis was also carried out. Results: Psychiatric calls accounted for 7% of the total calls and were associated with: younger age, female gender, calls made in the evenings and afternoons, a lower number of patients attended, the call being performed by other individual calling on the patient's behalf, and no ambulance transportation. Discussion and conclusion: The calls concerned with mental health problems have specific characteristics which need to be taken into account in order to provide a better care for psychiatric patients.
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Conocer la prevalencia de la esquizofrenia y trastornos afines tiene una importancia relevante en la investigación epidemiológica y en la planificación de servicios. Sin embargo, existe una gran variabilidad en los resultados obtenidos en las diferentes investigaciones. El objetivo de este artículo es hacer una revisión crítica de los aspectos metodológicos de los estudios epidemiológicos que pueden influir en la medición de la prevalencia de esquizofrenia y trastornos afines y ofrecer una serie de recomendaciones generales para su medición. Se revisan 53 estudios epidemiológicos que relatan 76 tasas de prevalencia que oscilan entre 1 y 45 por 1000 habitantes. Se han encontrado seis factores metodológicos que creemos que están influyendo en la variabilidad de la medida de prevalencia de la esquizofrenia: 1. el tipo de prevalencia según el periodo de tiempo, siendo la más utilizada la prevalencia puntual; 2. el rango de edad de la población de estudio, siendo lo más frecuente incluir a personas mayores de 18 años; 3. el ámbito de detección de los casos más frecuentemente utilizado es la población general; 4. las clasificaciones de enfermedades utilizadas son la CIE y la DSM en similar proporción; 5. la categoría diagnóstica incluida frecuentemente en los estudios es el grupo de psicosis no afectivas; 6. el método de valoración diagnóstica más utilizado es la entrevista CIDI. Conclusión Consideramos que llegar a un consenso internacional para homogeneizar los aspectos metodológicos en los estudios epidemiológicos para calcular cifras de prevalencia de esquizofrenia nos facilitará la comparación de sus resultados.
Epidemiologic research plays a very relevant role to know the prevalence of schizophrenia. However, sometimes data from different studies are compared without taking into account some methodological questions that influence the results. This paper reviews different methodological factors that influence variability of rates in schizophrenia prevalence. Also, we provide some generic recommendations for measuring prevalence. We have revised 52 studies which offer prevalence rates of schizophrenia. A big difference appears in the prevalence rates of schizophrenia which range between 1 to 45 per 1000 inhabitants. The factors founded can be summarized as follows: 1. type of prevalence; 2. denominator population; 3. place of selection of cases; 4. classification issue; 5. diagnoses categories and 6. methods of diagnoses. In conclusion, in the epidemiological studies about schizophrenia prevalence we have to take into account the methodological factors involved in order to interprete and compare results from different studies.
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Unemployment is known to be associated with poor mental health, but it is not clear how strongly unemployment leads to onset of diagnosed clinical depression (causation), or if depression raises the risks of becoming unemployed (health selection), or indeed if both pathways operate. We therefore investigate the direction of associations between clinical depression and unemployment in a cross-cultural prospective cohort study. 10,059 consecutive general practice attendees (18-75 years) were recruited from six European countries and Chile between 2003 and 2004 and followed up at six, 12 and (in a subset) 24 months. The analysis sample was restricted to 3969 men and women who were employed or unemployed and seeking employment and had data on depression measures. The outcomes were depressive episodes, assessed using the Depression Section of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and self-reported employment status. Among 3969 men and women with complete data on depression and unemployment, 10% (n = 393) had depression symptoms and a further 6% (n = 221) had major depression at 12 months. 11% (n = 423) of the sample were unemployed by 6 months. Participants who became unemployed between baseline and 6 months compared to those employed at both times had an adjusted relative risk ratio for 12-month depression of 1.58 (95% Confidence Interval 0.76, 3.27). Participants with depression at baseline and 6 months compared to neither time had an odds ratio for 6-month unemployment of 1.58 (95% Confidence Interval 0.97, 2.58). We found evidence that causation and (to a lesser extent) health selection raise the prevalence of depression in the unemployed. Unemployed adults are at particular risk for onset of major clinical depression and should be offered extra services or screened. Given the trend for adults with depression to perhaps be at greater risk of subsequent unemployment, employees with depressive symptoms should also be supported at work as a precautionary principle.