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Biomedical subjects

G E Mahy

Publications and source records attributed to G E Mahy.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

First-contact incidence rate of schizophrenia on Barbados.

BACKGROUND: The incidence rate for broad schizophrenia among second-generation African-Caribbean people in the United Kingdom has been reported as high. Ethnicity, migration and psychosocial stressors have been suggested as causal factors. AIMS: To determine the incidence of schizophrenia for the whole population of Barbados using an identical methodology to two previous studies in Trinidad (Bhugra et al, 1996) and London (Bhugra et al, 1997). METHOD: A 12-month study of all persons in the 18-54-year age group presenting with a psychosis for the first time was carried out on the population of Barbados. Information was collected using World Health Organization screening and measurement instruments. RESULTS: On an island of just over a quarter of a million, 40 out of the 53 patients that met the inclusion criteria were categorised as S+ (narrow) schizophrenia, giving an incidence rate of 2.8/10,000 (95% CI 1.97-3.7). The incidence rate for broad schizophrenia was calculated at 3.2/10,000 (95% CI 2.3-4.1), which is significantly lower than the comparable rate for London's African-Caribbeans of 6.6/10,000 (95% CI 4.5-8.7). CONCLUSIONS: The very high rate for broad schizophrenia among African-Caribbean people in the UK is probably due to environmental factors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Recent developments in the Grenada mental health program.

The activities of a multidisciplinary team of mental health professionals during their initial year of work to upgrade the mental health system in the English-speaking Caribbean nation of Grenada are described. Improvement of services at the islands only psychiatric hospital received top priority. The team helped Grenadian staff to sharpen basic techniques of active treatment, which included assessment of psychiatric symptoms, development of treatment plans, and intervention with patients. Maintenance of medical records was improved, procedures for medication and seclusion were standardized, weekly ward rounds were routinized, and regular staff meetings were urged. Among the obstacles faced by the team in implementing these changes were staffs delayed acceptance of collaborative interdisciplinary team-work, as well as shortages of money and personnel.

Community Mental Health Services↗
PubMed1986

Psychological benefits of Spiritual Baptist "mourning," II: An empirical assessment.

Members of a West Indian Christian sect called the Spiritual Baptists participate in a "mourning" ritual that is characterized by praying, fasting, and the experiencing of dreams and visions while in isolation. Sixteen individuals who underwent mourning were evaluated with the SCL-90-R before and after the ritual. In general, the mourners showed significant improvement on the self-report scales.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Psychological benefits of Spiritual Baptist "mourning".

Members of the Spiritual Baptist Church in the West Indies engage in a ceremony called "mourning," which involves prayer , fasting, and the experiencing of dreams and visions while in isolation. Twenty-three church members who had undergone the experience were interviewed. Mourners cited six benefits of the practice: relief of depressed mood; attainment of the ability to foresee and avoid danger; improvement in decision-making ability; heightened facility to communicate with God and to meditate ; a clearer appreciation of their racial origins; identification with church hierarchy; and physical cures. Mourning appears to be a viable psychotherapeutic practice for these church members.

Adaptation, Psychological↗