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2nd Edition: Diagnosis, Treatment and Rehabilitation in Health Services for Patients with Intellectual Disability and Mental Health Problems

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Behavioral and Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2024 | Viewed by 1391

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Rehabilitation Psychiatry, Medical University of Silesia, 40-635 Katowice, Poland
Interests: intellectual disability; schizophrenia; depression; addictions; dual diagnosis; neuropsychoendocrinology; psychotherapy; psychiatric rehabilitation
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This new Special Issue will be a continuation of the first edition published from 2020 to 2022 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Data regarding the frequency of the coexistence of intellectual disability and other mental disorders provided by various sources are not consistent due to differences in research methodology and the use of different diagnostic criteria and therapeutic strategies. This problem can affect people throughout childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. The disorders comorbid with intellectual disability include, among others, depression, anxiety disorders, dementia, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, ADHD, and autism. Persons with intellectual disability also present specific comorbidities in their somatic health, such as thyroid diseases, cardiovascular disorders, and endocrinological disorders, which may have non-specific symptoms and affect the patients’ psychological well-being. Recommendations for the treatment of the abovementioned disorders in persons with intellectual disability require the creation of interdisciplinary teams employing various specialists, monitoring both mental and somatic health, and checking the indications, doses, effectiveness, and side effects of drugs. The use of psychopharmacological agents specific to a particular illness is proposed for the treatment of comorbid mental disorders. There is also a need for a wider use of diagnostic questionnaires developed for this group of patients. Some authors also postulate the need to introduce new diagnostic guidelines and criteria. It is also very important to increase the availability of modern methods of pharmacological treatment, including the use of second-generation antipsychotic drugs. We should also introduce methods that use new technologies, such as telemedicine and virtual reality. In this Special Issue we would also like to focus on the treatment of those somatic comorbidities which are specific to intellectual disability and have a high influence on patients’ quality of life.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Journal of Clinical Medicine.

Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Krysta
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • intellectual disability
  • psychiatric disorders
  • comorbidity
  • diagnostic guidelines
  • treatment recommendations
  • health services

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 365 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Health Education on the Quality of Life of Patients Hospitalized in Forensic Psychiatry Wards
by Joanna Fojcik, Michał Górski, Agnieszka Borowska and Marek Krzystanek
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(5), 4533; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054533 - 3 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 986
Abstract
Purpose: An original health education program, developed for a group of patients of forensic psychiatry wards, was the basis for conducting a study on the impact of educational influences on the quality of life of patients long-term isolated from their natural environment. The [...] Read more.
Purpose: An original health education program, developed for a group of patients of forensic psychiatry wards, was the basis for conducting a study on the impact of educational influences on the quality of life of patients long-term isolated from their natural environment. The main aim of the study was to answer the question: Does health education affect the quality of life of patients in forensic psychiatry wards and is educational activity effective? Methods: The study was conducted at the State Hospital for Mental and Nervous Diseases in Rybnik, Poland, in the forensic psychiatry wards, and lasted from December 2019 to May 2020. During the study, patients gained knowledge in the field of broadly understood health education. The study group consisted of 67 men, aged 22–73, diagnosed with schizophrenia. The method of double measurements (before and after the health education cycle) was applied, using the WHOQOL-BREF scale of quality of life and the first author’s questionnaire of patients’ knowledge, from the educational program used. Results: Health education does not significantly affect the overall quality of life of patients staying in forensic psychiatry wards, but it does affect their somatic condition. The proprietary health education program is effective because the patients’ knowledge has significantly improved. Conclusions: The quality of life of interned patients with schizophrenia is not significantly related to educational activities, however, psychiatric rehabilitation through educational activities effectively increases the level of patients’ knowledge. Full article
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