Search results

This paper aims to translate and validate an Arabic version of the Barriers to Access to Care Evaluation (BACE) BACE scale to make it appropriate for the targeted socio-cultural and linguistic context.

This psychometric study has two main compounds: translating the BACE into Arabic and validating it. Using the back-translation method, the authors involved seven professional individuals to maximize the efficacy of the translated version. The authors began with the process of translating the scale from English into Arabic and vice versa followed by evaluation, compression and matching. Later, a pilot study with a sample size of 35 participants was conducted to receive feedback on the Arabic version of the scale. Finally, an online survey was generated and distributed among Arabic-speaking countries; a total of 630 participants were voluntarily involved in this study.

A total of 630 participants completed the survey with a mean age of 31.4 ± 12.9, and 402 (63.8%) were females. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and McDonald's Omega coefficient were both greater than 0.9. The confirmatory factor analysis was found to fit highly satisfactory with the stigma-related barriers.

The BACE was validated in Arabic and its psychometric properties were examined in-depth and found to be strong.

This paper fulfils an identified need to translate tools to make mental health more accessible to patients in need.

Although the sexuality of people with mental health problems raises important clinical, social and legal concerns, there is relatively little written about the subject, and it is clear that staff often feel confused and embarrassed when discussing these issues with colleagues, carers and service users. Staff are often unsure about how to balance service users' rights to live a full life (including the right to express themselves sexually) with the need to protect people considered to be vulnerable. Here, Richard Pacitti and Graham Thornicroft describe how Mind in Croydon made a film about sex, relationships and mental health to help explore these issues further.‘Those of us who have been diagnosed with major mental illness do not cease to be human beings by virtue of that diagnosis. Like all people we experience the need for love, companionship, solitude, and intimacy. Like all people we want to feel loved, valued, and desired by others.’ (Patricia E Deegan, 1999).‘Not having a relationship if you want one can be like that constant feeling of being hungry and not being fed.’ (Bill, contributor to Unspoken)

Although we know that stigma is associated with having either a diagnosis of mental illness or a substance abuse disorder, evidence about whether stigma and discrimination are experienced differently, or at higher levels, for people with co‐occurring mental illness and substance abuse is unclear. Given the high prevalence of co‐occurring disorders and the high levels of need among people with co‐occurring disorders, understanding the varying levels of stigma and barriers to care encountered by this group is important for healthcare practitioners.

This paper aims to explore the efforts of four American women living with psychosis to chart their recovery process in published memoirs.

This paper looks at the different types of stigma that the patient-authors claim to encounter.

The author discusses the impact that the patient-authors see stigma as having on their recovery, and why they need artistic spaces to express themselves.

The memoirs offer a space for the women to revisit their memories of psychosis, and to achieve at least a partial acceptance of these experiences.

This study aims to probe the relationship of facial disfigurement, stigmatization, burdensome, hopelessness and suicidal ideation in acid attack survivors and to scrutinize the mediating role of perceived burdensome and hopelessness in connection between facial disfigurement, social stigmatization and suicidal ideation among acid attack survivors.

Data was collected from Holy Family Hospital which is located in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Acid Survivors Foundation and social media sites. Purposive sampling technique was used to collect the sample. Sample comprised of N = 74 acid attack survivors. English version of discrimination and stigma scale, interpersonal needs questionnaire perceived burdensome scale, suicidal ideation attributes scale, Beck hopelessness scale and observer-rated facial disfigurement scale were used for the assessment. Statistical analysis includes correlation and mediation analysis through process macro.

Results indicated significant positive relationship between facial disfigurements, unfair treatment, stopping self and perceived burdensome with suicidal ideation, whereas overcoming stigma, hopelessness and positive treatment present a negative relationship with suicidal ideation. Results of the current study also showed that burdensome and hopelessness appear as significant mediator in association between facial disfigurement, social discrimination and suicidal ideation. This study provides the awareness about how by decreasing the hopelessness and perceived burdensome and resolving social stigmatization can minimize suicidal ideation and risks accompanying it.

This research covers a topic that violates human rights, it is a topic that never gets old and people are still facing its effects.

The need to incorporate mental health service users in routine measurement of service effectiveness is included among recent policy proposals. However, mental health services pose particular problems of measurement and may prevent the acceptance of measures that are both comparable and meaningful. This paper outlines some of the major difficulties to be faced in routinely measuring quality of mental health services and taking users’ views into account. It then proposes a minimum specification for any measure of quality that places mental health service users at the centre of the process.