Social changes known to be prevalent in the world today, especially those identified in developing countries also prevail in the Philippines. These social transformations have had an impact on individuals and communities. What has become clear is that the political and social forces that have generated such changes have contributed significantly to an increase in the world-wide incidence of psychosocial and mental health problems.
PSYCHIATRY ; COMMUNITY PSYCHIATRY

INTRODUCTION: According to WHO about 80% of people living with a severe mental disorder in Low-and-Middle-income countries (LAMICs) do not have access to appropriate healthcare. Low literacy regarding mental disorders is one of the main barriers that prevent access to mental healthcare, which leads to stigma, socio economic exclusion, suffering of people with mental disorders and forces families to hide their relatives rather than to direct them to the community healthcare centre. To address this issue mental health, stakeholders from more than 20 countries joined forces with the World Association of Social Psychiatry and Sanofi in the FAST program, based on 3 pillars: (1) Mental health literacy, (2) health care professionals training and (3) affordable quality medicines.
OBJECTIVE: This research aimed or develop Information-Education-Communication materials to improve mental health literacy in LAMICs.
METHODOLOGY: Workshops with participants from different sectors (public, academic, associative, private) were set up to develop generic documentsbased on the experienced derived from malaria awareness programs. Then, for each country, documents were revised and adapted by a local working group.
RESULTS: A flip chart, an educational comic book, a leaflet, a poster and a brochure on schizophrenia were made available with versions adapted to the local specificities of (a) Sub - Saharan Africa (b) North Africa (c) Eastern Europe and (d) Latin America. The main message of the educational materials was that: mental disorders are like any other disease i.e. they can be treated and people with mental disorders are like any other person. The following specific topics where covered: frequency of mental disorders, symptoms recognition, cause of disease, where to seek help, stigma. Recommendations on how to use these materials were also available.
CONCLUSION: Improving mental health literacy in developing countries calls for relevant materials. A rigorous evaluation of the impact of the FAST documents is now required.

Human ; Health Literacy ; Mental Health ; Developing Countries ; Social Stigma ; Community Psychiatry ; Schizophrenia ; Community Health Services ; Malaria

INTRODUCTION: According to WHO about 80% of people living with a severe mental disorder in Low-and-Middle-income countries (LAMICs) do not have access to appropriate healthcare. Low literacy regarding mental disorders is one of the main barriers that prevent access to mental healthcare, which leads to stigma, socio economic exclusion, suffering of people with mental disorders and forces families to hide their relatives rather than to direct them to the community healthcare centre. To address this issue mental health, stakeholders from more than 20 countries joined forces with the World Association of Social Psychiatry and Sanofi in the FAST program, based on 3 pillars: (1) Mental health literacy, (2) health care professionals training and (3) affordable quality medicines.
OBJECTIVE: This research aimed or develop Information-Education-Communication materials to improve mental health literacy in LAMICs.
METHODOLOGY: Workshops with participants from different sectors (public, academic, associative, private) were set up to develop generic documentsbased on the experienced derived from malaria awareness programs. Then, for each country, documents were revised and adapted by a local working group.
RESULTS: A flip chart, an educational comic book, a leaflet, a poster and a brochure on schizophrenia were made available with versions adapted to the local specificities of (a) Sub - Saharan Africa (b) North Africa (c) Eastern Europe and (d) Latin America. The main message of the educational materials was that: mental disorders are like any other disease i.e. they can be treated and people with mental disorders are like any other person. The following specific topics where covered: frequency of mental disorders, symptoms recognition, cause of disease, where to seek help, stigma. Recommendations on how to use these materials were also available.
CONCLUSION: Improving mental health literacy in developing countries calls for relevant materials. A rigorous evaluation of the impact of the FAST documents is now required.

Human ; Health Literacy ; Mental Health ; Developing Countries ; Social Stigma ; Community Psychiatry ; Schizophrenia ; Community Health Services ; Malaria

Recently, the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association (KCNP) has been expanded greatly in the number of members as well as the qualities in the area of practice and research. There are also 23 affiliated academic societies : Korean Academy of Psychotherapists, Korean Society for Analytical Psychology, the Korean Psychoanalytic Society, the Korean Association for Clinical Art, Korean Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the Korean Association of Social Psychiatry, The Korean Society of Biological Therapies in Psychiatry, Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the Korean Society of Biological Psychiatry, Society of Korean Women Psychiatrists, the Korean Society of Clinical Hypnosis, the Society for Human Sexuality, Korean Society of Sleep Research, the Korean Society for Psychopathology and Psychiatric Classification, Korean Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Korean Psychosomatic Society, Korean Academy of Sleep Medicine, Korean Association for Geriatic Psychiatry, Korean Academy of Psychiatrists in Alcoholism & Addiction, Korean Academy of Adolescent Psychiatry, Korean Academy Schizophrenia, Korean Society for Depressive and Bipolar Disorders, and Korean Academy of Anxiety Disorders. To further encourage the progress of the KCNP affiliated academic societies, the KCNP planning committee has developed the proposed criteria for assessing the societies.
Adolescent ; Adolescent Psychiatry ; Alcoholism ; Anxiety Disorders ; Biological Psychiatry ; Biological Therapy ; Bipolar Disorder ; Child ; Classification ; Community Psychiatry ; Female ; Humans ; Hypnosis ; Jurisprudence ; Psychiatry ; Psychology ; Psychopathology ; Schizophrenia ; Sexuality

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the utility of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) screening tools using community network of home childcare center visiting nurses. METHODS: The design of this study is multilevel survey to find the ASD using modified checklist for autism in toddlers (M-CHAT) for first screening by childcare teachers, checklist for autism in toddlers (CHAT) for secondary screening by nurses, Autism diagnostic observation schedule (ADOS) and Autism diagnostic interview revised (ADI-R) for final diagnosis by pediatric psychiatrists. RESULTS: In first screening by using M-CHAT, 61 subjects(0.56%) were detected among 8,926 subjects. Among the first screened 61 subjects, 13 subjects were exempted for normal finding in CHAT. 24 subjects consented participation for final diagnosis and 23 of them were diagnosed ASD. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, M-CHAT and CHAT were verified their utility as screening tools for ASD in the community and the community health networks as a childcare visiting nurses can be useful network in early detection and referral of ASD.
Appointments and Schedules ; Autistic Disorder* ; Checklist ; Child ; Autism Spectrum Disorder* ; Community Networks ; Diagnosis ; Mass Screening* ; Nurses, Community Health* ; Psychiatry ; Referral and Consultation

For improving mental health of the future unified Korea, proper preparation would be necessary in the fields of clinical, social, and cultural psychiatry. Clinically, a diagnostic and treatment system for mental illness should be re-established after Korean unification. There should also be specific preparation for suicides, trauma- or stress-related disorders, somatizations, substance abuse, and childhood psychiatric problems which are expected to rapidly increase in North Korean areas after the unification. In the field of social psychiatry, de-stigmatization and de-institutionalization of those with mental illness would be important after the unification. Education of mental health professionals in North Korean areas would also be crucial. Culturally, it would be necessary to expect the psychological change of both South and North Koreans.
Community Psychiatry ; Democratic People's Republic of Korea ; Education ; Ethnopsychology ; Korea ; Mental Health ; Substance-Related Disorders ; Suicide

OBJECTIVES: There is a increasing need to recruit and retain more psychiatrists who can plan and implement organized programs to work with chronic mentally ill patients in community settings. The aim of study is to discover what training is currently in place to prepare psychiatrist for work in "community" or "public" settings. METHODS: Survey questionnaires were mailed to 85 residency training directors and 10 leaders of community mental health in 2005. Response rate was 75%. RESULTS: Academic seminar about community mental health were not administered to residents in 63% of training hospitals. Forty one out of 64 training hospitals had community mental health rotation programs. Community mental health center (50%) and day hospital (36%) were the most common type of programs. Few general hospital had affiliation with community mental health programs. The amount of time for clinical rotation varied from less than three months part time to 6 months fulltime, with most frequent form of one day per week for three month in second or third year of psychiatry residents. CONCLUSION: Further steps are needed to improve residency training curricula and to encourage well qualified psychiatrist to choose careers in community psychiatry.
Community Psychiatry ; Curriculum ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Hypogonadism ; Internship and Residency ; Mental Health ; Mentally Ill Persons ; Mitochondrial Diseases ; Ophthalmoplegia ; Postal Service ; Psychiatry ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The purpose of this study was to investigate the residents' opinions about community mental health in the Taegu-Kyungpuk area for the future development of a community mental health program and model appropriate for Korea, Yhe subjects were 152 residents in the Taegu-Kyungpuk area. In July 1999, the data was collected using a convenience sample technique. Mental health status was significantly different for the level of occupational advantage(x2=15.684, p<.05) and physical health(x2=39.262, p<.000). Factor structure for mental health problems with the percentage of variance was as follows: optimistic view(27.581). dark view(10.758). mastery(6.200), discomfiture(6.101) and life style(5.641). Most of the respondents(92.1%) took the mental health problems seriously. The serious aspects of the mental health problem were found to be epilepsy, mental retardation, neurosis and schizophrenia respectively. Concerning about the view of community mental health, most of the respondents answered that the a C.M.H.C. was 'useful and urgent' concering the need for C.M.H.(77.6%). They answered positively on the utilization of C.M.H.C(75.7%) and preferred the separately new community mental health center. A psychiatrist was preferred as the key person in charge(44.1%). If community mental health centers were established in a community health center, they answered that the expected major problem would be quality control of care(44.7%). They preferred the psychiatrist's office as the recommended agency for the insane(44.7%). Opinions of the asylum system were found very negative in respect to psychiatric therapy and humanitarianism. The results of this study will help establish a relevant model for this community as the primary site for a community-based mental health model.
Altruism ; Community Health Centers ; Community Mental Health Centers ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Epilepsy ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability ; Korea ; Mental Health* ; Mentally Disabled Persons* ; Psychiatry ; Quality Control ; Schizophrenia

INTRODUCTION: Prevalence of mental disorders is high worldwide. In Low-and-Lower-Middle-income countries (LALMICs) mental illnesses are already the second cause of burden in DALYs. As psychiatrists are extremely rare in LALMICs, addressing this issue calls for shifting mental health to primary care and consequently, training first line health care providers would be the next challenge. Via the FAST program, the World Asssociation of Social Psychiatry (WASP), Sanofi, Ministries of Health, academics, patients/families association and NGOs have joined forces to improve access to mental health care in LALMICs. The program is based on 3 pillars: (1) Mental health literacy, (2) health care professionals (HCP) training and (3) affordable quality medicines.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to develop a training curriculum and a set of materials to train HCP that is easily adaptable to the singularity of the local environment.
METHODOLOGY: (1) A master-2 public health student conducted the project; (2) two domains were selected in priority: schizophrenia and unipolar mood disorders; (3) two main targets were identified: general practitioners and nurses / community healthcare workers; (4) professional's needs were assessed through a phone questionnaire; (5) WASP experts were in charge of drafting slides kits and other technical documents (6) to avoid any risk of conflict of interest, it was decided that training on medications will be based on the WHO mhGAP guide.
RESULTS: For each disease and each category of HCP (1) a training of trainers manual; (2) a training curriculum; (3) a slide kit; (4) a training brochure; (5) videos of patients; (6) role-play scenarios; (7) clinical cases (8) pre and post assessment questionnaires, were made available.
CONCLUSION: First feed-back indicated that these tools were of great added value for countries with limited human resources, even though, as anticipated, they will have to be adapted locally, especially role-play scenarios, clinical cases and patient's videos.

Mental Health ; General Practitioners ; Health Literacy ; Prevalence ; Students, Public Health ; Mood Disorders ; Community Psychiatry ; Primary Health Care ; Community Health Services ; Curriculum ; Schizophrenia

INTRODUCTION: Prevalence of mental disorders is high worldwide. In Low-and-Lower-Middle-income countries (LALMICs) mental illnesses are already the second cause of burden in DALYs. As psychiatrists are extremely rare in LALMICs, addressing this issue calls for shifting mental health to primary care and consequently, training first line health care providers would be the next challenge. Via the FAST program, the World Asssociation of Social Psychiatry (WASP), Sanofi, Ministries of Health, academics, patients/families association and NGOs have joined forces to improve access to mental health care in LALMICs. The program is based on 3 pillars: (1) Mental health literacy, (2) health care professionals (HCP) training and (3) affordable quality medicines.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to develop a training curriculum and a set of materials to train HCP that is easily adaptable to the singularity of the local environment.
METHODOLOGY: (1) A master-2 public health student conducted the project; (2) two domains were selected in priority: schizophrenia and unipolar mood disorders; (3) two main targets were identified: general practitioners and nurses / community healthcare workers; (4) professional's needs were assessed through a phone questionnaire; (5) WASP experts were in charge of drafting slides kits and other technical documents (6) to avoid any risk of conflict of interest, it was decided that training on medications will be based on the WHO mhGAP guide.
RESULTS: For each disease and each category of HCP (1) a training of trainers manual; (2) a training curriculum; (3) a slide kit; (4) a training brochure; (5) videos of patients; (6) role-play scenarios; (7) clinical cases (8) pre and post assessment questionnaires, were made available.
CONCLUSION: First feed-back indicated that these tools were of great added value for countries with limited human resources, even though, as anticipated, they will have to be adapted locally, especially role-play scenarios, clinical cases and patient's videos.

Mental Health ; General Practitioners ; Health Literacy ; Prevalence ; Students, Public Health ; Mood Disorders ; Community Psychiatry ; Primary Health Care ; Community Health Services ; Curriculum ; Schizophrenia