Factors Predicting Length of Stay in an Adolescent Psychiatric Unit, South Bronx, NY: A Short Report.

OBJECTIVE: Mental health disorders account for around 1.8 million inpatient community hospital stays in the U.S.A. Our study aims to highlight the factors impacting the length of stay at a community hospital in the U.S.A. METHODS: We reviewed 300 randomly selected charts to examine the factors impacting the length of stay in an adolescent inpatient psychiatric unit in 2011 and 2015. All data were analyzed in SPSS v. 20 with multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Longer length of stay among adolescents was associated with multiple psychiatric diagnoses, co-occurring medical comorbidities, not living with biological parents, history of mental illness, legal problems, substance use in the family, seclusion, restraints during current admission, and schizophrenia. CONCLUSION: Longer length of stay among adolescents in a psychiatric inpatient unit was associated with severity of psychopathology, hospital parameters and family stability.

OBJECTIF: Les troubles de santé mentale représentent environ 1,8 million d'hospitalisations en hôpital communautaire aux États-Unis. Notre étude vise à mettre en évidence les facteurs influant sur la durée de séjour à un hôpital communautaire aux États-Unis. MÉTHODES: Nous avons étudié 300 dossiers choisis au hasard pour examiner les facteurs influant sur la durée de séjour dans une unité de psychiatrie pour adolescents hospitalisés en 2011 et 2015. Toutes les données ont été analysées au moyen du programme SPSS contre 20 par une analyse de régression multiple. RÉSULTATS: Une durée de séjour plus longue chez les adolescents était associée à de multiples diagnostics psychiatriques, à des comorbidité médicales co-occurrentes, au fait de ne pas habiter avec les parents biologiques, aux antécédents de maladie mentale, aux problèmes avec la justice, à l'utilisation de substances dans la famille, à l'isolement, à la contention durant l'hospitalisation en cours, et à la schizophrénie. CONCLUSION: Une durée de séjour plus longue chez les adolescents hospitalisés dans une unité de psychiatrie était associée à la gravité de la psychopathologie, aux paramètres de l'hôpital et à la stabilité familiale.

A Survey of Handwashing Knowledge and Attitudes among the Healthcare Professionals in Lahore, Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the knowledge and attitudes towards handwashing of clinical year medical and dental students and health-care professionals (HCPs) working in the departments of medicine, surgery, dentistry, nursing, and physiotherapy in Lahore, Pakistan. METHODOLOGY: This was a cross-sectional survey conducted during May and June 2016. After approval from the institutional review board, a modified form of the World Health Organization (WHO) Hand Hygiene Knowledge Questionnaire for Healthcare workers that included 18 items was sent to 400 clinical year students and HCPs from six medical colleges and affiliated hospitals of Lahore. The data obtained was entered and analyzed by using IBM SPSS version 20 (IBM, NY, USA). Chi-square was used as the test of significance. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant for all purposes. RESULTS: The response rate was 79%. Less than half of the respondents (149, 47.9%) were satisfied with their knowledge regarding hand hygiene. Statistically significant associations of various groups of HCPs were observed with their satisfaction regarding knowledge about hand hygiene (p-value = 0.022), their awareness of the proper technique required for handwashing proposed by the WHO (p-value = 0.001), and their awareness about other preventive techniques proposed by the WHO and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (p-value = 0.021). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of the clinical year students and HCPs were not satisfied with their knowledge regarding hand hygiene. HCPs working in different departments have varying knowledge and attitudes towards hand hygiene. Females were found to be more satisfied with their handwashing practices. Teaching proper technique of handwashing to medical students and starting refresher courses regarding hand hygiene for HCPs are dire needs. The WHO-recommended guidelines should not only be taught but also implemented in the medical field as poor hand hygiene techniques have led to the spread of many diseases around the globe.

Public stigma associated with mental illnesses in Pakistani university students: a cross sectional survey.

Background. The objectives of the study were to explore the knowledge and attitudes of Pakistani university students toward mental illnesses. People with mental illnesses are challenged not only by their symptoms but also by the prejudices associated with their illness. Acknowledging the stigma of mental illness should be the first essential step toward devising an appropriate treatment plan. Methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at the University of Punjab, Lahore, CMH Lahore Medical and Dental College, Lahore, and University of Sargodha, Sub-campus Lahore, from February to May 2014. The self-administered questionnaire consisted of three sections: demographics, general knowledge of psychiatric illnesses, and Community Attitudes towards Mental Illnesses (CAMI) Scale. The questionnaire was distributed to 650 participants enrolled in different disciplines (Social Sciences, Medicine and Formal Sciences). Results. Response rate was 81% (527/650 respondents). Mean age was 20.98 years. Most of the students (331, 62.8%) had an urban background and studied Social Sciences (238, 45.2%). Four hundred and eighteen respondents (79.3%) considered religion very important and most respondents considered psychiatrists (334, 63.4%) and spiritual leaders (72, 13.7%) to be best able to treat mental illnesses. One hundred and sixty nine respondents (32.1%) considered black magic to be a cause of mental illness. Only 215 (41%) respondents had ever read an article on mental illnesses. Multiple regression analysis revealed study discipline, exposure, perceived causes of mental illnesses and superstitions to be significantly associated with attitudes towards mental illnesses (p < .05). Conclusion. Although low awareness and exposure were found in this sample of Pakistani university students, their attitude towards mental illnesses was generally positive. Most respondents gave supernatural explanations for mental illnesses but only a few believed that spiritual leaders can play a role in treatment.