Background: Mental disability is a common condition but is considered as an invisible disability. The disability certificate in psychiatry remains underexplored. Some reasons are issues of confidentiality, stigma, lack of awareness in the public, and the hesitancy in the mental health professionals. We aim to provide a brief profile of patients with mental illness issued disability certificates from a psychiatric unit over a five-year period (2013–2017). Methods: Our retrospective study is based on the data available from the copies of the issued disability certificates from a psychiatric unit that functions in a multispecialty tertiary care teaching government hospital in Southern India. Patients undergoing treatment in psychiatry apply for a disability certificate to the medical superintendent of the hospital. Each applicant undergoes a detailed workup to ascertain the diagnosis, and the mental disability is assessed using Indian Disability Evaluation and Assessment Scale (IDEAS). Those with intellectual developmental disorder (IDD) are assessed by a clinical psychologist for quantifying intelligence quotient, based on which the disability certificate is issued. Data were extracted and analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics were used. Results: Over five years, 258 disability certificates were issued. A total of 218 were for mental illness and 40 were for IDD. Schizophrenia was the commonest primary diagnosis. There was no gender predominance, nor the influence of gender on different domains of IDEAS except on work domain dysfunction due to mental illness. The validity period was not mentioned in 81% of the issued certificates for mental illness. Conclusions: This descriptive study found a lower number of certificates issued from the psychiatric unit. Schizophrenia remains the main psychiatric diagnosis for which a disability certificate was issued. We did not assess the utilization pattern of the issued certificates.
Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a widely used treatment modality for mental disorders such as major depression, bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) and catatonia. However, it is considered as one of the most controversial and misunderstood procedures, especially among caregivers. Methods: An experimental pre-test, post-test design was adopted. Forty caregivers of persons with schizophrenia ( n = 12), depression ( n = 13), BPAD with mania ( n = 8), and BPAD with depression ( n = 7) were selected using convenience sampling. The caregiver’s knowledge and attitude toward ECT were assessed before and after the intervention with a single session video-assisted teaching on ECT. The data collection tool used to assess the caregiver’s knowledge and attitude was based on a pre-validated questionnaire. Results: The pre-test evaluation demonstrated poor knowledge among 12 (30%) and a moderate level of knowledge on the remaining 28 (70%) of the study subjects. The attitude scores revealed a neutral attitude among 47.5% and a conservative attitude among 10% of the subjects toward ECT. There was a significant improvement in both mean (±SD) knowledge (13.4 ± 4.7 vs 25.6 ± 2.9) and attitude (10.7 ± 3.5 vs 14.6 ± 3.9) scores following intervention with video-assisted teaching. Conclusion: A single session involving video-assisted teaching improves the knowledge and attitude toward ECT among caregivers by removing the myths and misconceptions about ECT.
Background: Very few Indian studies have explored disability among patients with somatoform disorder and the burden experienced by their caregivers. We aimed to assess the levels of disability among patients with somatoform disorder and the levels of burden among their caregivers and compare these parameters against patients with schizophrenia. Methods: Participants included adults with a diagnosis of somatoform disorders (F45.0–F 45.9) ( n = 28) or schizophrenia (F20.0–F20.9) ( n = 28) diagnosed as per the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision ( ICD-10), clinical descriptions, and diagnostic guidelines, as well as their caregivers. The WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 and Family Burden Interview Schedule were used to assess patient disability and caregiver burden, respectively. Independent Student’s t-test or chi-square test was used to compare relevant sociodemographic and clinical parameters. Results: Out of 56 patients, the mean (±SD) age of the sample was 38.6 (±10.5) years. Females constituted a slender majority of the sample ( n = 29, 51.8%). The mean disability score of patients with somatoform disorders was slightly higher (83.6 ±20.9) than that of patients with schizophrenia (82.3 ±16.7). Similarly, the mean burden score of caregivers of patients with somatoform disorders was nominally higher (18.96 ±9.9) than that of caregivers of patients with schizophrenia (15.7 ±9.7). Neither of these differences approached statistical significance (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Patients with somatoform disorders experience considerable levels of disability, and their caregivers go through various levels of burden in their daily life that is comparable to schizophrenia.
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