Validation of Tunisian Arabic version of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in non-clinical adolescents.

INTRODUCTION: Sleep quality is a complex phenomenon with quantitative and subjective aspects that vary during adolescence. The prevalence of sleep disorders is not known in Tunisia due to the lack of validated tools. AIM: To translate and validate the questionnaire Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) into Tunisian Arabic in middle school students. METHODS: We translated the PSQI into Tunisian Arabic based on the translation back-translation method. We conducted a cross-sectional study on a sample of 560 adolescents. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to study construct validity. To test reliability, the global internal consistency of the scale was computed. RESULTS: The construct validity was verified by factor analysis, proving that a single factor explained 30.3% of the overall variance. This model produced a good factor load for all the components. The analysis of the reliability showed an acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.6). CONCLUSION: The Arabic Tunisian version of the PSQI is a psychometrically valid measure. The PSQI could be useful for the detection and evaluation of symptoms of sleep disorders, as well as for further studies and researches about associated factors with poor sleep quality in adolescent and youth.

Covid-19 and mental disorders in children and adolescents: Experience of the child and adolescent psychiatry department of the Mongi Slim Hospital of Tunis.

The Covid-19 pandemic had a major psychosocial impact on the mental health of children and adolescents, especially when the childhas mental health problems. During containment, the healthcare structures were subject to a significant restriction of their activities. The child and adolescent psychiatry department of the Mongi Slim Hospital in Tunis has set up telephone follow-up for patients deemed to be at risk. This follow-up involved 166 cases, the majority of them were suffering from neurodevelopmental disorders, followed by depressive disorders and adjustment disorders. A third of the patients had reported a worsening of the symptoms during the containment and a third had reported clinical improvement. During this follow-up, recommendations were made to parents to limit the negative impact of Covid-19 pandemic. Maintaining follow-up of patients with mental disorders by telemedicine is a major challenge in order to prevent the repercussions of this pandemic in the long term.

Rights of people with mental disorders: Realities in healthcare facilities in Tunisia.

BACKGROUND: Mental disorders have been associated worldwide with human rights' violations. Controversially, many occur in mental health facilities. AIM: This work aimed to assess the rights of people with mental disorders in healthcare facilities in Tunisia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study, using the World Health Organization (WHO) quality-rights toolkit, assessed the human rights levels of achievement in Elrazi Hospital, the only psychiatric hospital in Tunisia, in comparison with the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN). The framework was the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The assessment was carried through observation, documentation review, and interviews with service users, staff, and family members. The sample was composed of 113 interviewees. RESULTS: In Elrazi Hospital, three out of the five evaluated rights were assessed as only initiated: the right to an adequate standard of living, to exercise legal capacity and to be free from inhuman treatment. By comparison, these rights were partially achieved in the NIN. The right to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health was partially achieved and the right to live independently and to be included in the community was not even initiated. These last two rights were at the same level of achievement in the NIN. CONCLUSION: Significant improvements are needed to adapt the practice in Elrazi Hospital to comply with human rights, especially since the achievement level of these rights is lower than in a non-psychiatric hospital. Our study emphasizes the importance of spreading the CRPD as a standardized framework.