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Biomedical subjects

N Procter

Publications and source records attributed to N Procter.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

How definition of mental health problems can influence help seeking in rural and remote communities.

The present study sought to understand the rural and remote influences on people's identification of, and response to, mental health problems. Twenty-two key informants living in northern and western South Australia were interviewed. They included mental health and generalist health professionals, other human service workers and mental health consumers. Three themes are reported here: reluctance to acknowledge mental health problems and the avoidance of appropriate help; stigma and the avoidance of mental health services; and the influence of rural and remote circumstances. Most informants considered that many mental health problems were amenable to help from generalist workers, with backup support from mental health specialists. Informants thought this intervention to be appropriate because a common view of mental health problems as 'insanity' and a culture of self-reliance created a reluctance to seek help from a mental health specialist. These themes need to be taken into account when designing mental health interventions for rural and remote communities.

Australia↗

Identifying and responding to the needs of refugees: a global nursing concern.

Worldwide catastrophic events such as civil war have forced 1 in every 130 people in the world to flee her or his home and become a refugee or displaced person. The article draws upon contemporary refugee experiences from Afghanistan, the Sudan, and the former Yugoslavia to introduce the role of nursing during the refugee journey from flight to asylum seeking. It is hoped that the article will provide nurses with a beginning awareness of the nurse's role in the care and comfort of refugees and displaced people. Central to this role is the gathering of humanitarian, sociocultural, and personal information to enable extensive networking and relationship building with refugees for ongoing empowerment and increased problem-solving capabilities.

Data Collection↗

Student nurses' attitudes to psychiatry: the influence of training and personality.

Fifty-one second-year students completed the Attitudes to Treatment Questionnaire (ATQ), the Conservatism Scale (CS), the Defence Style Questionnaire (DSQ) and an open-ended questionnaire before and after components of their psychiatric training programme, which included a 1-week placement in a psychiatric hospital. CS scores indicated that the nurses were moderately conservative. ATQ scores and CS scores correlated significantly, with the more conservative nurses reporting more traditional attitudes to psychiatric nursing. ATQ scores fell significantly after psychiatric hospital placement, indicating more progressive attitudes. Mean scores on the DSQ were within normal limits, although men scored significantly higher than women on the Immature Defences Scale immediately after placement. The open-ended questionnaire revealed mainly positive comments about the psychiatric hospital placement. Almost half the nurses expressed surprise at the relaxed, informal atmosphere on the wards, and as many stated that personal interaction with the patients rapidly removed any stereotyped attitudes that they held previously. Over 40% of nurses stated that the patients were much less aggressive or dangerous than they had expected, although nearly 20% said they were concerned about the levels of aggression that they observed.

Adult↗