Slewa-Younan Shameran, Nguyen Thomas P, Al-Yateem Nabeel, Rossiter Rachel Cathrine, Robb Walter
Mental Health, Translational Health Research Institute, School of Medicine, Humanitarian and Development Research Initiative, Western Sydney University, Penrith South DC, Sydney, NSW 1797 Australia.
Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Int J Ment Health Syst. 2020 May 24;14:35. doi: 10.1186/s13033-020-00367-6. eCollection 2020.
Children and adolescents with chronic physical health conditions are vulnerable to poor mental health outcomes. The measurement of mental health literacy of health professionals working with such populations is important because of their role in promoting early and appropriate help-seeking. This study sought to determine the beliefs regarding the causes of and risks factors for three types of mental illnesses amongst health professionals in United Arab Emirates.
A culturally validated mental health literacy survey presenting three vignettes of fictional characters meeting diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder, depression with suicidal thoughts and psychosis was distributed. The survey measured health care professionals' beliefs regarding the causes of and risk factors for these disorders.
A total of 317 health care professional (> 90% nurses) were surveyed from across the UAE. Although 43.8% correctly endorsed exposure to a 'traumatic event' as the most likely cause for developing posttraumatic stress disorder, there was a more limited understanding of the contribution of biopsychosocial factors to the development of the mental illness, particularly for psychosis. Participant socio-demographic variables were associated with attributions of religious or spiritual beliefs and personal weakness as causal and/or vulnerability factors in the development of depression with suicidal thoughts and psychosis.
Efforts to improve mental health systems and health care providers in UAE and other similar Middle Eastern countries requires targeted mental health literacy programs that seek to integrate biopsychosocial models of mental illness and their treatment with the positive aspects of religious and cultural beliefs that are dominant in this region.
患有慢性身体健康问题的儿童和青少年易出现心理健康问题。由于从事这类人群工作的卫生专业人员在促进早期和适当的求助行为方面发挥着作用，因此对他们的心理健康素养进行评估很重要。本研究旨在确定阿拉伯联合酋长国卫生专业人员对三种精神疾病的病因和风险因素的看法。
发放一份经过文化验证的心理健康素养调查问卷，其中呈现了三个符合创伤后应激障碍、伴有自杀念头的抑郁症和精神病诊断标准的虚构人物案例。该调查衡量了医疗保健专业人员对这些疾病的病因和风险因素的看法。
共对来自阿联酋各地的317名医疗保健专业人员（超过90%为护士）进行了调查。虽然43.8%的人正确认可接触“创伤性事件”是患创伤后应激障碍最可能的原因，但对生物心理社会因素在精神疾病发展中的作用的理解较为有限，尤其是对精神病。参与者的社会人口统计学变量与宗教或精神信仰以及个人弱点在伴有自杀念头的抑郁症和精神病发展中的因果和/或易感性因素归因有关。
在阿联酋和其他类似中东国家，改善心理健康系统和医疗保健提供者的工作需要有针对性的心理健康素养项目，这些项目应寻求将精神疾病的生物心理社会模型及其治疗方法与该地区占主导地位的宗教和文化信仰的积极方面相结合。
