Improving Adherence in Hospitalized Patients Diagnosed With Schizophrenia: An Integrative One-on-One Intervention.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined an individualized integrative nursing intervention for improving attitude and adherence. METHODS: The sample included 60 patients, randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. Measures included The Visual Analog Scale for Assessing Treatment Compliance and the Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI- 10). RESULTS: Significant differences were found in attitude and reported adherence for the experimental group, before and after. Significant differences were found between the experimental and control group in the degree of change in attitude and reported adherence. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates the benefit of integrative one-on-one tailor-made intervention versus routine care for improving attitude and adherence to drug therapy.

Video Surveillance in Mental Health Facilities: Is it Ethical?

Video surveillance is a tool for managing safety and security within public spaces. In mental health facilities, the major benefit of video surveillance is that it enables 24 hour monitoring of patients, which has the potential to reduce violent and aggressive behavior. The major disadvantage is that such observation is by nature intrusive. It diminishes privacy, a factor of huge importance for psychiatric inpatients. Thus, an ongoing debate has developed following the increasing use of cameras in this setting. This article presents the experience of a medium-large academic state hospital that uses video surveillance, and explores the various ethical and administrative aspects of video surveillance in mental health facilities.

The association between diagnosis, treatment delay and outcome among patients with Bipolar disorders.

Prevalence rates for Bipolar (BP) disorder are difficult for exact evaluation since the high rates of misdiagnosis and the delay from the initial symptoms until the treatment with mood stabilizers. This study aimed to find whether there was such a delay in a sample of Israeli outpatients diagnosed with BP. The study also aimed to assess outcomes associated with a delay in treatment. The sample included 56 ambulatory patients. Data were evaluated by a demographical questionnaire, according the medical records and by the Outcome dysfunctions scale, addressing four areas: work, symptoms, social contacts and duration of hospitalizations. The results revealed a time lapse of 2.2 years from the onset of BP to the initiation of treatment and a time lapse of 6.7 years between the onset and initiation of mood stabilizers. The delay in treatment was not correlated with any functional outcome, or suicidal behavior. In addition, the younger the subject was at the onset, the longer it took to initiate treatment with mood stabilizers. This research found a significant delay in treatment of patients with BP disorder. This delay was not associated with the expected functional impairment. We assume that personal resources had moderated this effect. This research may suggest that in Israel the referral of children to psychiatric services is especially delayed, possibly because of the potential damage to the military service enrollment. This research highlights the need to improve clinicians' recognition of BP in general, and among patients with early onset in particular.

Dissociation: adjustment or distress? Dissociative phenomena, absorption and quality of life among Israeli women who practice channeling compared to women with similar traumatic history.

This study aimed to explore the relationship between traumatic history, dissociative phenomena, absorption and quality of life among a population of channelers, in comparison with a population of non-channelers with similar traumatic history. The study sample included 150 women. The measures included Traumatic Experiences Scale, Dissociative Experience Scale, Absorption Scale, Brief Symptom Inventory and Quality of Life (QOL) Assessment. Channelers presented significantly higher levels of dissociation, absorption and psychological health compared to the other group. Dissociation and absorption were trauma-related only among the comparison group. Hence, dissociation has different qualities among different people, and spiritual practice contributes to QOL.

Befriending the body through clothes: the role of clothing in secular and religious women's body appreciation.

Background: Women invest in their appearance through clothes, and the way they view their bodies translates into how they choose to dress. Nonetheless, body image research often overlooks the role of clothing in fostering body appreciation. This study examined the impact of a psychoeducational feministic course on the sociology and psychology of attire, on students' clothing functions and body appreciation. Methods: The participants were 114 female MA students (47 secular, 67 religious) between the ages of 24 and 64 who completed the Body Appreciation Scale and Function of Clothing scale at the beginning and end of the course. Results: The results support the contribution of the course to changes in participants' clothing functions and improvement in their body appreciation F(1,96) = 32.33, p < 0.001, partial Eta squared = 0.25. Surprisingly, religiousness had no impact on the results. Discussion: This research contributes to the field of positive body image by presenting the potential role of clothing in fostering body appreciation among women. It demonstrates the benefits of investing in clothing that are less driven by external standards and more by the expression of valued aspects of the self.

Styling the Self: Clothing Practices, Personality Traits, and Body Image Among Israeli Women.

Research has shown that women tend to use clothes to present or disguise their bodies and that clothing practices can be predicted by body image. This study explored the relationships between clothing practices, personality traits, and body image among Israeli women, using the Big Five personality traits model (NEO-FFI) and a body image measure (MBSRQ) to explore clothing styles and practices among Israeli women (N = 792, Mean age = 42.19). It found that women with are more openness to experience (OR = 1.8; IC 95%: 1.05-3.0), who seek fashion (OR = 2.05; IC 95%: 1.37-3.05) and individuality (OR = 3.96; IC 95%: 2.46-6.3) are more likely to exhibit a urban, sophisticated style of dress. These women are less motivated by comfort (OR = 0.49; IC 95%: 0.31-0.77) and camouflage (OR = 2.05; IC 95%: 1.37-3.05), that are associated with casual, minimalist style of dress. This study indicates that openness to experience may foster body-positive clothing practices. In this way, their choice of clothing can help women overcome objectification and cultural body-ideal pressures, promoting self-validation and mastery.

Corrigendum: Styling the Self: Clothing Practices, Personality Traits, and Body Image Among Israeli Women.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.719318.].

The meaning in life for hospitalized patients with schizophrenia.

This study investigated the relationship between the sense of meaning in life, quality of life, medical adherence, and duration of hospitalization among 60 inpatients at the Lev Hasharon Medical Center in Israel. Participants included men and women diagnosed with schizophrenia, whose psychiatric histories dated back at least 5 years. Participants were administered the following self-report questionnaires: Purpose In Life (Crumbaugh and Maholick, 1968), Condensed Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction (Ritsner et al., 2005), Drug Attitude Inventory (Hogan et al., 1983), and Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Screen (Beck et al., 1997a). Results indicated that purpose in life correlated positively with quality of life and medical adherence, whereas negatively with depression. Furthermore, purpose in life correlated positively with the duration of the current hospitalization. The results are discussed in terms of a process of attachment to the hospital as the sense of life purpose emerges.

Dissociation and the experience of channeling: narratives of Israeli women who practice channeling.

"Channeling" is a phenomenon in which people describe themselves as receiving messages from another personality or dimension of reality. Channeling is often regarded as dissociation, which is a disruption in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity, or perception. This study explored the interface between channeling and dissociation through a phenomenological analysis. Qualitative data were obtained through interviews with 20 Israeli women who practice channeling. The analysis revealed 3 themes: dissociation, absorption, and control. The channelers' descriptions correspond with what is coined as "dissociative states" and enable an emic view of the etic definition of dissociation.

Voting rights for psychiatric patients: compromise of the integrity of elections, or empowerment and integration into the community?

BACKGROUND: Participation of the mentally-ill in elections promotes integration into the community. In many countries, individuals with compromised mental incompetence who have legal guardians are denied the right to vote. In Israel, mental health consumers are eligible to vote. We evaluated the capacity of psychiatric inpatients with and without legal guardians to understand the nature and effect of voting. METHODS: Fifty-six inpatients with/without legal guardians were recruited to the study. Participants completed the Competency AssessmentTool for Voting (CAT-V), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and the Mini-Mental State Exam. RESULTS: Cluster analysis determined voting capacity using CAT-V as a continuous variable. Subjects who scored >1.6 on the CAT-V (59%) had high capacity to vote. Subjects without guardians revealed significantly higher capacity to vote. Voting capacity positively correlated with cognitive state and negatively correlated with severity of illness. Among patients with legal guardians those who scored >1.6 on the CAT-V maintained the capacity to vote. CONCLUSIONS: The right to vote is an important basic right for individuals coping with mental disorders.However, it is important to evaluate the capacity to understand the voting process among individuals with mental disorders who have legal guardians. Thus, the integrity of the elections would be preserved by eliminating the risk of undue influence or manipulation of individuals who lack the capacity to understand the nature and meaning of voting, while preserving the right to vote for those with the capacity to do so, whether or not they have guardians.

Culturally sensitive mental health care: a study of contemporary psychiatric treatment for ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel.

BACKGROUND: The literature describes psychiatric treatment of ultra-orthodox Jews as complex and challenging, in light of this community's unique characteristics and the ideological gap between ultra-orthodox patients and secular professionals. Recent data indicate that patient-centred culturally sensitive care contributes to the treatment outcomes among cultural minorities. AIMS: To examine the effect of the level of a physician's religiosity and cultural sensitivity, as perceived by ultra-orthodox Jewish psychiatric patients, as well as the treatment venue (i.e. the distance of the treatment facility from the patients' community) on treatment outcomes (working alliance, medical adherence and the patients' social adaptation). METHODS: The sample included 38 ultra-orthodox Jewish men and women receiving psychiatric treatment at the Lev Hasharon Mental Health Centre. The participants completed questionnaires about the physician's religiousness and cultural sensitivity, working alliance, medical adherence and social adaptation. RESULTS: Working alliance was positively related to the treatment location, meaning that patients were more committed and involved in the treatment when it took place in a facility distanced from their community. Working alliance was also correlated with medical adherence. Regression analysis revealed that the doctor's acquaintance with religion and cultural sensitivity predicted patients' reported social adaptation level. CONCLUSIONS: In contrary to common perceptions, ultra-orthodox patients are not necessarily reluctant to be treated by secular physicians. These patients prefer a discreet treatment far from their community's public eye. Their perception of a doctor who acknowledges and respects their religiosity positively affects the way that they perceive their social functioning. Culturally sensitive treatment enables patients to feel respected and acknowledged through their sociocultural affiliation, and not only through their disorder. It seems essential to train physicians about the importance of culturally sensitive treatment with this population.