Addressing the extensive health needs of linguistic minority populations often requires the development of culturally appropriate health education materials. This article describes the preparation and evaluation of health education materials on medication that were tailored for the Latino and Southeast Asian clients. The culturally sensitive adaptation of materials and the involvement of community representatives are critical steps in this process. The number of requests for these materials illustrated the widespread need for this type of media.

Asian↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Parasuicide and general practice: a pilot study.

General Practitioners from Cork City and its environs were sent a questionnaire regarding their experience of parasuicide in the previous twelve months. Replies were received from 133 of the 185 GPs. 189 individuals, accounting for 212 episodes of parasuicide, were seen by 78 doctors, indicating a lower level of repetition than that found in hospital-referred cases. Almost a third of doctors saw no cases, just over one fifth saw one episode and the same proportion dealt with two. A small number of general practitioners saw many cases. Regarding management, 128 (60%) were referred to Casualty, 31 of whom were also referred for psychiatric care. Thirty percent were referred directly for psychiatric care. While only fourteen were retained within general practice without referral, 40% of the GPs felt that, ideally, acts of parasuicide should be retained with more specialised advice being obtained. Furthermore, 88.1% believed that management of parasuicide should form part of an integral part of post-graduate or continued general practitioner medical training. Clearly, GPs are willing to play a more active role in the management of parasuicide.

Family Practice↗