OBJECTIVE: This paper aimed to describe and correlate the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors towards mental illness among adult college students.

METHODOLOGY: Experts from the Department of Psychiatry reviewed the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS), Community Attitude towards the Mental Illness III (CAMI-III) and Reported and Intended Behavior Scale (RIBS) appropriateness for the intended population. These were administered to randomly selected 260 adult college students from a selected university in Metro Manila. Data was analyzed using mean, frequencies, item analysis and correlation coefficient.

RESULTS: Mean score for knowledge was 48.17 of 60. Mean scores for authoritarianism, social restrictiveness, benevolence and community mental health ideology were 21.67, 18.82, 43.26 and 41.38 of 50. Mean score for nondiscriminatory behavior was 17.39 of 20. Nondiscriminatory behavior positively correlated with benevolence (r=0.34) and community mental health ideology (r=0.45). Nondiscriminatory behavior negatively correlated with authoritarianism (r=-0.34) and social restrictiveness (r=-0.39). Knowledge positively correlated with benevolence (r=0.3) and negatively correlated with social restrictiveness (r=-0.35).

CONCLUSION: College students have high mental literacy but were confused with stress and grief. They were tolerant, respectful and inclusive of the mentally ill's role in society but half viewed mental hospital as indispensable and were guarded regarding the mentally ill's role in young children, and a quarter had fallacies with mental illness recognition and etiology. Educational interventions only improve some attitudes but have no effect on discriminatory behaviors. Instead, behavioral interventions holistically improve attitudes. Compared with previous generations, the challenge in reducing discrimination is to improve attitudes instead of knowledge. Hence, stigma may not only vary by culture, but may also vary by generation.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Methamphetamine ; Philippines ; Pharmaceutical Preparations

Introduction: Considerable evidence exists that Man who have Sex with Men (MSM) experiences worse health disparities compared to the general population across the globe including higher rates of alcohol use disorder. This review summarized the available primary research information to provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors associated with Alcohol Use Disorder among MSM. Methods: A literature review of PubMed articles was done. A total of 85 papers about the MSM population were displayed. Twelve articles about Alcohol Use Disorder among MSM were reviewed to extract its associated factors. Afterward, these factors were arranged by themes. Results: The associated factors of Alcohol Use Disorder among the MSM were social and demographic factors, abuses, sexual behaviors, HIV-related factors, other mental health conditions, and previous Alcohol Use Disorder treatment. Conclusions: Some of the factors associated with Alcohol Use Disorder among MSM may be similar to the general population, while others may be unique to the MSM population. The associations between Alcohol Use Disorder and these factors may be explained by Alcohol’s biological factors, adverse social experiences based on their sexual minority background, cultural differences, and coping styles. These factors may also increase the risk of MSM for other

Climate-related events unevenly affect society, worsening mental health disparities among vulnerable populations. This paper highlights that lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, queers, and other individuals identifying as sexual and gender minorities (LGBTQ+) could be considered a climate-vulnerable population in the Philippines, one of the most climate-vulnerable countries. As such, this paper elucidated that LGBTQ+ Filipinos can be marginalized in climate response efforts due to their sexual orientation and gender minority identities. According to the minority stress theory, discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals may predispose them to mental health problems. Thus, there is a need to institute an LGBTQ+ inclusive mental health response for climate-related events to address discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals and uphold their mental health.

This infodemiological research explored the online public interest in COVID-19 vaccine registration and its association with Filipinos’ interest in its side effects, efficacy, alcohol interaction, safety, and dangerousness. It utilized Google Trends to gather search volumes in the Philippines from December 2020 to November 2021. After describing the queries and search volumes, multiple linear regression was done. The results showed that the Filipino public was more interested in the safety of COVID-19 vaccines than their danger. Interest in its efficacy, interaction, and side effects initially increased but decreased over time. Vaccine registration initially dropped but later increased in November 2021, perhaps due to a national holiday for public vaccination. Strikingly, interest in COVID-19 vaccine registration was only associated with its safety and had no relationship with interaction, efficacy, and side effects. Therefore, reliable online information on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines is crucial to improving public interest in COVID-19 vaccination.

Introduction: Online “Twitter Alter” accounts have emerged in the Philippines, particularly among its men who have sex with men (MSM) community, including gay and bisexual men. It enabled them to mask their identities, avoiding discrimination based on their sexual preferences, orientations, and behaviors. Given these and the rising use of the internet, Google Trends can be used as a surrogate measure to determine changes in public interest concerning HIV and Twitter Alter. Methods: This study aimed to elucidate search pattern changes and related interest of the online public regarding “Twitter Alter” and “HIV/AIDS” over ten years from July 2011 to June 2021. An analysis of Google Trends for keywords “Twitter Alter” and “HIV/AIDS (Illness)” from July 2011 to June 2021 was done as a surrogate measure of public interest and awareness. Search volumes, related queries, and topics were described and compared. Results: It was found that the search volume for “Twitter Alter” has increased by about 10000% while the “HIV/AIDS (Illness)” search volume decreased to 67%. Conclusion: Online public interest, as an alternative measure to public awareness, has increased for “Twitter Alter” while decreasing for HIV. Given these, “Twitter Alter” may put its users, mostly young MSM, at a more conducive venue for high-risk sexual behaviors due to the higher behavioral control while avoiding public stigma. Nonetheless, the online “Twitter Alter” community may also be mustered in information campaigns for HIV prevention