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Background: Although the need for integration of mental health services into primary care is well established little has been done. The outbreak of the recession found the Greek mental health system in transition. As a response to the crisis, governments implemented horizontal budget cuts instead of health reforms. This resulted in an unfavorable situation for mental health which was set once again on the sidelines of the health policy agenda. Previous studies suggest that the most prevalent disorders in the years of financial crisis in Greece are depression and anxiety while a general increase of the psychiatric morbidity is observed does not follow the population' needs. Methods: The present descriptive study was carried out between March and June of 2015. A convenience sample of 174 psychiatrists and psychiatry residents who met the inclusion criteria were finally selected to participate. Data were collected by using a 40-items questionnaire consisted of three sections: (a) nine questions about demographics, (b) nine questions pertaining to general aspects of administrative regulations related to primary care, (c) 22 questions about psychiatrists attitudes and perceptions towards their role in primary care. Quantitative variables are expressed as mean values, while qualitative variables as absolute and relative frequencies. Results: The vast majority of participants perceives the public primary care services and mental health services in their community as inadequate and considers psychiatrists' participation in primary care as important in order to improve the detection and management rates of people demonstrating mental health symptoms. They also believe that: (a) primary care practitioners' usually fail to detect the mental health conditions of patients; (b) their participation in primary care will decrease the social stigmatization for mental health conditions; (c) patients receiving pharmaceutical treatment for mental health problems by GPs and other primary care professionals usually fail to comply. Conclusions: Respondents in the present study are receptive to participate in primary care. They believe that their inclusion to primary care will result to decreased social stigmatization for mental health problems, increased patient' access and improved detection and management rates for common mental health conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In countries such as Cyprus the financial crisis and the recession have severely affected the funding and priority setting of the health care system. There is evidence highlighting the importance of population' preferences in designing priorities for health care settings. Although public preferences have been thorough analysed in many countries, there is a research gap in terms of simultaneously investigating the relative importance and the weight of differing and competing criteria for determining healthcare priority settings. The main objective of the study was to investigate public preferences for the relative utility and weight of differing and competing criteria for health care priority setting in Cyprus. Methods: The 'conjoint analysis' technique was applied to develop a ranking exercise. The aim of the study was to identify the preferences of the participants for alternative options. Participants were asked to grade in a priority order 16 hypothetical case scenarios of patients with different disease and of diverse socio-economic characteristics awaiting treatment. The sample was purposive and consisted of 100 Cypriots, selected from public locations all over the country. Results: It was revealed that the severity of the disease" and the "age of the patient" were the key prioritization criteria. Participants assigned the smallest relative value to the criterion "healthy lifestyle". More precisely, participants older than 35 years old assigned higher relative importance to "age", while younger participants to the "severity of the disease'. The "healthy lifestyle" criterion was assigned to the lowest relative importance to by all participants. Conclusion: In Cyprus, public participation in health care priority setting is almost inexistent. Nonetheless, it seems that the public's participation in this process could lead to a wider acceptance of the healthcare system especially as a result of the financial crisis and the upcoming reforms implemented such as the establishment of the General System of Health Insurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Population movements have been increasing over the past years in Europe due to socioeconomic factors, global turbulence and conflicts, especially in the area of Middle East. The presence of migrant populations in Europe challenges health systems due to increased requirements for health care provision. However, to date there is limited published data on the burden of disease among this population (in Greece and elsewhere). Our objective was to record burden of disease of undocumented migrants hosted in a Detention Center and therefore generate data for migrant and public health planning.Methods: Epidemiological data have been collected for 4756 male migrants hosted in a Detention Center from mid 2013 to mid 2015. Of them, 1427 have used health services in the Center, which maintained a detailed record of their medical history and tests.Results: The majority of the study population was aged between 18 and 40 years old. Among those who used health services, most suffered from respiratory (45.6%) and digestive (30.1%) diseases. Injury, poisoning and other external causes accounted for 19.6% of service use, diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue for 18.7%, and factors affecting health status and contact with health services for 16.7%. Prevalence of communicable diseases was 15.9% amongst migrants randomly tested.Conclusion: Systematic screening and monitoring of diseases and use of health services by migrants in detention centers allows for an evidence based understanding of the burden of disease related to these populations and the investment required to effectively manage it, thus providing critical input to appropriate health planning. Surveillance for communicable diseases amongst migrants in detention centers would also allow for a true picture of the impact of their presence on public health indicators and help address related prejudices and stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]