The physician assistant (PA) profession growth rate was 31% in 2019 and is projected to continue to increase in the upcoming years. The rates of depression amongst the general population has been rising over the recent years. Currently, 7.1% of Americans are diagnosed with depression, however, approximately 30% of medical students carry this same diagnosis. Unfortunately, there is minimal data on the prevalence of depression amongst PA students. The literature review for this study is composed of past research on the prevalence of depression among medical students at various different programs. Some studies accounted for variable study measures including a previous diagnosis of mental illness, demographics including race, ethnicity, etc. while others did not. One study that was reviewed assessed if there is correlation between depression and work-related personality traits including: commitment, discipline, dominance, stability, cooperation, and social competence. In summary, the comprehensive review showed significant evidence that the prevalence of depression among medical students, and the small sample size of PA students, is greater than the general population. Studies showed that there is a significant association between the prevalence of depression and certain socio-demographics and work-related personality traits. This thesis proposes a multi-program, prospective cohort study to identify the prevalence of depression in PA students and identify potential factors that may be associated with the development of depression in PA school. The results of this study will then be compared to the general population’s rate of depression.This study will include various PA programs throughout the United States and assess the prevalence of depression among PA students while also accounting for potential variable measures including: sex, age, marital status, race, ethnicity, previous or current diagnosis of mental illness, and familial history. This data will be analyzed utilizing the chi-square test enabling for sub-group analysis as needed. The purpose of this research is to determine if the prevalence of depression among PA students is significantly greater than that of the general population. By identifying the prevalence of depression in PA students there is potential to decrease burnout in the PA profession and prevent potential detrimental effects such as suicide.

Emerging evidence indicates that the prevalence of child and adolescent psychiatric symptoms and disorders increased in the twenty-first century. However, few studies have focused on recent time trends in the prevalence of anxiety disorders among United States (US) children and adolescents specifically. Relatedly, an open question in the field is what factors are driving increases in reported mental health symptoms and disorders, including anxiety, among US youth. To this end, this study uses data from the National Survey on Children’s Health, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of US parents and caregivers, to assess recent temporal trends in anxiety disorders among US children and adolescents. This study also tests associations between multiple social ecological factors (i.e., socioeconomic status, physical health, family composition, parental mental health, and neighborhood disadvantage) and youth anxiety at each survey year. Overall, results indicated that among US 6 to 17-year-olds the prevalence of parent-reported lifetime anxiety or depression increased from 5.4% to 8.3% between 2003 to 2011/12. The estimated prevalence of parent-reported lifetime anxiety rose from 10.0% to 11.5% between 2016 and 2018 among US children and adolescents aged 6 to 17. The estimated prevalence of parent-reported current anxiety increased from 8.5% to 9.5% between 2016 and 2018. Additionally, several socioecological factors at the individual- and family-level were associated with youth anxiety at each survey year. Results suggest that ongoing collaboration amongst parents/caregivers, physicians, mental health providers, and school staff might help identify at-risk youth, as well as inform the need for effective prevention and intervention strategies and guide best practices for these strategies.

Background Methamphetamine induced psychosis (MAP) and schizophrenia present with similar positive symptoms of psychosis, are characterized by evidence of attentional impairment, and show symptomatic response to treatment with dopamine antagonists. At the same time, MAP is considered a transient condition, while schizophrenia can be conceptualized as a neurodevelopmental disorder. Despite advances in the neurobiology of these two conditions, the extent to which their underlying attentional neurocircuitry show overlaps or differences has not often been directly compared. This thesis compared MAP, schizophrenia and healthy controls, in order to examine overlap and differences in 1) subcortical regulation of cortical inhibition and excitability, 2) resting state cortical and subcortical connectivity, and the dynamics of rhythmic neural activity between states, and 3) cortical-cortical connectivity using event related potential (ERP) responses to stimuli with a continuous performance task (CPT). Methods Outpatients treated for MAP and schizophrenia were recruited through hospitals and psychiatric institutions in the Western Cape. A final cohort of 24 MAP and 28 schizophrenia and 32 healthy control participants were included in the analyses for this thesis. For the cortical silent period (CSP) paradigm, the participant was asked to maintain isometric contraction between the thumb and index finger while TMS pulses at 120% and 140% resting motor threshold (RMT) were delivered to the primary motor cortical area corresponding to the abductor pollicis brevis (APB). Parameters extracted from CSP data included the latency to motor evoked potential (MEP), MEP amplitude and CSP duration. Electroencephalographs (EEGs) were performed with bilateral prefrontal, frontal, frontal temporal, central and parietal electrode locations. Relative EEG frequency power data were extracted from 3 stages during the EEG session, including states of eyes open, eyes closed, and during performance of the CPT. The CPT consisted of a series of random consonant letters. Participants were asked to respond to the letter "S" with a finger press only if it was the 3rd consecutive occurrence. ERP data were extracted and averaged from consecutive cues (S1 and S2), target (S3) and distractor (individual "S") stimuli in the CPT task. ERP data were analysed for group differences in N100, P200, N200 and P300 amplitudes and latencies at each electrode location with sufficient signal quality. Results In the CSP protocol, MAP and schizophrenia groups showed smaller MEP amplitudes at both 120% and 140% RMT stimulation levels in comparison to controls. Both MAP and schizophrenia groups had lower alpha and higher delta relative frequency band power, with schizophrenia showing significant differences from controls at more electrode positions than MAP. While controls demonstrated a decrease in alpha power between the eyes closed and eyes open resting states, this did not occur in MAP or schizophrenia. During the CPT, both MAP and schizophrenia achieved fewer correct targets and showed slower reaction times than healthy controls. In addition, MAP responded more often than the other two groups to the S2 stimulus (which required response inhixii Abstract bition). ERP analysis found smaller N100, larger P200, larger N200 and larger P300 amplitudes in MAP in response to stimuli requiring inhibition than in schizophrenia and controls, whereas schizophrenia showed longer P300 latencies in response to the target and distractor stimuli than in MAP and controls. Conclusions MEP results suggest that MAP and schizophrenia may have similar subcortical dysregulation, suggestive of altered dopaminergic regulation in the basal ganglia-thalamus-cortex loop. EEG frequency power results suggest that MAP and schizophrenia both display an inflexibility of subcortical systems involved in adaptation to environmental changes, suggesting deficiencies in the CT-TRN-TC loop in both MAP and schizophrenia. CPT performance and the pattern of ERP alterations in MAP suggests greater cholinergic impairment during attentional performance in MAP than in schizophrenia. Taken together, while there is considerable overlap in cortical-subcortical inhibition and connectivity in MAP and schizophrenia, there are also important differences; findings that emphasize both the similarities and dissimilarities that are seen clinically.

The purpose of this study was to elicit how mental health care users from a mixed ancestry group, otherwise called “Coloureds” at a Mental Health Clinic in an urban South African context, understood mental illness. “Coloured” peoples perceptions about mental illness in not well documented as few studies have addressed the needs of this population group in South Africa. The purpose was addressed within a closed questionnaire schedule using the Illness Perception Questionnaire - Mental Health, which was administered over a two month period, from 3rd June 2011 to 29th July 2011, using a non experimental, prospective, descriptive research design survey method. Data were collected by means of a self administered questionnaire and analysed by means of descriptive statistics. According to the statistician no confidence level was necessary as the instrument used was already tested to be valid and reliable. Since the study was descriptive, no comparative statistics were necessary.The analysed data revealed evidence of poor identification of mental illnesses. This could be a contributory factor to the inadequate adherence to treatment strategies and high re-hospitalization rates in this community. There was also a lack of collaboration between health workers and mental health care users and inadequate imparting of mental illness information by the mental health care practitioners. The positive results that have become evident in this study of good community support, good personal control of illness, a belief in the importance of taking medication and low stress levels, may be utilized effectively to empower this community with knowledge about mental illness. This may allow this community to assume responsibility and be supportive in the efforts to destigmatise mental illness and to ensure that community mental health care services move efficiently and effectively.

People has different background of growth, living environment and work experience. Some of them can meet with the fact easily, but some have poor adaptation to the reality of the world and tends to be trapped in low tune and imbalance both physically and mentally. The results is likely to reduce the performance on the job and would have ill effect on the family mood, connection with coworkers and human relationship. The overall effect would be that the operation and performance of the whole organization will be impacted. Therefore, maintaining the physical and mental health of public servant is emerging as a key lesson for government institutions. In this Study, we tried to explore the understanding and satisfaction of public servants in Kaohsiung City Government toward the mental health measures as promoted by the City Government. ¡@¡@This Study targeted the employees and teachers of agencies and schools within the jurisdiction of Kaohsiung City Government. Method of research is basically relying on questionnaire survey, which is assisted with in-depth interview. The data obtained from the questionnaire survey are processed with SPSS for WINDOW V.10 package software and applied frequency distribution, means, standard difference, ANOVA and Scheffé Ex-Post Comparison for analysis. ¡@¡@It is understood from the conclusion of this Study that the employees of Kaohsiung City Government, female, age between 31 and 40, college graduated, married, recommended level rank, worked for 6 ¡V 10 years, non chief officer and working with administrative offices are better in the transmission of City Government¡¦s measures on mental health of employees, participation in activities and resources of consultation, or the overall understanding of the measures and satisfaction and needs are better than group of different attributes. ¡@¡@The suggestion Subsequent researcher may try with the satisfaction and factors of needs of government employees toward the mental health measures as implemented by City Government for comparison to find out their view and their attitude toward this issue.

Thesis (M.Sc.(Hons.))--University of Wollongong, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 135-138.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1993. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2951. Abstract precedes thesis as 4 preliminary leaves. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 75).

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Bibliography.

The study developed a model for projecting potential economies from manpower substitution among the four core mental health professions and applied the model to a proposed substitution situation which would substitute psychologists for psychiatrists in the delivery of a proportion of present private practice (fee-for-service) psychiatry services in British Columbia. The model identifies three controlling variables: treatment substitutability (TS), practice privilege constraints (PPC), and relative payment rates (RR). In the model, TS and PPC are conceptualized as determining the estimated substitutable share of costs (SSC%); RR, in combination with the values derived for SSC%, is then used to estimate potential cost savings (CS%). Two conditions were defined for each of the three controlling variables in order to provide a range of possible values for SSC% and CS%. For reasons of data availability, data were obtained from the Manitoba Health Services Commission for private practice psychiatry services for FY 1984 and estimates of SSC% calculated. These estimates were then applied to B.C. Medical Services Commission data for FY 1984, and projected values of CS% calculated. Calculations were made both for all services and for the subset of psychotherapy services, which accounted for 80 percent of the larger set of services. The results of the study indicated considerable possibilities for manpower substitution, ranging from 35 to 70 percent for all services and 40 to 75 percent for psychotherapy services. However, the study also found that while salaried psychologists offered the possibility of substantial cost savings, a fee-for-service arrangement suggested virtually no potential savings. Projected values of CS% for the salaried alternative were 20 to 40 percent for all services and 15 to 30 percent for psychotherapy services but in the fee-for-service alternative, only 4 to 8 percent for all services and 4 to 7 percent for psychotherapy services. Licensure and market rigidities which might pose barriers to implementation were evaluated and a review of professional training standards (TS), licensure standards (PPC), and funding alternatives (RR) indicated that the projected economies could be achieved with no necessity for modifications in existing arrangements. PPC appear to present almost no barriers to economies from the proposed manpower substitution and those barriers which are presented by TS and RR limitations still allow considerable potential for economies. Thus, the greatest opportunities for intervention in achieving and enhancing the projected, economies appear to be in the exploration of relative payment rates and relative effectiveness of treatment methods (e.g., psychotherapy vs. pharmacotherapy). The study concludes with a discussion of factors lying outside the boundaries of the model but which impinge, nonetheless, upon the feasibility of the proposed substitution and fall, necessarily, to policy makers to address. The existing network of B.C. community mental health centres was suggested as a possible mechanism for the delivery of the substitutable share of private practice psychiatry services. / Medicine, Faculty of / Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of / Graduate

No description available.