The psychiatry-integrated nurse practitioner role in hemodialysis: An opportunity to provide nurse practitioner care between the interface of psychiatry and hemodialysis.

The mental health of patients living with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) is an important aspect of their care. According to national survey data, depressive disorders affect about 9% of the North American population (Kessler, Chiu, Demler, Merikangas, & Walters, 2005). A review of psychological distress and depression across the spectrum of chronic kidney disease indicates that the prevalence of depression in ESKD is reported to be about four times that of the general population and it is associated with adverse outcomes including low quality-of-life ratings, graft failure, and death after renal transplantation (Zalai, Szeifert, & Novak, 2012). At St. Michael's Hospital (SMH), patients on hemodialysis (HD) requiring psychiatry consultation had traditionally been referred to a dedicated outpatient psychiatrist. This presented challenges around access to psychiatry assessment and follow-up, as patients were reluctant to attend appointments outside of HD visits. The team recognized these challenges and addressed them through the introduction of the Medical Psychiatry NP (MP NP) role, as the point-of-care consultant in HD.

The effects of gender on adolescent suicide in ontario, Canada.

OBJECTIVE: Identify patterns of suicide amongst male and female adolescents aged 11-18 years in Ontario. METHOD: All 370 adolescent suicides in Ontario between January 2000 and November 2006 were analyzed. Previous attempts, history of psychiatric treatment, location committed and method of suicide were assessed. Data was analyzed using 2-tailed t-tests and chi-square without Yates' correction. RESULTS: Male adolescent suicide was twice as common as female suicide. Males were more likely to use violent methods (p=0.0352) and females were more likely to have a history of a previous suicide attempt (p=0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: While most of the data agree with previous studies in adult populations, the ratio of male to female suicides was much lower in our adolescent population.