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Aim: To report participants' and facilitators' experiences of mental health promotion, prevention, and early‐intervention training program targeted at school nurses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Background: The UAE school healthcare service is staffed by full‐time nurses and part‐time doctors and linked to primary healthcare centers. This service supports children's physical and mental well‐being. However, school nurses' capacity to realize the potential of this service, particularly regarding mental health, has not yet been explored. Methods: We used an exploratory qualitative approach with data triangulation. Data were drawn from school nurses that participated in a targeted mental health promotion, prevention, and early‐intervention training program. Data were gathered through focus group interviews with participating school nurses, written reflections, and notes recorded by the program designers and trainers. All school nurses who participated in the training program (N = 15) were included in this study. This study adhered to the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research. Results: Nurses' narratives encompassed three main themes, which indicated the program was an enjoyable professional and personal journey that allowed professional discovery/development and personal growth. Program organizers/facilitators indicated the training program was important, but challenging to implement. Four themes emerged from their reflections that covered the structure of school nursing services, participants' competency and education, the UAE context, and teaching style. Conclusion: A well‐structured professional development program can contribute to improving mental healthcare in schools. Improved service structure and regulations to support this goal are essential. Implications for nursing practice, research, and policy: School nurses benefit professionally and personally from targeted mental health training, which also improves the care students receive. School healthcare service managers should consider increasing such training opportunities for nurses and focus on measuring service outcomes and evaluating effectiveness. It is also necessary to reassess the minimum qualification requirement for school nurses. Specific professional development programs for school nurses will improve their clinical practice and support the recruitment of competent and prepared staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stigma is of central importance to people with mental illness and their families. It impacts how they experience their illness and access available health services. An important principle in mental healthcare is empowering patients to live independently and productively, which requires optimal caring from family members. Stigma can seriously hinder this principle. This qualitative study was based on Straussian grounded theory. Participants were 25 family members of people with mental illness. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, field notes and memos, and managed using Paillé data analysis. We extracted four interrelated categories: pasung (confinement), demonic/devil possession, alternative treatments and social isolation. Because of misunderstandings about mental illness, participants turned to alternative treatments provided by shamans and religious leaders. Participants reported being expelled from or isolated by their community, suggesting stigma is a reality experienced by families of people with mental illness in Indonesia. Addressing family stigma is important to ensure on-going support for patients and families. It is also important to develop and evaluate anti-stigma interventions in the Indonesian context. The present findings are relevant for mental healthcare professionals, related practice areas where families may be exposed to stigmatization and for international audiences with similar cultural and religious contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Targeted public health campaigns are important in countries where health resources are limited. This is especially the case for countries such as Iraq since decades of sanctions, war and armed conflict have depleted the health system. The current study investigated the influence of sociodemographic characteristics on attitudes towards the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) relating to knowledge and behaviors held by people living in North Iraq. Method: A cross-sectional survey, conducted from 21st March to 12th April 2020, used an online platform. Multivariate analyses were used to examine the relationship between sociodemographic factors and respondents’ knowledge, attitude and behavioral practices in response to COVID-19. Results: Respondents with better self-reported health were most likely to report sleep impairment (OR=2.32,1.49-3.68) impaired eating (OR=1.84, 1.17-2.95) fear in response to social media news on COVID-19 (OR=1.92, 1.32-2.81) and were more likely to practice COVID-19 prevention measures (OR= 1.08, 1.01-1.14). On the other hand, those with better self-reported health (OR= 0.4; 0.27-0.59) were less likely to report good knowledge on COVID-19 whereas those with higher levels of education (OR= 3.59, 1.29-10.2) claimed to have higher knowledge of COVID-19. Men believed that war was more frightening than COVID-19 (OR=1.91, 1.33-2.75) compared to woman. Conclusion: Self-reported health and type of employment were the sociodemographic factors most frequently noted to influence knowledge, attitude and behaviors toward COVID-19 amongst the northern Iraqi population. In a country where health resources are scare and stretched because of a history of sanctions and prolonged war and community violence, these results provide directions for targeted approaches to support public health campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study sought to examine resettled Iraqi refugees' recognition of trauma-related psychopathology and the association between recognition and help-seeking. Participants were 66 men and women aged 18 to 70 years with clinically significant symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) recruited from a larger, community-based sample in Western Sydney, Australia. Participants were presented with a vignette of a fictional character who had been exposed to trauma prior to leaving Iraq and who was suffering from symptoms of PTSD. Participants were then asked if they believed that they might currently have a problem such as the one described in the vignette. Approximately half (50.8%) of participants believed that they might currently have a problem such as the one described in the vignette and one third (33.3%) of participants had ever sought help for such a problem. Participants who believed that they might currently have a problem like the one described were 13 times more likely to have sought help for such a problem, controlling for demographic characteristics, trauma-related symptomatology, and levels of general psychological distress. Poor self-recognition level of trauma-related psychopathology among resettled Iraqi refugees may be a barrier to help-seeking and may therefore be an important target for health promotion and early intervention initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]