Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in Lebanon: first onset, treatment, and exposure to war

There are no published data on national lifetime prevalence and treatment of mental disorders in the Arab region. Furthermore, the effect of war on first onset of disorders has not been addressed previously on a national level, especially in the Arab region. Thus, the current study aims at investigating the lifetime prevalence, treatment, age of onset and its relationship to war in Lebanon. The Lebanese Evaluation of the Burden of Ailments and Needs of the Nation study was carried out on a nationally representative sample of the Lebanese population [n = 2.857 adults]. Respondents were interviewed using the fully structured WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0. Lifetime prevalence of any Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition [DSM-IV] disorder was 25.8%. Anxiety [16.7%] and mood [12.6%] were more common than impulse control [4.4%] and substance [2.2%] disorders. Only a minority of people with any mental disorder ever received professional treatment, with substantial delays [6 to 28 y] between the onset of disorders and onset of treatment. War exposure increased the risk of first onset of anxiety [odds ratio [OR]: 5.92, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.5-14.1], mood [OR 3.32, 95% CI 2.0-5.6], and impulse control disorders [OR 12.72, 95% CI 4.5-35.7]. About one-fourth of the sample [25.8%] met criteria for at least one of the DSM-IV disorders at some point in their lives. There is a substantial unmet need for early identification and treatment. Exposure to war events increases the odds of first onset of mental disorders

Palliative care in lebanon: knowledge, attitudes and practices of physicians and nurses

Palliative care [PC] is defined by the World Health Organization as [an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness...] In Lebanon, PC is new to the health care field and as such very little is known about type of services offered and the preparedness of health care professionals to provide PC. The purpose of this study is to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of physicians and nurses towards PC in Lebanon, and to assess the need and model for service delivery. A cross-sectional descriptive survey using self-administered questionnaire sent to 15 hospitals in Lebanon was used ; 1873 nurses and 1884 physicians participated in the study. The response rate was 32% ; 51% for nurses and 13% for physicians. Around 93% of nurses and 96% of physicians were able to identify the goals of PC. The majority [94% to 99%] believes terminally ill patients and their families should be informed of the diagnosis and prognosis. Only 19% percent of physicians routinely inform terminally ill patients about their diagnosis. Around 100% of the respondents believe that PC services need to be developed in Lebanon warranting the need for continuing education in this field