No abstract

These up-to-date recommendations provide an evidence-based framework that incorporates clinical wisdom and consideration of individual factors in the management of depression. Further, the novel style and practical approach should promote uptake and implementation.

These up-to-date recommendations provide an evidence-based framework that incorporates clinical wisdom and consideration of individual factors in the management of bipolar disorder. Further, the novel style and practical approach should promote their uptake and implementation.

No abstract

Objective: To describe the current use of nutritional supplements and their contribution to micronutrient intakes in a representative sample of Irish adults, to evaluate the impact of supplement use on the adequacy of micronutrient intakes and to assess the risk to supplement users of exceeding tolerable upper intake levels (UL). Study design and subjects: Food intake data were collected in 1379 (662 male and 717 female) randomly selected Irish adults aged 18 to 64 years using a 7-day food diary. The current use of nutritional supplements was assessed using a selfadministered questionnaire and respondents entered each supplement as it was consumed into the food diary. Results: Twenty-three per cent of respondents regularly used nutritional supplements. Twice as many women used supplements as men. The intakes of micronutrients were significantly higher (P < 0.001) in supplement users than in non-users. Micronutrient intakes from food sources were similar in male users and non-users of supplements, but were significantly higher (P < 0.01) in female users, by 3 to 13%, for Fe, Mg, Mn, vitamins C and E and niacin than in non-users.

No abstract

No abstract

Objective: To describe the lived experiences of people subject to community treatment orders (CTOs) and their carers.\ud \ud Method: We recruited 11 participants (five mental health consumers and six carers) through consumer and carer networks in NSW, Australia, to take part in interviews about their experiences. We analysed the interview data set using established qualitative methodologies.\ud \ud Results: The lived experiences were characterised by ‘access’ concerns, ‘isolation’, ‘loss and trauma’, ‘resistance and resignation’ and ‘vulnerability and distress’. The extent and impact of these experiences related to the severity of mental illness, the support available for people with mental illnesses and their carers, the social compromises associated with living with mental illness, and the challenges of managing the relationships necessitated by these processes.\ud \ud Conclusions: The lived experience of CTOs is complex: it is one of distress and profound ambivalence. The distress is an intrinsic aspect of the experience of severe mental illness, but it also emerges from communication gaps, difficulty obtaining optimal care and accessing mental health services. The ambivalence arises from an acknowledgement that while CTOs are coercive and constrain autonomy, they may also be beneficial. These findings can inform improvements to the implementation of CTOs and the consequent experiences.\ud \ud Keywords: carer, community treatment order, interview, involuntary treatment, mental health, patient experience, qualitative researchsupported by the Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol Office (MHDAO) of NSW Health of Australia