[ ISSN : 2576-5477 ]
“Does your brother take any medications?” was the first thing I heard on the phone. As a physician, I knew that question was loaded with meaning and most likely it was going to be followed by bad news. I learned that my brother was involved in a car accident, leaving him with multiple injuries and was admitted to the ICU.
“Does your brother take any medications?” was the first thing I heard on the phone. As a physician, I knew that question was loaded with meaning and most likely it was going to be followed by bad news. I learned that my brother was involved in a car accident, leaving him with multiple injuries and was admitted to the ICU.
My parents, who had to fly from outside the country, met me at that hospital that same night where the ICU became our second home for the coming weeks. The initial days were the most agonizing. We held his hand, whispered words of encouragement, and hoped for any sign of improvement. We took turns sitting by my brother’s side, hearing all the information the treatment team had for us day by day. As an internal medicine physician, some very specific medical terms were not familiar to me. I had to continuously ask what everything meant so I could understand and subsequently translate the information in Spanish to my parents so they could be involved in my brother’s care too. I reflected on this and realized I could not stop thinking about how patients and families with no medical background hear all the medical terms, and most of the time, just nod.
Effective communication is vital in the field of healthcare, where clear and concise information can significantly impact patient outcomes, and I witnessed it first-hand. I am extremely grateful to the doctors who took the time to sit with us and explain what was going on. While medical professionals possess a wealth of specialized knowledge, it is essential to convey complex medical concepts to patients and their families in easily understandable terms.
Medical jargon and technical language can be overwhelming. By utilizing layman terms, we can empower patients by helping them comprehend their medical conditions, treatments, and procedures. When patients understand their health issues, they can actively participate in decision-making and ask informed questions. This knowledge fosters a sense of control, reduces anxiety, and enables patients and families to take an active role in the healthcare journey because they feel understood and respected. This fosters a sense of trust and encourages open dialog. Regarding translation, in multicultural societies, language and cultural differences can present significant challenges in healthcare communication. Using layman’s terms helps bridge these barriers by simplifying complex medical information into universally understandable language. This enables healthcare providers to effectively communicate with patients from diverse backgrounds, ensuring that important medical details are not lost in translation. It promotes cultural sensitivity and inclusivity.
In our case, after digesting all the information and making some decisions after it was all clear, my brother’s mind and body showed slow signs of progress. My brother’s determination, combined with the unwavering support of the medical team and our family, became the driving force behind his progress. The day we received news of his imminent discharge from the rehabilitation center was a moment of immense joy and gratitude.
Reflecting on this journey, I realized the profound impact the accident had on my entire family. We emerged stronger, cherishing every precious moment and valuing the strength that comes from unity and effort for clear communication. The most valuable lesson, I took for my own personal practice, was how layman’s terms and family communication make a higher impact on patient care than I ever thought possible. I hope that I can inspire healthcare providers to be mindful of the language that patients and families can easily comprehend so that the people on the other side of the bed can have an active role in their health.
Regarding my brother’s journey, I can happily share that as of today, he is fulfilling his dream of being an orthopedic surgeon, helping trauma patients, while providing excellent medical communication to his patients and their families. We could not be happier.
No conflict of interest to declare for the preparation of this manuscript.
Rosas D (2024) Communication from the Other Side of the Bed. SM J Psychiatry Ment Health 6: 1.
In Japan, there is a recognized need for further research into stigma in the workplace toward persons with mental illness. Toward that end, I will discuss here two studies that we have conducted with the aim of (I) elucidating the stigma experienced in the workplace by persons with mental illness, and (II) elucidating employers’ attitudes toward persons with mental illness.
Hatsumi Yoshii*
International literature has detected high levels of academic stress in students of universities and colleges, which manifests itself with clinical symptoms [1] and constitutes an obstacle to the activation of adaptive, functional and coping responses
Giulia Savarese*, Luna Carpinelli, Oreste Fasano, Monica Mollo, Nadia Pecoraro and Antonio Iannaccone
T he scientific literature has highlighted how the incoming and outgoing transitions through the university represent stressful moments for students. Generally, an adaptation of one’s self it’s needed
Giulia Savarese*, Luna Carpinelli, Oreste Fasano, Monica Mollo, Nadia Pecoraro, Pierpaolo Cavallo
It is known that edema is a rare side effect of quetiapine. Until now only nine cases of peripheral edema related to quetiapine have been reported in the literature. We have determined five cases of pretibial edema associated with quetiapine during two years period of time. The common feature of these cases reported here are comorbid medical disorders, such as venous insufficiency, bladder tumor, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus with excessive elevation of blood sugar. Although treatment protocol of edema and those comorbid medical diseases have been applied separately, at the end of these treatments it is seen that PTE has not been resolved. In all cases reported here that when the dose of quetiapine is reduced, it is observed that PTE is reduced or disappeared. This result brings to mind that there could be a relation between edema and quetiapine.
Hayriye Dilek Hamurcu¹*, Ersin Hatice Karslıoğlu¹, Mehmet Öztürk¹, Elvan Özalp¹ and Ali Çayköylü²
War, quarrel, and some conflict were devastating. In some family for reasons of emotion, influence by other people, ideology, honor, politics, geography or the simple environment, elder brother can find themselves on opposing sides of a war and force them to be in facing battlefield. If we searching the reason for the quarrel between incent brothers, there may be the negligible reason. In straightforward, reasons for the quarrel were not very big.
Ashok Pandey*
Background: In Canada, industrial wind operations are important parts of the country’s long-term energy strategy and Wind Turbines (WTs) are represented as environmentally friendly projects; however, suspected health-related effects of exposure to WT noise have attracted much public attention. Sleep disturbance and degraded Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) have been among the most common complaints reported by residents living close to wind farms.
Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between changes in sleep quality and HRQoL among residents living close to wind farms.
Methods: Pre- and post-natural experiments were conducted with two data collection periods, before and after WTs became operational; sleep quality was measured by using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and HRQoL was measured using the 12-item Short Form (SF-12) Health Survey of 50 participants.
Results: Changes in the SF-12 mental component summary (ΔMCS) were correlated inversely with the changes in PSQI score (ΔPSQI, Spearman’s correlation r_S= -0.595). The median values for ΔMCS were significantly associated with ΔPSQI (p=0.039) after controlling for age, sex, distance and attitude to WTs, in a quantile regression analysis.
Conclusion: Changes in sleep quality reported by residents living nearby WTs were a significant independent predictor of the degraded mental health domain of HRQoL.
Leila Jalali*, Ashok Chaurasia, Philip Bigelow, Shannon Majowicz and Stephen McColl
Acute psychiatric illness is associated with alterations of serum thyroid hormone levels including normal or high T3 levels and elevated T4 levels with normal or high TSH that have no clinical signs or symptoms and resolve within 2 weeks. This phenomenon is called euthyroid hyperthyroxinemia. We present a case of primary hyperparathyroidism contributing to a patient’s depression with psychosis that developed euthyroid hyperthyroxinemia. We also review the literature to present current thoughts about pathophysiology and treatment.
Joseph Wolfgang Mathews and Nicoleta Dorinela Sora*
One-third of people living with dementia also experience depression. Treating symptoms of depression may be a protective factor and reduce cognitive decline in dementia. People suffering from depression experience sad mood, reduced energy, poor concentration, loss of interest, diminished activity and they are at risk for death by suicide. Screening instruments include the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Typical treatments include antidepressant medications, which may have limited efficacy; and Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), which may heighten memory loss. Psychotherapeutic approaches, including cognitive–behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy and supportive counseling can be helpful. Lifestyle modifications addressing healthy diet, exercise and the inclusion of enjoyable activities can promote improved quality of life. Providing needed education and support to caregivers, who often experience depression, anxiety and sleep disorders themselves is critical. This paper provides health professionals with an overview of approaches for recognizing and responding to co-occurring dementia and depression.
Sherri Melrose*
This study investigated potential correlation between the inflammatory marker, Calprotectin, and a S.O.S questionnaire from forty-nine Autistic children. Symptom and behavioral questionnaires were completed contemporaneously with stool sample collection. Mixed Model data analysis showed strong correlation between some questionnaire parameters and Calprotectin. ‘Need for a fixed routine’ was highly significantly correlated with Calprotectin (????<0.00009) with Multivariate Coefficient of 3.227, whilst paradoxically ‘constipation’ indicated significant change (????<0.02) with negative Multivariate Coefficient (-1.584). The negative ‘constipation’ appears to associate with the positive ‘need for a fixed routine’ indicating possibility of reciprocal, independent prediction of gastrointestinal inflammation. Results suggest that ‘need for a fixed routine’ and ‘constipation’ be included in a screening questionnaire as independent predictors of bowel dysfunction in these children.
Ioná Bramati-Castellarin¹*, Vinood Patel¹ and Ian P Drysdale²
Background: Improved real world functioning is the ultimate goal of cognitive rehabilitation (which was developed for an acquired brain injury population), however, cognitive remediation for psychiatric populations focuses primarily on cognitive interventions (e.g., computerized cognitive training) and utilizes cognitive test results as outcomes. A broader range of neuropsychological interventions and outcome measures, incorporating real-world measures of functioning, is recommended for cognitive remediation program evaluation.
Objective: To determine the feasibility and explore the effectiveness of a holistic cognitive remediation program administered by clinical neuropsychologists for a community-based mixed psychiatric treatment seeking sample.
Method: Twenty-five adults of mixed psychiatric aetiology were referred for a 10-week intervention (including four hours of weekly individual and group-based sessions). A broad array of outcomes was assessed post-intervention. Functional status, self-reported cognitive symptoms and quality of life was assessed at 11.3 months follow-up.
Results: Eighteen of the referred participants (72%) completed the intervention. Completers showed: a high rate of functional cognitive goal attainment; increased employment rates; improved symptoms of psychological distress and quality of life; reduced self-report of cognitive difficulties; and improved auditory attention span and verbal memory. Self-report of reduced cognitive difficulties and improved quality of life was maintained approximately one year later. The majority of participants reported very high levels of satisfaction with the program.
Conclusions: This intervention was acceptable to participants and associated with high satisfaction rates and gains in cognitive, psychological and functional outcomes. Findings suggest there are multiple benefits to adopting an intervention program that is holistic, individualized to the goals of the patient and facilitated by trained neuropsychologists.
Jamie Berry¹,²*, Donel Martin¹, Karen Wallace¹, Anthony Miller², Travis Wearne² and Melanie Porter²