Suporte interpares na doença mental

Background Peer support is a mutual aid system based on the belief that someone who faced/overcome adversity can provide support, encouragement and guidance to those who experience similar situations. Objective To conduct a systematic review that describes this concept and characterizes peer supporters, its practice and efficacy. Method Research on ISI Web of Science, EBSCO Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection and Medline databases (from 2001 to December 2013) was conducted using as keywords “mental illness”, “mental health”, “psychiatric disability”, “mental health services”, combined with “peer support”, “mutual support”, “self-help groups”, “consumers as providers”, “peer-run services”, “peer-run programs” and “social support”. Results We found 1,566 articles and the application of both the exclusion (studies with children, teenagers and elderly people; disease in comorbidity; peer support associated to physical illnesses or family members/caregivers) and the inclusion criteria (full text scientific papers, peer support or similar groups directed for schizophrenia, depression, bipolar or psychotic disorders) lead to 165 documents, where 22 were excluded due to repetition and 31 to incomplete text. We analyzed 112 documents, identifying as main peer support categories: characterization, peer supporter, practices and efficacy. Discussion Despite an increasing interest about this topic, there is no consensus, suggesting realizing more studies.Contexto O suporte interpares é um sistema de ajuda mútua baseado na crença de que alguém que enfrentou/superou adversidades pode oferecer apoio, encorajamento e orientação a outros que enfrentam situações similares. Objetivo Realizar uma revisão sistemática que caracterize o suporte interpares como prática, analise a sua eficácia e caracterize os pares prestadores de suporte interpares. Método Pesquisa nas bases de dados ISI Web of Science, EBSCO Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection e Medline (2001 a dezembro de 2013), utilizando as palavras-chave “mental illness”, “mental health”, “psychiatric disability”, “mental health services”, combinadas com “peer support”, “mutual support”, “self-help groups”, “consumers as providers”, “peer-run services”, “peer-run programs” e “social support”. Resultados Encontraram-se 1.566 artigos e foram aplicados os critérios de exclusão (artigos com crianças, adolescentes e idosos; doença mental em comorbidade; suporte interpares em doenças físicas ou familiares/cuidadores) e de inclusão (revistas científicas com texto integral disponível; suporte interpares ou grupos similares dirigidos a esquizofrenia, depressão, transtorno bipolar e outras perturbações psicóticas), resultando em 165 documentos. Excluíram-se 22 por repetição e 31 por texto incompleto, resultando em 112, os quais se identificaram como principais categorias do suporte interpares: caracterização, prestador de suporte, práticas e eficácia. Conclusão Existe interesse crescente pelo tema, embora alguns domínios não sejam consensuais, sugerindo necessidade de mais estudos

Peer support for people with mental illness

Background Peer support is a mutual aid system based on the belief that someone who faced/overcome adversity can provide support, encouragement and guidance to those who experience similar situations. Objective To conduct a systematic review that describes this concept and characterizes peer supporters, its practice and efficacy. Method Research on ISI Web of Science, EBSCO Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection and Medline databases (from 2001 to December 2013) was conducted using as keywords “mental illness”, “mental health”, “psychiatric disability”, “mental health services”, combined with “peer support”, “mutual support”, “self-help groups”, “consumers as providers”, “peer-run services”, “peer-run programs” and “social support”. Results We found 1,566 articles and the application of both the exclusion (studies with children, teenagers and elderly people; disease in comorbidity; peer support associated to physical illnesses or family members/caregivers) and the inclusion criteria (full text scientific papers, peer support or similar groups directed for schizophrenia, depression, bipolar or psychotic disorders) lead to 165 documents, where 22 were excluded due to repetition and 31 to incomplete text. We analyzed 112 documents, identifying as main peer support categories: characterization, peer supporter, practices and efficacy. Discussion Despite an increasing interest about this topic, there is no consensus, suggesting realizing more studies

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved