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Background: Only a handful of studies have explored the effect of the financial crisis on public attitudes to mental illness. Aims: This study examines changes in lay attitudes to depression and psychiatric medication between 2009 and 2014 in Attica region. Furthermore, it explored a potential interaction with employment status. Methods: Data were drawn from two surveys conducted in 2009 and 2014 using the same sampling procedure, interview mode, and survey instrument. Specifically, a random and representative sample of 586 people was recruited in 2009 and of 604 in 2014. Attitudes to depression were measured by the Personal Stigma subscale of the Depression Stigma Scale and attitudes to psychiatric medication by a self-constructed scale with good psychometric properties. Data collection occurred via telephone. Results: There has been no overall change in lay attitudes to depression. Nonetheless, a positive change was recorded with regard to the belief that depression is a sign of personal weakness and a negative change with respect to people with depression being dangerous. Attitudes to psychiatric medication have worsened during the study period. Employment status was not found to interact with the survey year. Conclusion: Anti-stigma efforts should be tailored on counteracting the dangerousness stereotype, while they should prioritize targeting attitudes to psychiatric medication [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major depression is a common mental health disorder and one of the most pressing public health concerns worldwide. No nationwide survey, which investigates the prevalence of a particular mental disorder, has ever been conducted in Cyprus. The present study aims to fill this gap by attempting to explore the prevalence and correlates of major depression in Cyprus amid financial crisis. A random and representative sample of 600 adult Cypriots participated in the study. The presence of major depression was assessed with the pertinent module of the Structured Clinical Interview (SCI-D), while the Index of Personal Economical Distress (IPED) was employed in order to measure participants’ degree of financial strain. One-month prevalence of major depression was found to be 11.5%. A substantial proportion of the sample reported difficulties in paying household bills (40.9%), clothing (38.9%) and the supermarket (37.1%). Furthermore, female gender, divorced/widowed family status, low educational attainment, unemployment and financial hardship were found to be risk factors for major depression; whereas social networks and institutional trust were found to act in a protective manner. The present study suggests that the impact of financial crisis on mental health is unequally distributed among the general population in Cyprus, rendering certain subgroups particularly vulnerable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence suggests that Greece is among the European countries with increased trend in HCV prevalence among injecting drug users (IDUs) from 2008 to 2014. Nonetheless, the access of IDUs to treatment for Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is very limited while the risk of co-infection and transmission remains high. In an effort to better understand the inhibitors to HCV treatment, the present study aimed to investigate the main barriers to access in a sample of IDUs. Methods: The cross-sectional study was carried out between July and September 2015 using a 23-items questionnaire. Participants were recruited from urban primary services, mobile health vans, community health services, day-care centers as well as during street work, located in Athens, Greece. Inclusion criteria were age above 18 years, understanding and speaking Greek sufficiently, HCV diagnosis, intravenous drug use. Data collection was carried out by health professionals of Praksis, a non-governmental organization. For the comparisons of proportions chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used. Results: The study sample consisted of 101 HCV patients, 68% male. More than 80% of study participants experienced barriers in accessing their doctor and medication during the past 12 months. The most common obstacles in accessing a doctor were "delay in making the appointment and "difficulties in going to the doctor due to health condition or lack of means of transport". Access to physician or medication was not differed according to gender, but significant differences were found according to economic status and health insurance coverage. 56.1% of participants reported loss or treatment delay due to barriers to treatment. The majority of participants had deteriorated financial status, health status, access to health services and medication, higher financial burden for health services, worse mental health and lower adherence to medical instructions in 2015 compared to 2009. Conclusions: The findings from the present study revealed that the vast majority of IDUs experience significant barriers in seeking HCV care in Greece, thus highlighting the need for immediate action in this particular area due to the high risk of co-infection and transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The financial crisis has yielded adverse effects on the population worldwide, as evidenced by elevated rates of major depression. International recommendations for offsetting the mental health impact of the recession highlight the need for effective treatment, including reduction in the stigma attached to the disorder. Aims: This study endeavoured to explore lay attitudes to depression and psychiatric medication during a period of financial crisis and to identify their correlates. Furthermore, it investigated their link to help-seeking intentions. Method: A random and representative sample of 621 respondents from Athens area participated in the study (Response Rate = 81.7%). The telephone interview schedule consisted of the Personal Stigma Scale, a self-constructed scale tapping attitudes to psychiatric medication and one question addressing help-seeking intentions. Results: The preponderant stigmatising belief about depression pertains to perceiving the disorder as a sign of personal weakness. In addition, stereotypes of unpredictability and dangerousness were popular among the sample. Nonetheless, stigmatising beliefs are much stronger with regard to psychiatric medication; perceived as addictive, capable of altering one’s personality, less effective than homeopathic remedies and doing more harm than good. Help-seeking intentions were predicted by education, unemployment and attitudes to psychiatric medication solely. Conclusion: Research on the mental health effects of the global recession should encompass studies investigating the stigma attached to mental disorders and its implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While there is currently no cure for multiple sclerosis (MS), treatment with biologic diseasemodifying drugs (bDMDs) can reduce the impact of the condition on the lives of patients. In Greece, the regulatory change in the distribution system of bDMDs, limited their administration through the designated pharmacies of the National Organization for Healthcare Services Provision (EOPYY) or the National Health System (ESY) hospitals, thus potentially impacting access to MS treatment. In this context, the aim of this paper was to assess the barriers to bDMDs, by recording MS patients' experiences. Methods: A survey research was conducted between January and February 2014 in Athens and 5 other major Greek cities with the methods of personal and telephone interview. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit socio-economic and medical information, information related to obstacles in accessing bDMDs and medical treatment, from MS patients that visited EOPYY pharmacies during the study period. Results: During the last year 69% of 179 participants reported that the distribution system of bDMDs has improved. Thirteen percent of participants encountered problems in accessing their medication, and 16.9% of participants in accessing their physician, with the obstacles being more pronounced for non-Athens residents. Frequent obstacles to bDMDs were the distance from EOPYY pharmacies and difficulties in obtaining a diagnosis from an EOPYY/ESY physician, while obstacles to medical care were delays in appointment booking and travel difficulties. Conclusion: Even though the major weaknesses of the distribution system of bDMDs have improved, further amelioration of the system could be achieved through the home delivery of medicines to patients living in remote areas, and through the development of a national MS registry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rises in unemployment as a corollary to the global economic crisis may impinge on the prevalence of depression disproportionally for the two genders. Therefore, differences in the prevalence of the disorder as a function of gender and age were explored in four nationwide surveys in Greece in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013. Results indicate that in 2013, men of productive age had a higher prevalence of major depression than women, in contrast to the epidemiology of the disorder. The psychiatry community should be in tune to future changes in the mental health landscape elicited by the social fermentation processes of the global recession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]