SYNOPSIS This paper describes the referral pathways taken by 1554 patients newly referred to the mental health services in 11 countries, and documents factors associated with delays in referral. The pathways in centres relatively well provided with psychiatric staff were dominated by general practitioners and to a lesser extent hospital doctors: the relatively less well resourced centres showed a variety of pathways with native healers often playing an important part. Delays were remarkably short in all centres regardless of psychiatric resources, but in some centres we found longer delays on pathways involving native healers. Somatic problems were a common presentation in all centres, and in some centres there was a tendency for patients presenting with somatic problems to have longer delays than those with symptoms of depression or anxiety. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of an ongoing programme of WHO research activities aimed at improving the quality of mental illness care available in community settings.

SYNOPSISThis paper reports the factor structure of the symptoms comprising the GHQ when it is administered in the general practiāe service of a hospital. Two shorter versions are proposed: one with 6 scales and 30 items, and the other with 4 scales and 28 items. The latter is compared with the 28-item English version. Preliminary data concerning the validity of the scales are presented. In a comparison of the screening potentiality of the 60- and 28-item versions, no significant differences were found.

SUMMARYA recently proposed definition for remission and recovery in schizophrenia is receiving increased attention by clinicians and researchers. The interest on these issues is based on the recent proposed definition for symptomatic remission, and the development of operational criteria for its assessment, by the Remission in Schizophrenia Working Group (RSWG), in the United States, in 2005. Remission is assessed using eight items of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), all of which have to be scored with a symptom severity of ≤3 points (mild or better), sustained for a minimum duration of six months. In Europe, since 2006, proposed definition criteria about response and remission were introduced. Response can be assessed, with the PANSS, using a cut-off of at least 50% reduction of the baseline score for the acutely ill, and a cut-off of at least of 25% reduction for refractory patients. Remission could be assessed using a formula for calculating percentage PANSS reduction from baseline. Definition criteria have also been introduced to assess functional recovery that includes the combination of clinical and social outcomes for two consecutive years, including dimensions such as psychosocial functioning, cognition, and quality of life.The purpose of this review is to examine existing research on symptomatic remission and functional recovery in schizophrenia. We included clinical and epidemiological studies, reviews and meta-analyses published between January 1970 and July 2013. Sixty two studies on remission and recovery were included, with a total of 94 940 patients, comprising six months to 37 years follow-up. Thirty two studies on functional recovery were included, with a total of 6 483 patients with a range of six months to 42 years follow-up. Research indicates that symptomatic remission can be achieved in 20-97%, and functional recovery in 10-68% of people with schizophrenia. The use of remission and recovery criteria has been recommended for clinical practice and scientific research.Key words: Symptomatic remission, functional recovery, symtomatology, psychosocial functioning. RESUMENRecientemente los conceptos de remisión sintomática y recuperación funcional en los pacientes que padecen esquizofrenia han recibido una considerable atención por parte de los clínicos y los investigadores. El interés en estos aspectos tiene que ver con la propuesta realizada en el 2005 por el "Grupo de trabajo para evaluar la remisión en esquizofrenia", con el objetivo de proponer una definición de remisión sintomática, así como el desarrollo de criterios operacionales para su evaluación. La remisión sintomática se evalúa utilizando ocho reactivos de la escala PANSS, los cuales deben puntuar tres o menos, con una duración mínima de seis meses de remisión. En Europa, desde el 2006, también se han propuesto criterios para evaluar la respuesta al tratamiento, así como la remisión sintomática. La remisión se puede evaluar usando una fórmula para calcular el porcentaje de reducción de síntomas desde el inicio del tr...

Background: Human development is a highly complex, environment-dependent process including mental health and psychopathology among its outcomes. Thus, it needs to be studied comprehensively in order to identify correlations and interactions among different biological, economical and psychosocial variables across time and generations.

Background: Human development is a highly complex, environment-dependent process including mental health and psychopathology among its outcomes. Thus, it needs to be studied comprehensively in order to identify correlations and interactions among different biological, economical and psychosocial variables across time and generations.