Suicide rates in Maltese Islands (1955-2009) analysed in European context using WHO data

Aim: To calculate the suicide rates (for males and females) in Malta and other European countries with long series of suicide mortality as recorded in the WHO (World Health Organization) database, and compare the Maltese suicide rates with European rates. Method: Suicide rates were computed from the WHO database as rates (suicides per 100,000 persons) using the reported suicide and population counts in Malta and ten other European countries for a common period 1955-2009. Suicide rates were age standardized following the WHO recommendations. These calculations were carried out separately for both sexes. Results: Compared to other European counties, the suicide rates (both male and female) in Malta have remained at considerably low level as calculated over the full period. Maltese suicide rates have however multiplied since the 1980s. European data exhibit clear decrease in suicide rates towards the present consistently in several countries. Malta is the only European country showing its highest suicide rates during the 2000s. Conclusions: Although the suicide rates in Malta remain at considerably low level, they have exhibited a notable increase towards the present, whereas the European suicide rates are in decline. Becoming aware of this fact and the issue may help in building a suicide prevention programme to mitigate the situation.peer-reviewe

A new national suicide prevention programme in Finland

Suicide prevention requires enhancing the efficiency of current activities and the introduction of new approaches. Therefore, a new suicide prevention programme has been put into action, starting this year. Its key message is the following: 1) the attitudes of those encountering persons who have attempted suicide must be transformed to ensure that no one who has attempted suicide is blamed or perceived as only seeking attention; 2) the availability of suicide methods and equipment for suicide must be reduced; 3) low-threshold crisis services must be available everywhere in Finland, and information must be provided on these to ensure that every resident knows where to find the services in their area and how to reach them; 4) access to treatment will be facilitated and accelerated by prioritising the treatment of a person at suicide risk, as well as by paying attention and providing support to the loved ones of those who died by suicide, since early support for individuals with a difficult life situation and during crises can prevent problems from getting worse and may also prevent suicides; 5) the severity of suicide risk among intoxicated people or those with substance abuse or addiction issues is assessed similarly as with anyone else at suicide risk; 6) competence in the media in communicating about suicides may promote suicide prevention, as positive suicide attempt survivor stories may help people find help in a difficult situation, and 7) there is a need for topical statistical data on different age group and risk groups related to suicides, suicide attempts, access to treatment, quality of care and early support

Potilastyössä tapahtuneiden väkivalta- ja uhkatilanteiden ilmoittamisen merkitys röntgenosastolle

Helsingin ja Uudenmaan sairaanhoitopiirissä (HUS) väkivaltatilanteita ilmoitetaan 1200–1600 tapausta vuodessa. Vuonna 2010 HUS-Röntgenissä ilmoitettiin 23 väkivalta- ja uhkatilannetta, joissa yleisimmin tekijänä oli potilas. Röntgenhoitajiin kohdistuva väkivalta on yleisimmin henkistä. Väkivalta voi olla myös fyysistä, kuten tönimistä, potkimista, lyömistä tai liikkumisen rajoittamista. Väkivalta- ja uhkatilanteista tulee aina tehdä ilmoitus, jonka avulla röntgenhoitaja tuo esille tilanteiden todellisen määrän ja näin väkivalta- ja uhkatilanteita pystytään seuraamaan. Ilmoituksen avulla röntgenhoitaja antaa mahdollisuuden ennaltaehkäistä väkivalta- ja uhkatilanteita ja parantaa henkilöturvallisuutta. Opinnäytetyömme tarkoituksena on tuoda ilmi, mikä merkitys poikkeamailmoituksen tekemisellä on röntgenhoitajan näkökulmasta. Haluamme tuoda esille, mitkä ovat röntgenhoitajien ilmoituskäytännöt sekä miten työturvallisuutta ja -ympäristöä voitaisiin kehittää Jorvin röntgenissä. Toteutimme määrällisen selvityksemme kyselylomakkeen avulla kesällä 2011. Kyselylomakkeessa oli strukturoituja sekä avoimia kysymyksiä. Kysely oli suunnattu 35:lle Jorvin röntgenin röntgenhoitajalle (n=27). Selvitysaineistoa analysoitiin PASW Statistics -ohjelman, kuvailevien menetelmien ja sisällönanalyysin avulla. Tuloksista selvisi, että Jorvin röntgenissä osataan tehdä poikkeamailmoituksia melko hyvin, mutta röntgenhoitajien valmiuksia niiden tekemiseen olisi hyvä vielä kehittää. Turvallisuuskoulutuksen sisältöön kaivattiin enemmän tietoa väkivalta- ja uhkatilanteiden riskeistä sekä niiden tunnistamisesta. Jorvin röntgenin työturvallisuutta ja -ympäristöä voitaisiin parantaa kehittämällä etenkin hälytysjärjestelmää. Selvityksemme tuloksia voidaan hyödyntää Jorvin röntgenissä väkivalta- ja uhkatilanteiden ennaltaehkäisyn parantamisessa sekä lisäämällä röntgenhoitajien valmiuksia poikkeamailmoituksien tekemiseen. Työmme lisää röntgenhoitajien tietämystä ilmoitusprosessista ja sen merkityksestä. Opinnäytetyömme tuloksia voidaan hyödyntää myös muissakin työyksiköissä.The Importance of the Notification of the Violent and Threaten-ing Situations in Patient Work in an X-ray Department. 1,200–1,600 cases of violence per year have been reported in the Hospital district of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS). In the year 2010, there were 23 violent and threatening situations in the x-ray departments in HUS where it was mostly the patient who was violent. The patients use mostly emotional abuse with the radiographers. Violence can be also physical such as pushing, kicking, hitting and limiting the radiographer`s movement. The radiographer must always notificate the incident. By notificating, the radiographer brings out the real number of the situations and they can be followed. This gives an opportunity to prevent violent and threatening situations and improves staff security. The purpose of our final project was to bring out the importance of making the deviation statement from the perspective of the radiographer. In our account, we want to bring out radiographers` notification practices and also how to improve the safetyness in the Jorvi`s x-ray department. We implement our quantitative study with the help of a survey in summer 2011. There were multiple-choice and open questions in our survey. The survey was directed to the 35 radiographers in the Jorvi`s x-ray department. We received 27 answers. Answers were analyzed with the PASW Statistics -programme and content analysis. The result was that radiographers can make deviation statement rather well in the Jorvi`s x-ray department. Radiographers‘ preparedness could still be improved. According to the results, safetytraining needs more information on the risks and indentification of the violent and threatening situations. Jorvi`s x-ray department needs a better alarm system. The results can be used to improve the prevention of violent and threatening situations. They can also be used to increase the radiographers` capabilities in making deviation statement in the Jorvi`s x-ray department. Our final project produced more information on the notification process and its meaning to the radiographers. The results can be used also in other x-ray departments

Increase in eveningness and insufficient sleep among adults in population-based cross-sections from 2007 to 2017

Peer reviewe

Eveningness increases risks for depressive and anxiety symptoms and hospital treatments mediated by insufficient sleep in a population-based study of 18,039 adults

cited By 0Background Epidemiological data show that having the eveningness associates with poor mental health. For preventive measures it is important to know which underlying factors mediate these associations and the burden posed to public health. This study examines at a population-based level, whether (1) circadian type and the sleep-wake behavior-based phase entrainment similarly associate with mental health problems, (2) there are differences in hospital treatments due to mental disorders between chronotypes, and (3) the association of chronotype with mental health is mediated by insufficient sleep. Methods The study sample (N = 18,039) consisted of population-based sample of Finnish adults, aged 25-74 years, with information on their circadian type and sleep patterns, mental health symptoms, and diagnosis as reported in a health examination survey, as well as hospital treatments as recorded on the national Hospital Discharge Register. Results All the mental health symptoms, diagnoses and hospital treatments were more pronounced among Evening-types, especially when assessed by circadian type. Insufficient sleep mediated most but not all of the associations between eveningness and mental health. Conclusions Eveningness does not increase mental health risks only on symptom or diagnosis level, but also on hospital admission level. A higher prevalence of insufficient sleep among the Evening-types elevates the risk and severity for many of the mental health outcomes. Improving the sleep among Evening-types could help to improve their mental health prospective and ease the health care burden.Peer reviewe

Suicide mortality in European countries and Post-Soviet states since 1955: Illustrating the longtime trends and patterns of recent changes

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Seasonal changes in mood and behavior contribute to suicidality and worthlessness in a population-based study

Limited evidence suggests that the seasonal changes in mood and behavior may associate with suicidality and the feelings of worthlessness, but these associations have not been analyzed in large population-based data. A random sample of adults (n = 4069), representative of the general population living in Finland, attended a nationwide health examination survey. Seasonal variations (seasonality) in mood and behavior were analyzed with the six items of global seasonality score (GSS) and the experienced problem due to these variations. Their impact on suicidality as well as on the feelings of worthlessness were analyzed using logistic regression models. After adjusting for age and gender, the GSS, each of its six items and the experienced problem due to the seasonal variations in mood and behavior all showed separately a significant association with suicidality as well as with worthlessness. After further adjustment for the education level and region of residence, the GSS, its mood item and the experienced problem remained significantly associated with both suicidality and worthlessness. Seasonal variations in mood and behavior have a significant association with both suicidality and worthlessness.Peer reviewe

Emotions relating to romantic love-further disruptors of adolescent sleep

Objective: Early-stage romantic involvement may resemble hypomania in its manifestation on behavioral, physiological, and psychological levels. Previous research suggests that self-reported sleep duration may diminish as a result of falling in love during adolescence. We investigated how feelings of infatuation are related to subjective and objective measures of sleep duration, quality, and timing. Methods: 1374 adolescents (66% girls; mean age: 16.9, SD=0.6 years) selected from the population register responded to online questionnaires regarding romantic love, mental well-being, and sleep behavior. A sub-sample (n=309) underwent a week-long actigraphy measurement (GENEActiv Original). We compared the sleep duration, quality, and timing of those who reported being in the early stages of love to those who were not. Results: 11% of all participants reported being in the early stages of romantic love. Those girls and boys who were in love had higher scores of depression and anxiety than others. Girls who were in love reported poorer sleep quality, later sleep timing, and shorter sleep duration both on weekdays (mean difference: 32 minutes, p Conclusions: We conclude that romantic love is one further cause for short or poor quality sleep in girls and may relate to symptoms of depression and anxiety in both sexes. However, feelings of infatuation contain important developmental lessons. (C) 2020 National Sleep Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

PRKCDBP (CAVIN3) and CRY2 associate with major depressive disorder

Peer reviewe

Putting the Me in Team: Examining the Benefits of Cooperative Learning Strategies on Student Motivation and Success

In the classroom today, there is an increased emphasis on teaching students in a way that calls on them to work with each other in order to master content on their own. Cooperative learning, in essence, incorporates models that encourage the development of student-student relationships as well as student engagement and motivation in the classroom. The aim of my research study was to implement several different cooperative learning strategies, specifically Student Teams-Achievement Divisions, in order to measure student success on two different levels. The two levels will be student motivation in the classroom as well as overall classroom camaraderie among students and their peers. These two levels were measured using Likert scale surveys, as well as constructed short-response surveys, in order to gauge student opinions regarding their individual motivation and their level of comfort with their classmates. Additionally, students were observed during class STAD activities and field observations were recorded. The results of the study showed that although students still felt hesitant toward putting their trust in classmates, overall they felt more comfortable working in groups and recognized that working independently did not produce their best work