ABSTRACT
The disability profile of persons with schizophrenia in Singapore and how disability levels vary in patients cared for in the community and in the long-stay wards of a state mental hospital were studied using the Life Skills Profile (LSP). The inter-rater reliability of the LSP assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), was lower than in the Australian studies. The test-retest ICCs for the total LSP score and the five subscale scores were satisfactory for the hospitalised subjects and for the community psychiatric nurse subjects, but generally poor for the community care facility subjects. The average ICCs were lower compared to the Australian study. Female hospitalised subjects but not male hospitalised subjects returned higher disability scores on all LSP scales compared to community subjects. This study provided some preliminary data on the usefulness and validity of the LSP in a multi-ethnic Asian setting like Singapore. If the LSP is used as a measure of disability in schizophrenia, it would appear that ratings should only be made by those who know the subject well, and that raters should be formally trained mental health professionals.
Subject(s)
Community Mental Health Centers , Disability Evaluation , Hospitals, Psychiatric , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/standards , Schizophrenia , Female , Hospitals, State , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Reproducibility of Results , Schizophrenic Psychology , SingaporeABSTRACT
The Community Psychiatric Nursing Service in Singapore began on 1st November 1988 in recognition of the need for continuous supervision of a group of psychiatric patients following discharge from hospital. The Community Psychiatric Nurse is able to provide mental health nursing care in a community setting. Her multiple roles are described. The various problems encountered and how she tackles them are discussed. The challenges posed and the future prospects are briefly addressed.
Subject(s)
Community Mental Health Services/trends , Mental Disorders/rehabilitation , Patient Care Team/trends , Psychiatric Nursing/trends , Combined Modality Therapy , Humans , Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Mental Disorders/nursing , Referral and Consultation/trends , SingaporeABSTRACT
The syndrome of water intoxication may occur in psychiatric patients and various hypotheses regarding its aetiology have been postulated. Twenty-seven patients in Woodbridge Hospital were found to have this syndrome. The aim of the study was to describe the clinical and biochemical findings of this group of patients. 70.4% had schizophrenia, 25.9% had mental retardation and 3.7% had a history of alcohol dependence. Many of them were on antipsychotic medication. The symptoms of water intoxication included polyuria, nausea, tremors, weight gain, disorientation, coma and fits. A majority of the patients had hyponatraemia during the acute stages and the osmolality of urine and plasma were correspondingly low. A few patients had abnormalities in electroencephalogram and computerised axial tomography of brain. The management of patients with water intoxication is discussed briefly.
