Early intervention in psychosis [EIP] services, UK: a critical analysis of the evidence

The UK mental health reforms have attracted major government funding. This has been used to commission specialized community teams for people with severe mental illness. The reforms include changes to services for first-episode psychosis, which have gained huge consumer support. The UK service reforms are continuing, with the aim of providing services fit for the 21st century. In this article, we have reviewed the evidence which led to the establishment of early intervention services in the UK by using a selected review methodology. The review includes the historical background to EIP [Early Intervention in psychosis], what is EIP, where it originated from, what was the evidence leading stake holders to push the government to incorporate it in the National Health Policy. What policy reforms took place, and how the government went about implementing these services. We have discussed the current situation of the service. Furthermore we have discussed the gaps in the policy which have been identified. We end the paper with recommendations to policy makers

Which antipsychotics would mental health professionals from a low income country choose for themselves?

To determine which antipsychotics mental health professionals from a low income country would choose for themselves. Cross-sectional study. This study was conducted in 8 cities in Pakistan from February to August 2008. Responses from 268 mental health professionals, including psychiatrists and nurses were obtained using a semi-structured questionnaire. All together 80% of doctors chose an atypical antipsychotic; risperidone was the most popular choice. Half of nurses did not know which antipsychotic to choose and the remaining chose haloperidol [21%] and risperidone [19%]. Efficacy and safety were the two most important factors influencing their decision. Both doctors and nurses in Pakistan considered efficacy and safety/tolerability to be important factors for choosing an antipsychotic; this is in line with National Institute of Clinical Excellence [NICE] guidelines 2009. Mental health training for nurses was identified as a major service deficiency

Prevalence of functional GI disorder in the adult population of Arafat town, Karachi

To find out the prevalence of functional gastrointestinal disorders in the adult population of a low socioeconomic community in Pakistani population. A sample of 500 adult individuals was selected through a simple random sampling technique using simple random table. The Study conducted in 2004 based on a questionnaire comprising of 38 close ended questions as per ROME II criteria. The diagnosis established through the same criterion after analyzing the data on SPSS 10.0. The Study on 500 individuals revealed that a major proportion of the studied population 80.2% [401/500] were having one or more than one functional gastrointestinal disorders ranging from mild to server conditions, while only 19.8% [99/500] of them were free from any disorder. Out of these diseased individuals, the majority 77.8% [312/401] suffering from Multiple Gastrointestinal Symptoms, while 22.2% [89/401] were with that of Single Gastrointestinal Symptoms. Functional gastrointestinal disorders are prevalent in our community. These disorders found in individuals are of both Single and Multiple in nature. Although these are not fatal but may cause discomfort ranging from inconvenience to deep personal distress which may lead to great decline in their quality of life