Personal meaning of recovery among persons with schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Recovery in mental illness is not synonymous with cure. Personal recovery approach consider recovery as a process and not as an outcome. This approach takes into account the subjective meaning of recovery by assessing how a person has learned to accommodate and live with an illness. AIM: To study the personal meaning of recovery among persons with schizophrenia. METHOD: This article presents the findings of a qualitative study about what 'recovery' means to persons with schizophrenia. A semi structured interview schedule was prepared based on literature review and expert opinion. Twenty participants who met the inclusion criteria and personally consider themselves recovering/recovered from schizophrenia were selected for the in-depth qualitative interviews. Data was analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Meaning of recovery from each participant's perspective was recorded. FINDINGS: The results indicate factors that patients deem important for their recovery are, absence of symptoms, regaining functioning, being able to work, having adequate emotional stability and not being on medicines. The findings are examined in the background of the previous studies and suggestions for clinical practice and research is also discussed. CONCLUSION: Recovery is far more than remission of symptoms. Persons with mental illness has their own criteria of recovery, which could be very distinct from the clinical definition. Current study findings can help in identifying meaning of recovery through the perspectives of persons with mental illness and in developing and implementing recovery-oriented services.

Mental Health Orientation for Self-Help Group Members: A Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND: Treatment gap for mental health care in low- and middle-income (LAMI) countries is very large, and building workforce using the locally available resources is very much essential in reducing this gap. The current study is a preliminary work toward this direction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A single group pre- and post-design was considered for assessing the feasibility of Mental Health Orientation (MHO) Program for Self-Help Group members. Assessment of participants' MHO using Orientation Towards Mental Illness (OMI) scale was undertaken at three levels: Baseline assessment before the intervention, after completing 2 days orientation program, and 6 weeks later. RESULTS: Analysis of data resulted in statistically significant mean scores in the domains of areas of causation (F[1.41, 40.7] = 21.7, P < 0.000, ηp2 = 0.428), perception of abnormality (F[1.27, 36.8] = 15.8, P < 0.000, ηp2 = 0.353), treatment (F[1.42, 41.3] = 34.8, P < 0.000, ηp2 = 0.546), and after effect (F[1.36,39.4] = 26.7, P < 0.000, ηp2 = 0.480). Although the overall mean scores of all the domains of OMI were found to be statistically significantly different, there was no significant difference in the mean scores between post and follow-up assessments on areas of causation (µd = 1.27, P = 0.440) and treatment (µd = 1.00, P = 0.156). CONCLUSION: Overall, the findings of our study demonstrate that brief MHO program can exert a beneficial effect on bringing about significant change in the orientation of the participants toward mental illness but need to be refreshed over time to make the impact of the program stay longer.

Migration and mental health: An interface.

Migration is a universal phenomenon, which existed with the subsistence of the human beings on earth. People migrate from one place to another for several reasons, but the goal or main reason behind changing the residence would be improving their living conditions or to escape from debts and poverty. Migration is also a social phenomenon which influences human life and the environment around. Hence, migration has a great impact on any geographical area and it is known as one of the three basic components of population growth of any particular region (the other two are, mortality and fertility). Migration involves certain phases to go through; hence, it is a process. Many times, lack of preparedness, difficulties in adjusting to the new environment, the complexity of the local system, language difficulties, cultural disparities and adverse experiences would cause distress to the migrants. Moreover subsequently it has a negative impact on mental well-being of such population. Due to globalization, modernization, improved technologies and developments in all the sectors, the migration and its impact on human well-being is a contemporary issue; hence, here is an attempt to understand the migration and its impact on the mental health of the migrants based on the studies conducted around.