[How good are teachers at recognising mental health issues and assistance needs in adolescents? A vignette-based study]. / Wie gut erkennen Lehrkräfte psychische Störungen und Hilfebedarfe bei Jugendlichen? Eine vignettenbasierte Studie.

INTRODUCTION: Teachers can help identify mental health issues in adolescents and act as gateway-providers by referring adolescents at risk to a mental health professional. Studies have so far investigated awareness concerning mental health issues among primary school teachers in the USA. The present study uses case vignettes to examine whether secondary school teachers in Germany can detect and assess the presence and severity of mental disorders in adolescents, and which factors predict referral to professional support services. METHODS: N=136 secondary school teachers completed an online questionnaire with case vignettes depicting students with moderate or severe internalizing and externalizing disorders. We assessed the ability to recognize mental health issues and evaluate the level of severity, worry and perceived prevalence of the problem as well as the helping behaviour among teachers. RESULTS: 66 and 75% of the teachers were able to identify mental health issues in case vignettes of externalizing and internalizing disorders, respectively. 60% and 61%, respectively, designated the mental disorder correctly as externalizing or internalizing, and the true positive rates did not differ between externalizing vs. internalizing disorders. However, moderate and externalizing disorders were identified with less precision, and recommendations to seek professional mental help were more seldom made for these disorders. DISCUSSION: The results indicate that teachers can validly and probably intuitively identify (at least severe cases of) mental disorders in their students. Given the uncertainty expressed and the substantial interest of teachers, further education and training on mental health conditions disorders in adolescents is recommended.

["Is there a doctor on board?" - legal aspects of medical care in emergency situations during spare time]. / "Is there a doctor on board?" - Rechtliches zur ärztlichen Hilfeleistung in Notfallsituationen in der Freizeit.

Medical emergencies on international flights are not uncommon. In these situations the question often arises whether physicians are obliged to render first aid and whether omission leads to legal consequences. The general obligation to aid those in need applies to everyone, not only to physicians. Evading this duty makes liable to prosecution for omittance of defence of a third person in line with Art. 128 of the Swiss Penal Code, punishable by custodial sentence up to three years or an equivalent punitive fine. Vocational and professional law extend the duty to aid for physicians to urgent cases. Although resulting from the performance of a legal obligation, malpractice occurred in the course of first aid can lead to claims for compensation - even from foreign patients, and that according to their own domestic law.

Les urgences médicales dans les avions ne sont pas rares. Dans ces situations, la question se pose souvent de savoir si les médecins sont tenus d'effectuer les premiers soins et si le fait de s'y soustraire peut avoir des conséquences au niveau juridique. Le devoir d'assister toute personne dans le besoin concerne chacun de nous, et pas seulement les médecins. Quiconque ne respecte pas ce devoir d'assistance peut être condamné, au vu de l'art. 128 du code pénal, à une amende ou même une peine d'emprisonnement pouvant aller jusqu'à trois ans. Les obligations professionnelles et la déontologie prévoient pour les médecins un devoir d'assistance accru pour les cas d'urgence. Bien que ces devoirs soient prévus par la loi, il n'empêche pas que toute erreur professionnelle en cours de traitement peut entraîner des poursuites civiles en dommages et intérêts, de même pour des patients d'origine étrangère, selon la législation en vigueur dans leur pays.