Why involve families in acute mental healthcare? A collaborative conceptual review

This article presents independent research funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the East London NHS Foundation Trust and the Centre for Public Engagement (CPE) at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). AD is funded by the NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship (DRF-2015-08-071). DG was supported by the NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) North Thames at Barts Health NHS Trust. KB, GB and SC were supported by the Centre for Public Engagement at QMUL

Personality, posttraumatic stress and trauma type: factors contributing to posttraumatic growth and its domains in a Turkish community sample

Background: Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is conceptualized as a positive transformation resulting from coping with and processing traumatic life events. This study examined the contributory roles of personality traits, posttraumatic stress (PTS) severity and their interactions on PTG and its domains, as assessed with the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory Turkish form (PTGI-T). The study also examined the differences in PTG domains between survivors of accidents, natural disasters and unexpected loss of a loved one. Methods: The Basic Personality Traits Inventory, Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale, and PTGI-T were administered to a large stratified cluster community sample of 969 Turkish adults in their home settings. Results: The results showed that conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness to experience significantly related to the total PTG and most of the domains. The effects of extraversion, neuroticism and openness to experience were moderated by the PTS severity for some domains. PTG in relating to others and appreciation of life domains was lower for the bereaved group. Conclusion: Further research should examine the mediating role of coping between personality and PTG using a longitudinal design

Predictors of pre- and postoperative anxiety in emergency surgery patients

Objective: Emergency surgery is a highly stressful life event. Patients experience distressing anxiety both before and after surgery and this anxiety affects their recovery process. The aim of the present study is to examine variables related to pre- and postoperative anxiety in emergency surgery patients. Methods: The sample consisted of 146 emergency surgery patients who had abdominal surgery in an emergency surgery clinic. The research instruments were administered before and after the surgery. State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-A State), Anxiety Specific to Surgery Questionnaire (ASSQ), a scale tapping fears and worries specific to surgery developed for the present study, Ways of Coping Inventory (WCI), and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were administered. Data analysis: Data were analyzed by using the appropriate programs of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: There was a significant drop in anxiety from the pre- to the postoperative period. Female patients had higher preoperation anxiety than males. Females and males did not differ in anxiety at the postoperation period. Being female, waiting for primary suture for peptic ulcer perforation operation, and helplessness and self-blaming coping appeared as significant predictors of anxiety specific to surgery. Being female and awaiting for primary suture for peptic ulcer perforation were significant predictors of preoperative state anxiety. Finally, years of education were negatively and use of active coping was positively related to postoperative state anxiety. Conclusion: Patient sociodemographic and psychological characteristics and type of surgery need to be considered for identifying patients at risk of experiencing anxiety both before and after surgery and psychological support and clinical management needs to be tailored to the needs of the patients to alleviate their anxiety

Impact of a community disaster awareness training program in Turkey: Does it influence hazard-related cognitions and preparedness behaviors

A community disaster training program focusing on earthquakes, floods and landslides was implemented in Cankiri, Turkey, in 2002. It covered mitigation, preparedness and response aspects of natural disaster management. Four thousand community members participated in the training program delivered by 95 local trainers. This study evaluated the impact of participation in this program. One year later, 400 randomly selected participants in the training program and a comparable sample of 400 community members who did not participate in any disaster training program (nonparticipants) were surveyed. Disaster-related cognitions (i.e., disaster expectation, worry about future disasters, loss estimations if a disaster occurs, beliefs in the possibility of mitigation and preparedness) and reported preparedness behaviors were assessed. The relationship of sociodemographic, previous disaster experience, anxiety and locus of control variables with disaster-related cognitions and behaviors was examined. Results showed that participants in the training program had more disaster expectation, worry and loss estimation and more preparedness behaviors. Results of regression analyses, examining the relationship of the variables of the study with disaster cognitions, affect and actual preparedness behaviors showed that gender, education, being a participant in the training program, anxiety and locus of control are important variables related to different kinds of disaster-related cognitions. However, reported preparedness behaviors were quite low and this result needs to be viewed with caution. These results have important implications for the modification of programs for targeting sustainable behavioral change, which is likely to reduce the impact of future disasters

The prevalence of epilepsy amongst school children in Izmir, Turkey

Objective. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of epilepsy among school children between the ages of 7-17 in Izmir province, in Turkey

Oxcarbazepine in the treatment of childhood epilepsy

WOS: 000181959800006PubMed ID: 12657418In this study, oxcarbazepine was began as monotherapy to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the drug. Forty-two patients (19 females, 23 males) with partial or generalized epilepsy more than 4 years of age were included (mean age, 11.9 +/- 3.4 years). The mean age at epilepsy onset 8.9 4 years. Complete blood count, liver function tests, electrolytes, lipid levels, electrocardiography, electroencephalography, and magnetic resonance imaging were performed in all patients. Oxcarbazepine dose was begun at 10 mg/kg/day twice daily and increased to 30 mg/kg/day at the end of the second week. Patients with inadequate seizure control even with the dose of 45 mg/kg/day or intolerable side effects were excluded. Intolerable headache and leukopenia led to discontinuation of the drug in two patients. At the sixth month, 35 of the patients (87.5%) were seizure free (91.7% of the generalized epilepsy patients and 81.2% of the partial epilepsy patients). The most frequent tolerable side effect was drowsiness in 12 patients. As a result, we found oxcarbazepine safe and effective in children with either generalized or partial epilepsy. (C) 2003 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved