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Biomedical subjects

T W Harding

Publications and source records attributed to T W Harding.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

"Not worth powder and shot". A reappraisal of Montagu Lomax's contribution to mental health reform.

Dr Montagu Lomax worked as an assistant medical officer at Prestwich Asylum for two years from 1917. His book, The Experiences of an Asylum Doctor, was published in 1921. He was condemned by the psychiatric establishment for his description of inhuman, custodial, and antitherapeutic conditions. Access to previously confidential official papers, to the archives of Prestwich Hospital, and to Professor George Robertson's correspondence has permitted a reconstruction of the Lomax affair. Lomax was a dedicated and sincere clinician. Senior Ministry of Health officials regarded Lomax's book as "temperate", "well founded", and an opportunity to secure public support for long needed legal and administrative reforms. Through his book, Lomax made a lasting contribution to the cause of mental health reform.

History, 20th Century↗
PubMed1990

The application of the European Convention of Human Rights to the field of psychiatry.

The European Convention of Human Rights enumerates a set of individual rights and fundamental freedoms and defines supra-national legal procedures whereby individuals, who believe themselves victims of human rights abuses and are unable to gain redress through domestic courts, can petition the European Commission of Human Rights.

Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders↗
PubMed1989

Prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment: medical implications of a new European convention.

A new European convention creates a mechanism for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatments of detained people through visits by outside, independent teams with unlimited access to places of detention. The convention has important implications for the medical profession: firstly, visits to psychiatric hospitals will be included and, in particular, to secure facilities, where the risk of human rights abuses is well established; and, secondly, the adequacy and ethics of medical care in prisons will be a key issue in assessing the protection of prisoners' human rights. The convention should be welcomed by the medical profession as a stimulus to the improvement of medical care for detained people.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Knowledge and attitudes of primary health care personnel concerning mental health problems in developing countries: a follow-up study.

Within the context of a World Health Organization coordinated collaborative study health workers in six developing countries were assessed 18 months after their training for improvement in their knowledge and attitude towards mental health problems and their management. The approaches to training varied between study areas, but the degree of improvement following the training, was of equal magnitude in all countries. The training process has formalized the recognition by the health workers that treatment of mental health problems is an integral part of their work.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1987

AIDS in prison.

A survey carried out in 17 countries on behalf of the Council of Europe shows how prison doctors and administrations have reacted to the AIDS epidemic in ways that are not always scientifically and ethically sound. The pressing need to control HIV infection in prison, to counsel and support seropositive prisoners, to care for prisoners who get AIDS, and to cope with the psychosocial pressures within a closed, authoritarian environment pose a serious challenge to prison medical services; it is far from certain that they have sufficient resources and professional independence to cope. Failure to react adequately to the AIDS epidemic in prisons would have serious consequences both for the community as a whole and for the ethical position of prison doctors.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1976

Psychiatric priorities in developing countries.

Many psychiatrists assert that an expansion of mental health services in the developing countries is overdue. This will only take place if: (i) the tasks of mental health care are undertaken by a wide range of non-specialist health workers, including those responsible for primary health care; and (ii) services are directed initially at a very limited range of priority conditions. The method of priority selection is discussed, and the process required for translation of priority decisions into health action is exemplified by two illustrations.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed1976

Validating a method of psychiatric case identification in Jamaica.

There is an urgent need for simple, reliable instruments for psychiatric research in developing countries. Limited resources, however, make the development of instruments de novo difficult. A simple method for establishing the validity of a method of case identification in a new population is described. A shortened version of a standard general health questionnaire was shown to be an effective method of identifying non-psychotic disorders in Jamaica, subject to a recalibration.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

The use of psychotropic drugs in developing countries.

Psychotropic drug therapy combined with other forms of treatment provides an effective means for the control and treatment of a number of mental disorders. In developing countries a wide range of health workers must be prepared to use psychotropic drugs if there is to be a significant improvement in mental health care. A number of problems are involved: not all mental disorders respond to drug treatment; the range of available drugs is very wide; side effects are relatively common; patients may not take prescribed drugs regularly; and there are dangers of overuse, abuse, and overdose. Some of the problems could be overcome by: (a) focusing on a limited number of conditions of public health importance; (b) establishing a clear policy as to which drugs should be available at various points in the health service and limiting the range of such drugs; (c) adopting a more flexible system of task sharing in psychotropic drug therapy; (d) coordinating training programmes; and (e) setting up a central policy body concerned with mental health in health ministries.

Developing Countries↗