This study examined whether people who self-reported depression sought mental health treatment in the year after being interviewed, and how gender affected utilization. Depression data were obtained from the Canadian ...This study examined whether people who self-reported depression sought mental health treatment in the year after being interviewed, and how gender affected utilization. Depression data were obtained from the Canadian Community Health Survey (2000-01), and linked to medical records in Ontario (n = 24,677). Overall, women had higher rates of mental health service utilization, but there were no gender differences in rates of specialist care. The gender difference in mental health contact was greater for those without depression, as opposed to those with depression. Among those without depression, women were significantly more likely than men to use mental health services;however, rates were similar for women and men with depression. This finding suggests that men may be more likely than women to delay seeing a doctor for minor mental health concerns, but will seek help once a problem reaches a threshold.展开更多
Rationale: Medical treatment on short-term primary care medical service trips (MSTs) is generally symptom-based and supplemented by point-of-care testing. This pilot study contributes to the effective planning for suc...Rationale: Medical treatment on short-term primary care medical service trips (MSTs) is generally symptom-based and supplemented by point-of-care testing. This pilot study contributes to the effective planning for such austere settings based on predicted symptomology. Objective: We aimed to prospectively document the epidemiology of patients seen during two low-resource clinics on a MST in Honduras and apply predefined case definitions adapted from guidelines used by international healthcare organizations (e.g. World Health Organization). Methods: An observational design was used to track the epidemiology during two clinics on an MST in Limon, Honduras in March 2015. The QuickChart mobile electronic medical record (EMR) application was piloted to document diagnoses according to predefined case definitions. Results: The most commonly diagnosed syndromes were upper respiratory complaints (20.19%), nonspecific abdominal complaints (20.19%), general pain (15.38%), hypertension (9.62%), pruritus (6.73%), and asthma/ COPD (4.81%). The case definitions accounted for 94% of all complaints and diagnoses on the brigade. Discussion: The distribution of common patient diagnoses on this MST was similar to that which had been reported elsewhere. The use of broader symptom-based case definitions for epidemiologic surveillance could also facilitate the syndromic management of patients seen on MSTs, and improve the consistency of treatment offered. Conclusion: Case definitions for common syndromes on primary care MSTs may be a feasible method of standardizing patient management. Preliminary use of the QuickChart EMR was acceptable for documentation of epidemiology in the field. Further study is necessary to investigate the reliability of syndromic diagnostic criteria between different clinicians and in a variety of MST settings.展开更多
文摘This study examined whether people who self-reported depression sought mental health treatment in the year after being interviewed, and how gender affected utilization. Depression data were obtained from the Canadian Community Health Survey (2000-01), and linked to medical records in Ontario (n = 24,677). Overall, women had higher rates of mental health service utilization, but there were no gender differences in rates of specialist care. The gender difference in mental health contact was greater for those without depression, as opposed to those with depression. Among those without depression, women were significantly more likely than men to use mental health services;however, rates were similar for women and men with depression. This finding suggests that men may be more likely than women to delay seeing a doctor for minor mental health concerns, but will seek help once a problem reaches a threshold.
文摘Rationale: Medical treatment on short-term primary care medical service trips (MSTs) is generally symptom-based and supplemented by point-of-care testing. This pilot study contributes to the effective planning for such austere settings based on predicted symptomology. Objective: We aimed to prospectively document the epidemiology of patients seen during two low-resource clinics on a MST in Honduras and apply predefined case definitions adapted from guidelines used by international healthcare organizations (e.g. World Health Organization). Methods: An observational design was used to track the epidemiology during two clinics on an MST in Limon, Honduras in March 2015. The QuickChart mobile electronic medical record (EMR) application was piloted to document diagnoses according to predefined case definitions. Results: The most commonly diagnosed syndromes were upper respiratory complaints (20.19%), nonspecific abdominal complaints (20.19%), general pain (15.38%), hypertension (9.62%), pruritus (6.73%), and asthma/ COPD (4.81%). The case definitions accounted for 94% of all complaints and diagnoses on the brigade. Discussion: The distribution of common patient diagnoses on this MST was similar to that which had been reported elsewhere. The use of broader symptom-based case definitions for epidemiologic surveillance could also facilitate the syndromic management of patients seen on MSTs, and improve the consistency of treatment offered. Conclusion: Case definitions for common syndromes on primary care MSTs may be a feasible method of standardizing patient management. Preliminary use of the QuickChart EMR was acceptable for documentation of epidemiology in the field. Further study is necessary to investigate the reliability of syndromic diagnostic criteria between different clinicians and in a variety of MST settings.