Contested meanings of mental health and well-being among university students

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinitha Jithoo

Emerging adults are an important group not only because their opinions and knowledge will determine future attitudes but also because of the emergence of mental health problems during young adulthood. In order to provide relevant support, academics, health care providers as well as policy makers need to be more cognisant of how emerging adults make meaning of their psycho-social developmental context. The objective of the study was to explore how a cohort of 150 university students made meaning of emotional well-being and mental illness, the causes of mental health problems, the negative connotations associated with mental ill health, help-seeking behaviours, and how culture was used as a lens through which mental well-being was understood. The main findings indicate that students struggle to fully understand these concepts mainly because it is shrouded in mystery and complexity and not engaged with freely because of stigma and stereotypical attitudes, and while culture provides a lens to understand the causes and interventions, emerging adults often adopt a level of scepticism and are beginning to vacillate between tradition and modernity. Emerging adults face many barriers to accessing health care services including limited knowledge and stigma related to services, lack of confidentiality, fear of mistreatment, location of facilities, and the high cost of services. Universities and government should actively engage with research evidence to inform policies and programmes to improve the health and well-being of emerging adults.

BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S157-S157
Author(s):  
Shabinabegam A M Sheth ◽  
Bhavya Bairy ◽  
Aurobind Ganesh ◽  
Sumi Jain ◽  
Prabhat Chand ◽  
...  

AimsAs per National Mental Health Survey-2015-16, 83 out of 100 people having mental health problems do not have access to care in India. Further, primary health care providers (PCPs) have not been adequately trained in the screening, diagnosis, and initial management of common mental health conditions. There is thus a need to train health care providers at the State level to incorporate mental health into primary health care. In this paper, we report the findings of a collaborative project between the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) Bangalore India, and the state of Chhattisgarh incorporating mental health into primary care and addressing urban-rural disparities through tele-mentoring.MethodWe assessed the impact of the NIMHANS Extended Community Health Care Outcome (ECHO), an online, blended training program on participants' knowledge and competence (primary outcome) and commitment, satisfaction, and performance (Secondary outcomes) using Moore's evaluation framework. Primary and secondary outcomes were determined through a pre-post evaluation, assessment of trainee participation in the quarterly tele ECHO clinic as well as periodic assignments, respectively.ResultOver ten months of the NIMHANS ECHO program, there was a significant improvement in the participants' knowledge post-ECHO (p < 0.05, t = −3.52). Self-efficacy in diagnosis and management of mental health problems approached significance; p < 0.001. Increased engagement in tele-ECHO sessions was associated with better performance for declarative and procedural knowledge. The attrition rate was low (5 out of 30 dropped out), and satisfaction ratings of the course were high across all fields. The participants reported a 10- fold increase in the number of patients with mental health problems they had seen, following the training. A statistically significant increase in the number of psychotropic drugs prescribed post ECHO with t = −3.295, p = 0.01.ConclusionThe outcomes indicate that the NIMHANS ECHO with high participant commitment is a model with capacity building potential in mental health and addiction for remote and rural areas by leveraging technology. This model has the potential to be expanded to other states in the country in providing mental health care to persons in need of care.


Author(s):  
Mercy Ngosa Mumba ◽  
Alexandria Nancarrow ◽  
Jessica L. Jaiswal ◽  
Erika Hocchaus ◽  
Madelyn H. Campbell ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Each year about one in five adults experiences mental illness. Although the independent physical and mental health consequences of alcohol misuse and cigarette smoking are well documented, little is known on how substance use moderates the relationship between physical and mental well-being. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine whether substance use moderates the relationship between physical activity and mental health in adults. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of data provided by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). RESULTS: Participants ( N = 450,016) were adults who completed the BRFSS in 2017. Those who did not drink alcohol had fewer mental health problems when they indicated greater amounts of time spent doing physical activities each week. Last, smokers’ number of mental health problems decreased as they engaged in more physical activity, whereas nonsmokers’ number of mental health problems increased as they engaged in more physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between physical activity and mental health outcomes is well established and cannot be overemphasized. Nonetheless, substance abuse can moderate this relationship and should be routinely screened for by health care providers regardless of treatment setting.


1997 ◽  
Vol 42 (9) ◽  
pp. 943-949 ◽  
Author(s):  
MA Craven ◽  
M Cohen ◽  
D Campbell ◽  
J Williams ◽  
Nick Kates

Objective: To obtain descriptions of how family physicians detect and manage mental health problems commonly encountered in their practices and how they function in their role as mental health care providers. Also, to elicit their perceptions of barriers to the delivery of optimal mental health care. Method: Focus groups with standardized questions were used to elicit descriptive data, opinions, attitudes, and terminology. Convenience samples of 10 to 12 physicians were chosen in each of Ontario's 7 health care planning regions, with a mixture of rural, urban, and university settings. Discussions were audiotaped, transcribed, analyzed, and recurring themes were extracted. Results: Family physicians' descriptions of the range of problems commonly encountered and their detection and management highlight the unique nature of mental health care in the primary care setting. The realities of family medicine, the undifferentiated nature of presenting problems, the long-term physician–patient relationship, and the frequent overlap of physical and mental health problems dictate an approach to diagnosis and treatment that differs from mental health care delivery in other settings. Difficulties in the relationship with local psychiatric services—accessing psychiatric care (especially for emergencies), poor communication with mental health care providers, and cumbersome intake procedures of many mental health services—were consistently identified as barriers to the delivery of optimal mental health care. Conclusions: This study confirms the importance of the family physician in the detection and management of mental health problems. It offers insights into how family physicians function in their role as mental health care providers and how they deal with diagnostic and management challenges that are specific to primary care. It also identifies barriers to the optimal delivery of mental health care in the primary care setting, including difficulties at the clinical interface between psychiatry and family medicine. Further studies are needed to explore these issues in greater depth.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fadma Aji Pramudita ◽  
Iman Permana

Mental health is one of the health problems in the world, including in Indonesia, one of which is schizophrenia. Management of schizophrenia not only uses pharmacological therapy but also with non-pharmacological therapy. Spirituality is believed to have a role in the treatment of schizophrenia. Purpose: This article aims to identify and analyze research articles about the spiritual role in healing in schizophrenic patients. This article search uses a literature study approach from several ProQuest, Ebsco ScienceDirect databases, and Google Scholar databases, using the keywords "Spiritual OR Spirituality AND Mental disorder OR Mental Illness OR Schizophrenia". Based on the screening process of 509,589 journals, 9 articles were obtained by selecting inclusion criteria. The results obtained are summarized in 2 theme forms including the spiritual role in mental health problems where the importance of health professionals involves the spiritual dimension in health services as well as the spiritual concepts that play a role in handling mental problems; the second theme is about the spiritual role in schizophrenia healing, which is that spiritual can affect active and adaptive coping in schizophrenia patients. Social support activities, age, service satisfaction, spiritual well-being, and symptom severity are identified as aspirators in the quality of life of patients with schizophrenia. Conclusion: Four things that are felt to have a significant effect on healing schizophrenic patients include interactions or therapeutic relationships with health care providers, increased self-awareness of disease, social support, and the use of psychotropic drugs to reduce symptoms that arise.


10.2196/24162 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e24162
Author(s):  
Qian Wang ◽  
Bo Song ◽  
Jiangli Di ◽  
Xue Yang ◽  
Anise Wu ◽  
...  

Background Mental health problems are prevalent among pregnant women, and it is expected that their mental health will worsen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the underutilization of mental health services among pregnant women has been widely documented. Objective We aimed to identify factors that are associated with pregnant women’s intentions to seek mental health services. We specifically assessed pregnant women who were at risk of mental health problems in mainland China. Methods A web-based survey was conducted from February to March, 2020 among 19,515 pregnant women who were recruited from maternal health care centers across various regions of China. A subsample of 6248 pregnant women with probable depression (ie, those with a score of ≥10 on the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire) or anxiety (ie, those with a score of ≥5 on the 7-item General Anxiety Disorder Scale) was included in our analysis. Results More than half (3292/6248, 52.7%) of the participants reported that they did not need mental health services. Furthermore, 28.3% (1770/6248) of participants felt that they needed mental health services, but had no intentions of seeking help, and only 19% (1186/6248) felt that they needed mental health services and had intentions of seek help. The results from our multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age, education level, and gestational age were factors of not seeking help. However, COVID-19–related lockdowns in participants’ cities of residence, social support during the COVID-19 pandemic, and trust in health care providers were protective factors of participants’ intentions to seek help from mental health services. Conclusions Interventions that promote seeking help for mental health problems among pregnant women should also promote social support from health care providers and trust between pregnant women and their care providers.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Wang ◽  
Bo Song ◽  
Jiangli Di ◽  
Xue Yang ◽  
Anise Wu ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Mental health problems are prevalent among pregnant women, and it is expected that their mental health will worsen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the underutilization of mental health services among pregnant women has been widely documented. OBJECTIVE We aimed to identify factors that are associated with pregnant women’s intentions to seek mental health services. We specifically assessed pregnant women who were at risk of mental health problems in mainland China. METHODS A web-based survey was conducted from February to March, 2020 among 19,515 pregnant women who were recruited from maternal health care centers across various regions of China. A subsample of 6248 pregnant women with probable depression (ie, those with a score of ≥10 on the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire) or anxiety (ie, those with a score of ≥5 on the 7-item General Anxiety Disorder Scale) was included in our analysis. RESULTS More than half (3292/6248, 52.7%) of the participants reported that they did not need mental health services. Furthermore, 28.3% (1770/6248) of participants felt that they needed mental health services, but had no intentions of seeking help, and only 19% (1186/6248) felt that they needed mental health services and had intentions of seek help. The results from our multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age, education level, and gestational age were factors of not seeking help. However, COVID-19–related lockdowns in participants’ cities of residence, social support during the COVID-19 pandemic, and trust in health care providers were protective factors of participants’ intentions to seek help from mental health services. CONCLUSIONS Interventions that promote seeking help for mental health problems among pregnant women should also promote social support from health care providers and trust between pregnant women and their care providers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gökmen Arslan ◽  
Murat Yıldırım ◽  
Mega M. Leung

Research Problem: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a multi-faceted crisis worldwide. Researchers and health authorities in various parts of the world echoed the dire condition of the public's mental health. This study sought to examine the mediating effect of personal meaning on the association between coronavirus (COVID-19)-related suffering, mental health problems, and life satisfaction. Participants included 231 adults (mean age = 46.65 ± 13.98; 68% female) and completed measures of suffering related to COVID-19, meaning, life satisfaction, and mental health problems online.Results: Findings from mediation analysis showed that suffering had significant associations with personal meaning, mental health, and well-being. Furthermore, personal meaning was significantly associated with adults' mental health and well-being and mediated the negative effect of suffering on mental health and well-being.Discussion: Overall, results from this study indicate that personal meaning is an important promotive factor that may help to understand the negative effect of coronavirus-related suffering on mental health and well-being amid the public health crisis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 351-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline M. Smith ◽  
Joel Mader ◽  
Andrew C. H. Szeto ◽  
Amelia M. Arria ◽  
Ken C. Winters ◽  
...  

Objective: The study sought to describe a Canadian sample of university students’ medicinal use of cannabis, including prevalence of cannabis use disorder (CUD) and replacement of traditional treatments with cannabis. Method: A random sample of 4000 university students was asked to complete a cross-sectional web-based survey. The survey was completed by 2212 (average age 23.2 years, SD = 5.2 years), representing a 55.3% response rate. To be eligible, students had to be enrolled in a class on campus and were 18 years or older. Result: Half (52%) of respondents used cannabis at least once in their lifetime, with ∼11% reporting medicinal cannabis use. Recreational motives to use cannabis were common among medicinal users (85%), several (38%) replaced traditional medication with cannabis, and more than a third received authorization by a health care provider. Of the medicinal users, 13.6% met the criteria for CUD. Common ailments for medicinal cannabis use were anxiety, sleep problems, depression, and pain. When mental health–related categories are combined, 78.2% of medicinal users used for at least 1 mental health condition. Conclusions: Medicinal cannabis use occurs among university students. None of the ailments listed by medicinal users meet the Canadian Family Physicians prescribing guidelines, and most are not among those viewed by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine as having strong evidence for therapeutic value. The results raise concerns for health care providers who are authorizing or counselling patients’ considering medicinal cannabis.


Author(s):  
Morenike O. Folayan ◽  
Abiola A. Adeniyi ◽  
Elizabeth O. Oziegbe ◽  
Adesegun O. Fatusi ◽  
Abigail Harrison

Abstract Background: Globally, young people account for 15.5% of the total global disability-adjusted life-years burden for all age groups. They face mental health, nutritional problems, accidental and intentional injuries, sexual and reproductive health problems, and substance abuse. These health challenges have effects on their oral health. This paper discusses the oral health problems adolescents face and suggests approaches for providing integrated oral and general health care for adolescents. Discussion: Oral health issues linked with adolescent health concerns include: malocclusion and esthetic concerns linked with mental health status; oral and maxillofacial injuries linked with accidental and intentional injuries; oral manifestations of sexually transmitted infections; oral leukoplakia and oral cancers linked with alcohol, tobacco and psychoactive substance abuse; and oral manifestations of anemia resulting from nutritional problems. Training oral health care providers on adolescent health and care could promote prompt diagnosis, management and prevention of complications associated with major health challenges affecting adolescents. Conclusion: Adolescent oral health care needs focused attention: as a possible route for early diagnosis and management of general health problems and for promoting adolescent oral health care. Oral health care should be integrated into adolescent friendly services and oral health care providers should learn how to handle adolescents’ health needs.


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