ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: As a result of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) pandemic, the World Health Organization placed Taiwan on the travel alert list from May 21 to July 5, 2003. The aim of this study was to explore the post-crisis psychological distress among residents in Taiwan after the SARS epidemic. METHODS: The target population consisted of a nationwide representative sample of residents aged > or = 18 years. Data were collected using computer assisted telephone interview systems by stratified random sampling according to geographic area. The survey (n = 1278) was conducted in November 2003, about 4 months after resolution of the SARS crisis in Taiwan. The maximum deviation of sampling error at the 95% confidence level was +/- 2.74%. Psychological distress was measured by a question related to subject's changes in perception of life, plus the five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the correlation of psychological distress. RESULTS: About 9.2% of the participants reported that their perceptions of life became more pessimistic following the SARS crisis. The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity was 11.7%. Major predictors of higher levels of pessimism after the SARS epidemic included demographic factors, perception of SARS and preparedness, knowing people or having personal experiences of SARS-related discrimination, and individual worries and psychiatric morbidity. The correlates of symptomatic cases, as indicated by the five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale, included age > or = 50 years, senior high school graduate, and worries about recurrence of SARS. CONCLUSION: Psychological distress was significantly correlated with demographic factors and perception regarding the SARS epidemic. It is suggested that marketing of mental health education should be segmented according to age and education level, which should enhance crisis communication for newly emerging infectious diseases among community populations.
Subject(s)
Disease Outbreaks , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/psychology , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Adaptation, Psychological , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Health Surveys , Humans , Middle Aged , Morbidity , Population Surveillance , Prevalence , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/epidemiology , Socioeconomic Factors , Taiwan/epidemiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The seroincidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Taiwan has drastically increased since 2004, particularly among injection drug users and prisoners. The major purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence and correlates of psychiatric morbidity among HIV-infected male prisoners. METHODS: In 2006, data were collected from all of HIV-infected male prisoners (n = 535) in seven prisons in Taiwan. This collection was performed using a self-administered, anonymous questionnaire in group settings directed by our interviewers. Psychiatric morbidity was measured using the five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale in 535 participants, which represented an 85% response rate. After excluding incomplete data, 479 participants were included in the analysis. RESULTS: Psychiatric morbidity was present in 46% of participants. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that correlates of the five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale defined cases included the following: being a recidivist, having poor self-rated health status, and having experienced psychiatric symptoms in one's lifetime (e.g. significant physical pain or discomfort, depression for 2 weeks or longer, serious anxiety or tension, trouble understanding, concentrating, or remembering, and serious thoughts of suicide), with a Nagelkerke R(2) equal to 0.365. CONCLUSION: Psychiatric morbidity is prevalent among HIV-infected male prisoners. Tailored HIV/AIDS education related to mental health is therefore suggested for inclusion as part of a comprehensive HIV/AIDS training program among incarcerated populations.
