An audit on public awareness of depression symptoms in Jordan

A study on the identification of factors related to depression in a population with an increasing number of chronic diseases in the short term in China based on a health ecology model

BACKGROUND

The rapid increase in the number of patients with chronic diseases and depression, as well as the rapid spread of their effects, have led to these two health problems gradually developing into major public health issues in China and around the world. Currently, many individuals with chronic diseases are experiencing depressive symptoms one after another. Therefore, it is imperative to conduct research on how to prevent depression in this growing population of individuals with chronic diseases in a timely manner.

METHODS

Based on the data of the 2015 and 2018 national follow-up surveys of the China Health and Elderly Care Longitudinal Survey, a total of 7641 patients with short-term increase in the number of chronic diseases were selected as the study objects, and a binary logistic regression model was constructed according to the five dimensions of the health ecology model. The neural network model was used to explore the main (first two) factors affecting the increase in the number of chronic diseases in China in the short term, and the random forest and extreme value gradient lifting algorithm were used to verify them, and effective suggestions were put forward.

RESULTS

The detection rate of depression in the population with increasing number of chronic diseases from 2015 to 2018 was 42.13 %. The model was established based on five dimensions of the health ecology model: Model 1 (Personal trait layer), Model 2 (Personal trait layer plus Behavioral feature layer), Model 3 (Personal trait layer plus Behavioral feature layer plus Living and working conditions layer), Model 4 (Personal trait layer plus Behavioral feature layer plus Living and working conditions layer plus Networking layer) and Model 5 (Personal trait layer plus Behavioral feature layer plus Living and working conditions layer plus Networking layer plus Policy environment layer).The prediction accuracy of the five models was 66.4 %, 68.3 %, 70.7 %, 71.6 % and 71.6 %, respectively, and Model 5 showed that the P values of gender, self-rated health, night's sleep time (h), disability, life satisfaction, child satisfaction, place of residence and highest level of education were all <0.05, life satisfaction and self-rated health importance were 0.249 (100 %) and 0.226 (90.8 %).

CONCLUSION

Gender, self-rated health, night sleep duration, disability, satisfaction with life, satisfaction with children, place of residence and highest level of education were the main influencing factors for the increase of depressive symptoms in the population with chronic diseases in the short term, among which life satisfaction and self-rated health have the greatest impact on depressive symptoms, and there is an interaction between the two.

Validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the population postpartum depression literacy scale (PoDLiS): a web-based survey in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND

Proper knowledge about postpartum depression (PPD) will help recognize symptoms and encourage women to seek the needed professional help. Until now, there has been a scarcity of research on the literacy level of PPD among the Saudi population and the factors affecting it. This study translated the Postpartum Depression Literacy Scale (PoDLiS) into Arabic and evaluated its psychometric properties. Furthermore, the Saudi population's mental health literacy for PPD and the factors associated with it were examined as a secondary objective.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study involved 2,336 participants selected via convenience sampling from all over Saudi Arabia, all of whom willingly agreed to participate. Data collection was done through an online questionnaire using Google Forms, covering sociodemographic characteristics and the Arabic PoDLiS.

RESULTS

The Arabic version of PoDLiS showed acceptable goodness-of-fit between the observed data and the resulting six-factor solution, RMSEA = 0.049, 90% confidence interval RMSEA (0.010-0.050), pCLOSE = 0.742, CFI = 0.962, TLI = 0.940, χ2(270) = 1576.12, p-value = 0.742. The total Cronbach's alpha (α) of the PoDLiS showed acceptable internal consistency, measuring at 0.742. High literacy was seen in married and young participants with a postgraduate degree and sufficient household income who have known someone with PPD. Significantly lower literacy was seen in male, non-Saudi participants and those residing in the central and northern regions of Saudi Arabia.

CONCLUSIONS

The Arabic version of the PoDLiS showed good psychometric properties, and it can be used to assess PPD literacy among perinatal women and to examine the impact of PPD awareness programs. Despite reporting relatively good PPD literacy in the Saudi population, there is a persistent gap in participants' beliefs about available professional help and the attitudes that facilitate recognizing PPD. Our findings highlight the importance of implementing public education campaigns to improve overall knowledge about PPD and promote prevention, early recognition, and treatment of PPD.

Public attitudes towards psychiatry and psychiatric treatment at the beginning of the 21st century: a systematic review and meta-analysis of population surveys

Public attitudes towards psychiatry are crucial determinants of help-seeking for mental illness. It has been argued that psychiatry as a discipline enjoys low esteem among the public, and a "crisis" of psychiatry has been noted. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of population studies examining public attitudes towards various aspects of psychiatric care. Our search in PubMed, Web of Science, PsychINFO and bibliographies yielded 162 papers based on population surveys conducted since 2000 and published no later than 2015. We found that professional help for mental disorders generally enjoys high esteem. While general practitioners are the preferred source of help for depression, mental health professionals are the most trusted helpers for schizophrenia. If respondents have to rank sources of help, they tend to favor mental health professionals, while open questions yield results more favorable to general practitioners. Psychiatrists and psychologists/psychotherapists are equally recommended for the treatment of schizophrenia, while for depression psychologists/psychotherapists are more recommended, at least in Europe and America. Psychotherapy is consistently preferred over medication. Attitudes towards seeking help from psychiatrists or psychologists/psychotherapists as well as towards medication and psychotherapy have markedly improved over the last twenty-five years. Biological concepts of mental illness are associated with stronger approval of psychiatric help, particularly medication. Self-stigma and negative attitudes towards persons with mental illness decrease the likelihood of personally considering psychiatric help. In conclusion, the public readily recommends psychiatric help for the treatment of mental disorders. Psychotherapy is the most popular method of psychiatric treatment. A useful strategy to further improve the public image of psychiatry could be to stress that listening and understanding are at the core of psychiatric care.