Extensive research has been conducted on the attitudes of physicians and nurses toward euthanasia. However, little is known on the attitudes of suicide prevention workers (SPWs). The objectives of this study were to: (1) examine the attitudes of SPWs toward euthanasia for a non-descript person versus for a loved one; (2) verify the association between personal factors (experiences, sociodemographics) and attitudes, and (3) explore personal experiences of SPWs in relation to grievous illness. A survey was sent out to all suicide prevention centres across Quebec (n=32). A majority of SPWs (55.7%) held positive attitudes toward euthanasia for a non-descript person and for a loved one (49.5%). Statistically significant differences were found in attitudes among SPWs who had personal and professional experiences. There were no other statistically significant differences in the attitudes of SPWs toward euthanasia for a non-descript person or for a loved one, and any of the sociodemographic factors. Three themes emerged from the qualitative analysis of open-ended question on personal experiences of SPWs: respect of choice, suffering/low quality of life and palliative care. While some findings may be concluded from this study, it is essential that this topic be explored further as research on SPWs’ attitudes on euthanasia is limited. Research outcomes of this study can have important short-term and long-term implications on suicide prevention and training of SPWs to improve services offered to clients.

Previous surveys of mental health professionals regarding theoretical orientation and the use of various treatment modalities provided valuable information concerning the nature of mental health delivery but primarily focused on professionals providing services to dominant-culture clientele. The present study focused on those degreed workers whose primary clientele were American Indian. Questionnaires were returned by 140 mental health workers who are American Psychological Association (APA) members of American Indian descent, members of the Society of Indian Psychologists (SIP), employees of the Indian Health Service (IHS), and graduate psychology students. Questionnaire responses were analyzed in terms of orientation and treatment modality for various subgroups of respondents. In addition, demographic data (e.g., age, sex, emphasis of graduate study, intervention level, work setting, and service delivery to primary age groups) were compared for Indian and non-Indian respondents. The results provide a unique assessment of current trends in therapeutic approaches used in mental health service delivery with American Indians.

Performing emotional labour in health care has been widely studied. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding mental health care. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify (1) the method of emotional labour (i.e. hiding, faking, deep acting) adopted by mental health workers when interacting with patients; (2) the consequences associated with performing emotional labour- burnout, job satisfaction, and stress; and (3) which of these variables mentioned above predict the health and well-being of mental health workers. Findings revealed greater use of hiding emotions, than deep acting or faking emotions with patients. Several consequences, both positive and negative were identified. Among the negative consequences found, performing emotional labour through hiding and faking emotions was associated with burnout, job dissatisfaction, and stress. Conversely, through deep acting, increased personal accomplishment and job satisfaction was confirmed. No association between emotional labour and psychological distress, and physical symptoms were found.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka och beskriva attityder till psykisk ohälsa hos psykiatripersonal, samt att undersöka skillnader i attityd inom bakgrundsfaktorerna kön, ålder och utbildningsnivå. Studien har tagit del utav forskningsprojektet Psykisk ohälsa. En deskriptiv och komparativ design med kvantitativ ansats användes. Data insamlades från 216 returnerade enkäter från vårdpersonal inom psykiatrin. Frågeformuläret Nya CAMI-S med 29 påståenden användes. Analyserna utfördes med statistikprogrammet SPSS för att beskriva frekvenser och att för att se skillnader användes chi 2-test. Resultatet visade att vårdpersonalen inom psykiatrin överlag har en positiv attityd till psykisk ohälsa. Mest negativ attityd fick påståendet om de som varit patient inom psykiatrin var en pålitlig barnvakt. Signifikanta skillnader sågs mellan åldersgrupperna, där äldre hade mer positiv attityd. Mellan könen sågs signifikanta skillnader i påståendet om att psykisk sjukdom är som vilken annan sjukdom som helst där män hade mer negativ attityd. Inga signifikanta skillnader sågs mellan utbildningsnivåerna. Slutligen visade studien övervägande positiva attityder hos vårdpersonalen, dock framkom negativa attityder inom vissa områden. Vidare forskning och utbildning inom området kan leda till mer positiva attityder i framtiden. / The aim of this study was to investigate and describe attitudes towards mental illness among mental health workers and to investigate differences in attitudes within the background factors of gender, age and educational level. This study is a part of the project ‘Psykisk ohälsa’. A descriptive and comparative design with quantitative approach was used. Data were collected from 216 returned surveys. The questionnaire ‘New CAMI-S’ with 29 items were used. Data were analyzed with SPSS to describe the frequency and chi 2-test was used to measuring the differences. The results showed that the mental health workers in general had a positive attitude towards mental illness. Most negative attitudes were seen in the item about most persons who were once patients in a mental hospital can be trusted as babysitters. Three significant differences were seen between ages. The older group had more positive attitudes towards mental illness. One significant item was found between gender, men had more negative attitudes. No significance was found between education levels. The conclusions showed that most of the staff had positive attitudes, however, negative attitudes were found in some areas. Further research and education in this topic could lead into more positive attitudes in the future.

Performing emotional labour in health care has been widely studied. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding mental health care. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify (1) the method of emotional labour (i.e. hiding, faking, deep acting) adopted by mental health workers when interacting with patients; (2) the consequences associated with performing emotional labour- burnout, job satisfaction, and stress; and (3) which of these variables mentioned above predict the health and well-being of mental health workers. Findings revealed greater use of hiding emotions, than deep acting or faking emotions with patients. Several consequences, both positive and negative were identified. Among the negative consequences found, performing emotional labour through hiding and faking emotions was associated with burnout, job dissatisfaction, and stress. Conversely, through deep acting, increased personal accomplishment and job satisfaction was confirmed. No association between emotional labour and psychological distress, and physical symptoms were found.

Workplace aggression incidents are increasing and, thus, becoming more difficult to address in the United States. Health care workers in particular are at an increased risk of burnout compared to individuals working in other occupations. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to investigate the propensity for workplace aggression among health care professionals and the association between job satisfaction and the propensity for workplace aggression. The conservation of resources theory was used to frame the study. The Work Environment Scale and the Conditional Reasoning Test of Aggression were used to collect data from 89 mental health clinicians, nurses, and technicians employed at 2 metro Atlanta hospitals. Findings indicated no correlation between workplace aggression and job satisfaction among mental health workers. Findings also indicated no higher propensity for workplace aggression among frontline workers (nurses and technicians) than among other mental health workers. However, findings revealed that employees with more years of service had a higher propensity for workplace aggression. Implications for social change include enhancing the capacity of mental health workers to handle the emotional and physical demands of the job.

Burnout affects mental health workers both personally and professionally. Identifying variables that lead to burnout, such as poor coping skills, may assist organization in preventing burnout among mental health workers. Most researchers studying burnout in the mental health field have focused on human service workers in general. There is a gap in the literature concerning job burnout among counselors of sex offenders. The theory of cognitive appraisal and coping was the theoretical foundation for this study. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping, genders, years of experience, and caseload size predict job burnout in counselors who treat sex offenders. Surveys containing items from the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the COPE Inventory along with demographic questions were distributed to counselors of sex offenders who were members of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. Data from 86 complete questionnaires were analyzed using simple linear regression and analysis of variance. Caseload size was found to be a statistically significant predictor of the depersonalization aspect of burnout. It, however, was not statistically significant predictor of emotional exhaustion and reduced personal accomplishment. In addition, coping, gender, and years of experience were not significant predictors of burnout. The findings have the potential of stimulating positive social change by making treatment providers more aware of the factors that contribute to burnout among counselors of sex offenders. If providers give these counselors a more manageable caseload, they may be able to reduce their burnout, leading to a higher quality of care for offenders and improved well-being for counselors.

Burnout is a construct first proposed by Freudenberger to describe a condition that develops in people who work with people such as teachers, nurses and first responders (Shan, 2005). Professionals who are burned out demonstrate a lack of concern for the people they service and often perform poorly on the job. In recent years, the construct of Burnout has been largely replaced by the construct of Compassion Fatigue. Interestingly, mental health professionals who work with children as their predominant client base have not been extensively studied, although these professionals arguably could be experiencing some of the highest levels of Compassion Fatigue (Eastwood, 2008). Research shows that Burnout and Compassion Fatigue impact the work that an individual performs, but the impact of these on the use of particular therapeutic practices as an area is less studied. The present study sought to determine if there is a relationship between Burnout, Compassion Fatigue, and the use of evidence-based practices in mental health professionals. Using research by Craig and Sprang (2010) as the starting point, this study also investigated whether mental health professionals who work with children experience more or less Burnout and Compassion Fatigue than those who work with adults. Mental health professionals from a variety of mental health facilities in the Philadelphia region served as subjects in this study. Participants were given the Trauma Practices Questionnaire (TPQ), a 22-item treatment practices utilization scale, the Professional Quality of Life Scale-V (PRoQOL-V), a 30-item scale that required respondents to assess their thoughts and feelings in relation to their work, and a questionnaire formulated by this investigator that included demographic information, background information, as well a question that focused on the age of the mental health professional's client base and a question that focused on years of professional experience. The results showed that the mental health professionals who worked with adults were older, more typically white, had higher levels of education and had undergraduate majors that were in psychology or a psychology-related area (e.g., social work) than mental health professionals who worked with children. Burnout and Compassion Fatigue correlated negatively with all practices, evidence based and non-evidence based. Males used more evidence-based and total practices than females. Females had a higher level of Compassion Satisfaction but also a higher level of Burnout. The results showed that the mental health professionals who worked with children had higher levels of Compassion Satisfaction, but also higher levels of Burnout. The data show that the group that works with children used less cognitive and behavioral approaches. The broader implications of the results are discussed in the conclusion. / Educational Psychology

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:55:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 EDIANE DE MIRANDA CASTRO DALCIN.pdf: 4397723 bytes, checksum: eeef03d112e598856b2420450e86158e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-12-14 / Labor is a source of material resources, but also a source of self-realization and of social life. As such, it should promote well-being. However, it can also menace the worker s health. The present study approached the professional environment as a mixed set of favorable elements and risk factors for the worker s well-being. Its goal was to investigate how professionals in a Center for Psychosocial Attention (CAPS) type 1, in the state of Mato Grosso (Brazil) experience their work environment and work conditions. Both objective and subjective aspects were considered, going from architectural features, gardens (the presence of nature in the work environment); to the workers appreciation of these elements as to functionality (pragmatic qualities) and as to the effect on their well-being. Action-research was conducted, using multiple methods, including content analysis of interviews, collection of field data through fieldnotes and photography, document research and literature research. The participants were ten professionals at the CAPS 1. The data were analyzed according to the principles of Grounded Theory. Categories were constructed through an inductive-analytic process and organized in an explicative model that described problems and changes in the studied environment. The results indicate as major sources of stress: inadequacy of the indoor environment (principally lack of space in the offices, inadequate ventilation, thermal discomfort; bad smell and visual discomfort) and of the outdoor environment (thermal discomfort, absence of shadow and scarcity of grass); lack of employment stability; bad pay; work overload; uncertainty as to the efficiency of the work with the patients. Besides this, there was a feeling of being both unreasonably pressured and undervalued by local politicians. The participants reported considerable stress, but also a broad variety of coping strategies and sources of resilience (including religious coping, personal commitment to team work, awareness of improvement in patients etc.) The conclusion of the study is that both the physical environment in itself and the socio-political context that is responsible for it deserve attention as moderators of occupational stress of professionals in mental health centers. / O trabalho, gerador de recursos materiais, é também fonte de auto-realização e de relações interpessoais. No melhor caso, deve promover um equilíbrio saudável. Porém, também pode ameaçar a saúde do trabalhador. Esta pesquisa abordou o ambiente de trabalho como um conjunto de fatores de qualidade e fatores de risco para o bem-estar do trabalhador. Teve como objetivo de investigar a vivência cotidiana de estresse profissional dos profissionais de um Centro de Atenção Psicossocial (CAPS) I no Mato Grosso, frente ao ambiente interno e externo, relacionando este com as condições de trabalho e a saúde ocupacional. Foram contempladas características objetivas do ambiente, como as arquitetônicas, jardins (integração com a natureza no ambiente de trabalho); mas também a apreciação subjetiva destes ambientes quanto à funcionalidade (execução do trabalho) e à humanização do trabalho (efeito sobre o bem-estar do trabalhador). Foi realizada uma pesquisa-ação empregando métodos múltiplos, incluindo analise de conteúdo de entrevistas; coleta de dados através de fotografias e anotações de campo; pesquisa documental e pesquisa bibliográfica. Teve como participantes dez profissionais da saúde do CAPS I. Os dados foram processados de acordo com os preceitos da Grounded Theory, construindo categorias em um processo indutivo-análitico e ao mesmo tempo organizando-os numa visão explicativa que pôde levar a mudanças positivas no ambiente estudado. Os resultados acusaram como estressores importantes: inadequações do ambiente interno, (principalmente o tamanho insuficiente das salas, a ventilação inadequada, desconforto térmico, olfativo e visual) e do ambiente externo (desconforto térmico e falta de sombra e de grama); falta de estabilidade empregatícia; baixos salários; dupla jornada de trabalho; dúvidas quanto ao alcance dos objetivos do trabalho com os pacientes. Além disso, foi detectada uma sensação de serem pressionados pela política local, e de serem pouco valorizados pelos dirigentes municipais. Os participantes relatam diversos sintomas de estresse, mas também um leque de estratégias de coping e fontes de resiliência (incluindo religiosidade, envolvimento na colaboração com colegas, percepção de melhoras em pacientes; e outros). Conclui-se que tanto a adequação do ambiente físico de trabalho e o contexto político-social mereçam atenção como moderador do estresse ocupacional de profissionais de centros de saúde mental.

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