Changes in utilization of community mental health services in three boroughs of Athens (1979/1983-2000/2004)

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Background and Objectives: Several investigators reported that there is agap between prevalence of mental disorders and utilization of mental health services. The trends in help –seeking from two Community Mental Health Centers (CMHC) serving three boroughs in Athens and having identical organizational profile were examined. Method: Utilization rates were compared for the first four years of operation (1979-1983) of the first CMHC in Greece and the corresponding first years 2000-2004 of the most recent CMHC in the country. The sociodemographic characteristics of both catchment areas were almost identical. Results: In the years 2000-2003 the time of untreated mental disorders was found to belower than that of 1979-1983. Moreover only 4.6% of clients of the first CMHC were self referred contrasting the 51.7% of their counterparts of the second Center. More than 50%of persons, who have visited the second Center reported that this Center was the first psychiatric service in their life. Additionally between the years 2000-2004, the treated prevalence of depression was found to be much higher than that in the years 1979-1983.Conclusions: Apparently these findings are probably linked with opinion changes towards psychiatry and mental illness, ability of early recognition of psychopathological symptoms, as well as, the attitudinal change in the need for help-seeking (AU)

Nursing students' attitude change towards mental illness and psychiatric case recognition after a clerkship in psychiatry.

Attitudes towards mental illness were measured in all 92 students of the seventh semester in the School of Nursing of Athens University before (time 1) and after (time 2) the completion of 40 and 90 hours of lectures on clinical psychiatry and clerkship, respectively. The instrument used to measure attitudinal dimensions was the Cohen and Struening's Opinions about Mental Illness (OMI) scale, which yieldsfive factors and was proven to be reliable and valid in previous studies. Hypothetical case vignettes were used to assess psychiatric case recognition. In factors A, B, and D statistically significant differences in attitudes towards mental illness between time I and 2 were observed. It seems that the completion of training in psychiatry influenced the students' opinions about mental illness; they expressed less authoritarianism and discriminatory beliefs as well as positive views about social integration of mentally ill persons. The group of students who failed to recognize the case vignettes satisfactorily also expressed negative views in four out of five OMI scale factors.