Medication resistant persistent auditory hallucinations are pervasive in patients with schizophrenia. Efficacy of nurse- led self symptom management strategies is evident in the literature from western settings; though its efficacy has not been tested in Indian settings. This study aimed at examining the effects of teaching self symptom management strategies on distressing parameters and depression secondary to PAH. A case study method was adopted to measure the effectiveness of teaching self symptom management strategies in a patient with a diagnosis of Paranoid schizophrenia on distressing parameters and depression secondary to PAH. Measurements were done at baseline, immediately after each session and weekly follow up for one month. Baseline measurements were done using Auditory Hallucination Interview Guide, as a screening tool, Characteristics of Auditory Hallucination Questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory-II. Immediately after and follow up levels of measurement were done using CAHQ and BDI-II. Therapeutic response was defined as the reduction of the CAHQ and BDI-II scores. The post and follow up measurement showed reduction in characteristics of auditory hallucination sub-scores and overall depression score when compared to the baseline scores. The study concluded that teaching self symptom management strategies are effective in reducing both the distressing parameters of PAH and depression secondary to it.

Mental illness is a common condition, with a life time prevalence of about 40 - 50% in the community. However, only a few people with mental disorders generally receive treatment and about (70%) of individuals suffering from mental illness do not seek help. Additionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 450 million people suffer from mental or behavioral disorders, of which only a small proportion receives treatment. A lack of mental health literacy can limit the optimal use of treatment services. Community knowledge of mental health problems has been found to be inadequate, whilst this lack of knowledge is a fertile soil for developing negative behavior towards mental illness. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and attitude regarding mental illness among general public in selected rural areas of Hukkeri taluka.The cross-sectional research design was used for the present study. The data was collected for the duration of 20 days. Each day 5 subjects were interviewed. The convenient sampling technique was used to select the samples. The structured interview schedule and 3 point attitude scale was used as the main screening instrument. The results showed that the Mean percentage of knowledge score was 36.0 and the Mean percentage of attitude score was 57.95.There was a positive correlation between knowledge and attitude of subjects regarding mental illness (r=0.790).There was a significant association between source of information with level of knowledge and also there was a significant association between age and source of information with level of attitude.

The study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of supportive group education on the level of depression and anxiety among women with cancer. The study was conducted in Bharat Hospital and institute oncology. The sample consisted of 31 women with cancer, each in both experimental and control group respectively. Samples were selected by using non probability convenient sampling technique. The tools used for data collection were Performa for personal and socio-demographic data, The Hamilton scale for depression (HAM-D), The Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HAM-A). Supportive group education was developed consists of 2 phases, phase I dealt with meaning & definition of cancer, it’s types, prevention, management, emotional support, attitudes that can help can help cancer patient . In phase II, Researcher encouraged the participatants to interact with each other, to express their feeling and share their ways of dealing with problems. The tools were validated and reliability obtained by using test retest method. Pilot study was conducted to find the feasibility of conducting study. The findings revealed that, the post test depression and anxiety scores of women with cancer who have exposed to supportive group education had significantly lower mean post test depression and anxiety scores than that of control group. There was significant association found at 0.05 levels between levels of depression and income. There was a positive correlation (‘r’= 0.75) at 0.05 level between pre-test depression and anxiety scores among women with cancer.

A mobile phone is a device which is being used for multiple reasons nowadays. Though, the advantages of using mobile phones can never be forgotten, the health hazards of which are also a topic of interest in the present scenario. The present study aimed at assessing the awareness on impact of mobile phone usage on health among adolescents (N=30) selected randomly from a higher secondary school. The data regarding awareness was collected using a self administered knowledge questionnaire prepared by the investigators. The collected data was pooled into SPSS v.16 and was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics based on the outlined objectives. 63.33% of the subjects were using mobile phones. The Mean knowledge on impact of mobile phone usage on health was 11.20±3.02. No significant association could establish on knowledge with the selected demographic variables of the study population. Mobile phone usage among adolescents is increasing in number nowadays but the awareness regarding health risks associated to it is still less. A community based education programme could be much beneficial in educating them regarding the safe usage of mobile phones.

Terminal illness is always a traumatic experience to the patients as well as to those who are caring them. The studies assessing the knowledge and attitude of nurses towards end of life care in India are limited. A descriptive study was adopted to assess the knowledge and attitude on end of life care among student nurses and staff nurses as an exploratory step towards end of life care issues among nurses. The study was carried out among student nurses and staff nurses, 30 in each group using standardized tools viz. Self administered knowledge questionnaire prepared by the researchers and Frommelt Attitude towards Care of the Dying Scale. The collected data were pooled into Microsoft excel v.2007 and were analyzed using descriptive as well as inferential statistics based on the predefined objectives of the study. Knowledge and attitude towards end of life care among student nurses was significantly (p<0.05) high when compared to staff nurses; but, the study failed to establish a significant correlation between the knowledge on end of life care with the attitude towards it. The present study argues that the nurses who care terminally ill patients must learn from colleagues with clinical expertise, and not from books or lectures alone.

The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in selected urban and rural area of Vellore. A descriptive design was used to conduct the study. A population of 452 from urban and 324 from rural area were surveyed. A mental health screening tool was prepared by the investigators which had ten components, each of which has certain subsets that describe the nature of the problem under study. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. 8% in urban and 12 % in rural area are having mental health problems and among which 64.9% of urban subjects are having sleep disturbances and 37.8% with mood disturbances. Nearly half (47.4%) of rural subjects are having sleep disturbances and 34.2% with substance use disorders. The prevalence reported in epidemiological surveys can be considered lower estimates rather than accurate reflections of true prevalence in the population. Researchers have focused on broad non-specific, non-modifiable risk factors, such as age, gender and social class. Future research can be focused on the general population, longitudinal (prospective), multi-centre, co-morbid studies, assessment of disability and its functioning, family burden and quality of life studies involving a clinical service providing approach.

In any culture, illness brings with it a degree of fear and anxiety to the sick individual. As natural consequence of the concerns that accompany illness itself, the person desires information about his illness and treatment plan. Without this information it is most difficult for him to take an active part in working toward his own health, and cooperating with those who are trying to help him. A study was conducted with objectives to assess and evaluate the practices of nursing personnel regarding nurse patient interaction of nursing personnel before and after administration of a Planned teaching program and to determine the association between practices of nurse patient interaction with selected personal variables. Total 60 subjects were selected randomly, 30 were in experimental and 30 were in control group and data was collected by using event sampling observation technique. The findings reveal that the post-test practice score of experimental group 32.26 was significantly higher than the mean pre-test practice score 26.97 as evident from the’t’ value at 0.05 level of significance. This indicated the effectiveness of PTP in enhancing the practice scores of nursing personnel regarding nurse-patient interaction and the chi-square value of post-test practice score with selected personal variables were not significant indicating that the selected personal variables had no association on practices followed by nursing personnel with post-test practice score.

The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge of teachers regarding emotional problems of primary school children. Emotional problems in school children may result in low level of scholastic performance. Early recognition of emotional and social problems in primary school children is necessary for best developmental outcomes. This study was conducted in April 2010 to assess the level of knowledge among teachers at selected schools. A sample of 50 subjects was drawn through convenient sampling technique. Data were collected by using structured questionnaire. The results of the study was 05 (10%) teachers had adequate knowledge, 33 (66%) had moderate knowledge and 12 (24%) had inadequate knowledge on emotional problems of primary school children. Emotional problems are more common among the primary school children, if teachers are equipped with adequate knowledge on emotional problems of primary school children, they can easily identify and manage the child with emotional problems. So, nurses working in the community should engage them in awareness programmes on physical and psychosocial development and problems of primary school children.

The present study was conducted to assess the teachers’ awareness regarding learning disabilities among children. A descriptive research design was adapted to assess the knowledge and attitude of school teachers regarding learning disabilities among children in selected schools. 60 subjects were selected by convenient sampling method. The study revealed that the most of the teachers had highly favorable attitude towards children with learning ability even though their level of knowledge regarding learning disability was low and higher level of knowledge was associated with positive attitude.

Every year, almost one million people die from suicide. Attempted suicide can be up to 40 times frequent than completed suicide and they are at high risk for completed suicide. The purpose of this study is to identify an effective treatment to prevent suicide. Randomized studies published from January 1990 to January 2011, that involved an intervention to prevent suicide were selected for review. Jadad scoring system was used to check the quality of the studies and RevMan 5.1 was used for statistical analysis. Three studies met the selection criteria. The overall effect estimate confirms that the Brief intervention and contact / lay counsellor favours the experimental group in terms of attempted suicide. The overall effect estimate confirms that the Brief intervention and contact favours the experimental in terms of completed suicide. This Meta analysis supports that follow up and counselling plays a very important role in prevention of suicide attempt and the Mental Health Nursing professionals can shoulder this responsibility to work towards suicide less India.