18 research outputs found
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being, work conditions, and education of early career psychiatrists in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region: study protocol
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic placed great strain on healthcare professionals, leading to a substantial impact and a redistribution of the workforce. Despite the active involvement of the Eastern Mediterranean Region Office (EMRO) and the World Health Organization in managing mental health crises, there is a knowledge gap concerning the working conditions and training opportunities available for early career psychiatrists (ECPs) during the pandemic period.ObjectivesThis study aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ECPs and how it affected their well-being, employment, and educational opportunities.MethodsA mixed methods study has been conducted in Iran, Egypt, and Tunisia, three EMRO member countries. It includes a cross-sectional survey with self-reported questions, and a qualitative study with individual in-depth interviews.DiscussionThe findings of this study will raise awareness to the working conditions of ECPs within the EMRO region and its member societies, both during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The results will serve as a basis for encouraging supervisors and policymakers to mitigate the pandemic’s impact on psychiatric training, strengthen healthcare systems’ preparedness, and equip early career psychiatrists with the necessary skills to deal with the mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic
Peer Learning, Research, and Support in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Case Study of the Early Career Psychiatrists Model
Telepsychiatry During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Development of a Protocol for Telemental Health Care
Background The rapid spread of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has forced most countries to take drastic public health measures, including the closure of most mental health outpatient services and some inpatient units. This has suddenly created the need to adapt and expand telepsychiatry care across the world. However, not all health care services might be ready to cope with this public health demand. The present study was set to create a practical and clinically useful protocol for telemental health care to be applied in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A panel of psychiatrists from 15 different countries [covering all World Health Organization (WHO) regions] was convened. The panel used a combination of reactive Delphi technique and consensus development conference strategies to develop a protocol for the provision of telemental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results The proposed protocol describes a semi-structured initial assessment and a series of potential interventions matching mild, moderate, or high-intensity needs of target populations. Conclusions Telemedicine has become a pivotal tool in the task of ensuring the continuous provision of mental health care for the population, and the outlined protocol can assist with this task. The strength of this protocol lies in its practicality, clinical usefulness, and wide transferability, resulting from the diversity of the consensus group that developed it. Developed by psychiatrists from around the globe, the proposed protocol may prove helpful for many clinical and cultural contexts, assisting mental health care providers worldwide
COVID-19 mental health care toolkit: an international collaborative effort by Early Career Psychiatrists section
The collaborative effort of an international research team from the Early Career Psychiatrists section of the World Psychiatry Association has brought about an easy-to-use, quick and stepwise mental health care toolkit for the identification and appropriate referral of those in need of mental health care during the pandemic. This simple guide can be applied in the general outpatient setting and is catered for all healthcare professionals, regardless of their expertise within the mental health field with minimal training. It is our hope that by incorporating this toolkit into our daily clinical care during the pandemic for high-risk patients and patients with non-specific complaints, we will be able to bridge the mental health gap present in our society
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Characteristics of Attempted Suicide in the Middle East and North Africa Region: The Mediating Role of Arab Culture and Religion
The general lack of awareness of mental health in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, particularly within its Arab countries, accounts for limited mental health services and stigmatization of psychiatric conditions in the region. Suicide is a drastic consequence of mental health neglect. Suicidal attempts are one form of presentation to emergency departments (ED) in healthcare centers across the Arab countries in the MENA region. We collected data from various research studies in the region to narrate such presentations. This epidemiological country-by-country summary includes the characteristics of suicidal attempts in the Arab region, with a focus on methods, causes, and management of cases. The summary demonstrates that suicidal attempts in this part of the world share sociocultural and logistic grounds. The prominent archetypes of suicidal attempts are middle-aged Arab women ingesting poisonous substances secondary to familial or interpersonal stressors. We also link these presentations to the Arab culture and its associated beliefs, which at times can dictate privacy and stigmatization of mental health and suicide. Even though religion plays a role in mollifying suicidal attempts, it might exacerbate stigma regarding suicide among Arab societies. Lastly, we recommend management measures that enhance suicide risk detection in the ED and provide an ameliorated understanding of suicidal ideations and behaviors of patients in the Arab countries of the MENA region
Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility among Gram Negative Bacteria Isolated from Intensive Care Units at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Antibiotic resistance is an essential issue mostly in the intensive care units (ICUs). The Goal of this study was to investigate the widespread of multidrug resistance (MDR) gram-negative bacterial pathogens isolated from ICUs at King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH), Riyadh, KSA, and their ability to produce ESBL and MBL enzymes. All organisms were isolated from different ICUs at (KKUH) between June to December 2016. Identification and antimicrobial susceptibility were committed according to the laboratory policy. The bacterial Isolates flagged as ESBL or MBL by Vitek 2 were confirmed using E-test method recommended by CLSI. 70 isolates from different body sites comprising 25 (35.7 %) were P. aeruginosa, 23 (32.9 % ) were K. pneumoniae, 16 (22.9%) were E. coli, and 6 (8.6 %) were A. baumannii. Among the 23 isolates K. pneumonia and 16 of E. coli, 19 (82.6%) and 16 (100%) were detected as ESBL (+) by double-disk diffusion method according to guidelines of CLSI. On the contrary, ESBL was not detected in any isolates of P. aeruginosa or in A. baumannii. All P. aeruginosa and A. baumannii isolates were carbapenem resistant. MBL was found in all P. aeruginosa, A. baumannii and 4 (17.4 %) of K. pneumonia where E. coli strains did not appear any MBL action. The essential resistance mechanisms in the evaluated strains were ESBL and MBL. Molecular testing is recommended to confirm the phenotypic results and to detect the resistant genes