Cross-cultural measurement invariance of the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire-Short form across ten countries: the application of Bayesian approximate measurement invariance.

BACKGROUND: The Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire-Short Form (Q-LES-Q-SF) is the most frequently used generic quality of life (QOL) measure in many countries and cultures worldwide. However, no single study has been carried out to investigate whether this questionnaire performs similarly across diverse cultures/countries. Accordingly, this study aimed to assess the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the Q-LES-Q-SF across ten different countries. METHODS: The Q-LES-Q-SF was administrated to a sample of 2822 university students from ten countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Croatia, India, Nepal, Poland, Serbia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. The Bayesian approximate measurement invariance approach was used to assess the measurement invariance of the Q-LES-Q-SF. RESULTS: Approximate measurement invariance did not hold across the countries for the Q-LES-Q-SF, with only two out of 14 items being non-invariant; namely items related to doing household and leisure time activities. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings did not support the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the Q-LES-Q-SF; thus, considerable caution is warranted when comparing QOL scores across different countries with this measure. Item rewording and adaptation along with calibrating non-invariant items may narrow these differences and help researchers to create an invariant questionnaire for reliable and valid QOL comparisons across different countries.

Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression among People Living with Leprosy and its Relationship with Leprosy-Related Stigma.

Background: Leprosy, a chronic infectious disease, is associated with a high risk of psychiatric disorders. Aims and Objectives: We aim to estimate the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among people living with leprosy at a special community residence in Nepal. We also aimed to find the correlation between anxiety and depression. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in a community of people with leprosy staying at a centre in Nepal using all enumerative sampling. The semi-structured schedule, hospital anxiety and depression scale and stigma assessment and reduction of impact (SARI) stigma scale were applied among 119 participants. Results: About 10.1% (n = 12) and 12.6% (n = 15) of participants scored above the threshold score indicative of definitive clinically significant anxiety and depression symptoms. In multivariable analysis, leprosy-related stigma and attribution of leprosy to bad deeds were significant correlates of anxiety; whereas leprosy-related stigma and duration of stay at the centre were significant correlates of depression. Conclusion: The prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms among people living with leprosy is higher than that in the general population. Sigma is a significant correlation for both. It is important to screen for mental health issues while managing patients with leprosy and implement strategies aimed at leprosy-related stigma reduction.

Capgras delusion in postpartum psychosis: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Capgras delusion is one of the delusional misidentification syndromes characterized by the belief by the patient that the close person is replaced by an imposter who looks physically the same. It rarely occurs in Postpartum Psychosis. An intriguing phenomenon with ongoing debates, particularly about its feature and prevalence, its course, occurrence, and phenomenon in the postpartum period are poorly understood. CASE PRESENTATION: A 26-year-old Nepalese woman presented to the emergency for abnormal behavior on her 9th postpartum day. Capgras delusion was observed for 2 days during her hospital stay. Other psychotic symptoms appeared progressively and were treated as a case of Postpartum Psychosis. CONCLUSION: This case describes the temporal sequence of various psychopathologies during Postpartum Psychosis including Capgras delusion. We attempt to explain the occurrence of Capgras delusion in Postpartum Psychosis.

Electroconvulsive Therapy in Functional Hallucination: Scope and Challenges.

Functional hallucinations are hallucinations triggered by a stimulus in the same modality and cooccur with it. They are rare in occurrence; however, their rarity has no significance as psychopathology till date. Also, very little is known about the treatment of such hallucinations. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been tested for several psychiatric illnesses and has a few relative contraindications; however, it has not previously been used in treating functional hallucinations. We report on a female patient with paranoid schizophrenia who experienced functional hallucinations continuously despite the use of adequate risperidone, which controlled other symptoms. She was treated with ECT which resolved the functional hallucinations. The case highlights the need to ponder on the significance of the phenomenon as well as treatment of this psychopathology by ECT. It also underscores ECT as a treatment option for this kind of hallucination.

Autoscopic Hallucination in Alcohol Dependence Syndrome: A Rare or Missed Phenomenon?

Autoscopic phenomenon, a psychic illusionary duplication of one's own self, has been the subject of interest in the literature and science for years. It has been reported in various diseases of the central nervous system but with an unknown mechanism. Hallucinations are a common presentation in alcohol dependence syndrome during delirium tremens and as induced disorder. However, autoscopic hallucination has been rarely reported in the cases of alcohol dependence. We present a case of a 40-year-old man who experienced autoscopic hallucination during the withdrawal state of alcohol. He was successfully treated with detoxification and an antipsychotic medication and was doing well. The case highlights the need for strong suspicion and exploration of the autoscopic hallucination and autoscopic phenomenon in general in cases of alcohol dependence syndrome.

Suicide prevention in Nepal: a comparison to Australia-a personal view.

Suicide is a crisis of unknown proportions in much of the developing world. The majority of research into suicide has been done in high-resource countries such as Australia, and most intervention protocols have been drawn up using Western models. There appear to be a number of differences in the aetiology, presentation and treatment options for mental health problems between high-resource and low-resource countries. This review compares suicide in a high-resource country, Australia, and low-resource country, Nepal.Many low-resource countries such as Nepal struggle to address barriers to mental health care due to limited mental health resources and issues such as stigma, workforce and mental health literacy. Issues relating to suicide prevention are raised, contrasting a low-resource country, Nepal, with a high-resource country, Australia.