Experiences and Perceptions of Police Officers Concerning Their Interactions With People With Serious Mental Disorders for Compulsory Treatment

Background: In Portuguese law, police officers are the link between security and the treatment of people with serious mental disorders who require compulsory admission. The perceptions of police officers are in part based on their individual characteristics, and may influence their capability in managing patients they are transporting. However, little is known about police officers experience of this process.Methods: In-depth semi-structured interviews explored the experiences and per- ceptions of police officers from Porto Police Department in Portugal. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and analyzed through thematic analysis.Results: Ten police officers agreed to take part in this study. The interviewed police officers consisted of nine men and one woman, had an average length service of 22.6 years and all had more than 10 years of service. The interviews highlighted that the activity of the police under the Mental Health Law is shaped by whether the person who they are transporting has a mental health disorder and requires psychiatric admission. The police officers reportedly adjusted their behavior to give patients more attention, comfort and empathy. However, they describe these interactions as one of the most time consuming and challenging activities for the police. Importantly, they acknowledged family members as crucial for police officers to be able to gain direct access to patients and knowledge about them. Police officers showed to perceive people with mental illness as unpredictable, dangerous and without discernment, and identified some aspects of the process that could be improved, such as hospital admission waiting times. Police officers felt they required more skilled support to deal with unwell patients.Conclusions: This study highlights the perceptions and experiences of police officers about the process of compulsory admission, and identifies areas of unmet needs. These findings help to raise awareness of their needs, improving this process, and ensuring a more humane and effective approach

A tutela dos direitos fundamentais na pós-modernidade e os fenômenos neoconstitucionalismo e pós-positivismo

As grandes transformações observadas na sociedade atual, principalmente no que se refere à defesa dos direitos e garantias fundamentais previstos no texto constitucional do Estado Democrático de Direito, exigem que o fenômeno jurídico seja encarado sob uma nova visão. Em atenção a essa exigência, surgem teorias que visam a estabelecer este novo olhar e que, para atingirem tal fi m, preocupam-se com os problemas da indeterminação do Direito e com as relações havidas entre o Direito, a moral e a política. Essas teorias, chamadas de pós-positivistas, criam um cenário de busca pela reconstrução dos direitos fundamentais e por sua efetiva positivação, utilizando-se de fundamentos dos princípios constitucionais, parâmetros deste novo momento constitucional, que fi cou conhecido como neoconstitucionalismo. Para melhor acompanhamento destas mudanças na ordem jurídica, é imprescindível que se tenha conhecimento sobre a tutela dos direitos fundamentais no mundo pós-moderno e os fenômenos que surgiram neste contexto

Psychosocial risk and protective factors associated with burnout in police officers: A systematic review

Background: The specific factors that may influence burnout levels in police officers are not yet clear. Our aim was to systematically identify the psychosocial risk and protective factors associated with burnout among police officers. Methods: This systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). A protocol was registered in PROSPERO. A search strategy was applied to Medline via OvidSP, PsycInfo, Scopus and Web of Science. The quality assessment entailed the use of the CASP checklist for cohort studies. The data was reported through a narrative synthesis. Results: After removing studies based on the selection criteria, 41 studies were included in this review. The findings were synthesized under the following subheadings: socio-demographic factors; organisational factors; operational factors; personality variables and coping strategies. Organisational and operational factors were found to be the most predominant risk factors for burnout. Personality variables and coping strategies appeared as both risk and protective factors. Socio-demographic factors were weak in explaining burnout. Limitations: Most studies are from high-income countries. Not all used the same burnout measurement tool. All relied on self-reported data. Since 98 % had a cross-sectional design, causal inferences could not be made. Conclusions: Burnout, despite being strictly defined as an occupational phenomenon, is related to factors outside of this context. Future research should focus on examining the reported associations by using more robust designs. More attention must be paid to police officers' mental health by investing in developing strategies to mitigate adverse factors and maximise the effects of protective factors

Breaking down barriers:promoting journals beyond the page with open access journal clubs

In 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the British Journal of Psychiatry ( BJPsych) established a series of free online teaching sessions called BJPsych Journal Clubs. Their educational purpose is two-fold: (a) to provide junior psychiatrists with a friendly but large-scale platform to evaluate and critically appraise recent articles published in the BJPsych and (b) to present new research findings in an open and accessible manner. In this paper, we discuss our framework, the challenges we encountered, how the original model is evolving based on feedback from trainees, and tips for success when delivering international online journal clubs. </p

A reviewed approach to vitamin D supplementation in pediatric age in Portugal

Vitamin D deficiency is a well-established cause of rickets in children and has been reported as associated to impacts on other systems and organs. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are pediatric worldwide global health problems. Although data on the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in the Portuguese pediatric population are scarce, data for Portuguese subpopulations and equivalent regions allows us to speculate that the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Portugal should be also relevant. The current article focuses on vitamin D supplementation at pediatric age in Portugal reviewing the prevalence data of vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency for Portugal, the main groups and the risk factors for vitamin D deficiency and educational measures and vitamin D supplementation recommendations for different risk factors/groups.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Undergraduate psychiatric education: current situation and way forward

Undergraduate psychiatric education is essential for the training of medical students and for their recruitment into psychiatry. A significant shortage of graduates choosing a career in psychiatry has been recently documented, and this trend might have many causes. When medical students have positive experiences of teaching, elective placements and exposure to psychiatric patients, their attitudes towards psychiatry are significantly better. Therefore, there is a need to improve the quality of undergraduate training courses in psychiatry. Innovative teaching strategies are suggested, including the use of movies, virtual reality, simulated patients and multiprofessional training wards

Barriers and facilitators to conducting research by early career psychiatrists: a literature review

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Comportamento Suicidário nos Internos de Psiquiatria em Portugal: Comparação com a Realidade Europeia

Introduction: The aim of this paper was to assess the prevalence of suicide ideation and attempts in Portuguese psychiatry trainees (adult and child and adolescence), and compare the data with the general population and other European countries.  Material and Methods: A structured and anonymous questionnaire was sent by email to 159 portuguese trainees of adult psychiatry and child and adolescence psychiatry with questions about personal history of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, as well as family history of suicide attempts and completed suicides. This is part of the BoSS Study (Burnout Syndrome Study) performed in 21 countries worldwide. Data was analysed in SPSS v.19.  Results: From the inquired population, 62 trainees (40,3%) partially responded, and 46 (29%) were complete responders - these entered the final analysis. There was a ratio of 2:1 (female:male) and a mean age of 29 years. The suicidal ideation was present in passive form in 44% and in active form in 33%; also, 4.3% of respondents had previous suicide attempts. In first degree relatives, 22% had attempted suicide and 13% completed suicide.  Discussion: The results are worriying and may be associated with some factors to which this population is exposed.  Conclusion: It is necessary further research to better understand this phenomenon, its causes and potential modifiers