Mar 2018 DOI 10.14302/issn.2574-4518.jsdr-17-1785
Sleep is vital for the maintenance of physical health and mental wellbeing. Sleep also plays a cardinal role in the process of healing. It is estimated that 50 to 70 million Americans suffer chronically from sleep disturbances and insufficiency, which not only hinders daily functioning but also adversely affects health, quality of life and longevity.1 Deficient sleep is associated with an increased risk of developing chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, depression, frequent mental distress, as well as increased mortality, and reduced quality of life and productivity.1,2Aging, medical conditions, pain, and mental illness further aggravate sleep disturbances such as insomnia, sleep fragmentation and daytime sleepiness.3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 The a common treatment for sleep disturbances and insomnia is pharmacological therapy. Benzodiazepines may have negative long-term side effects including residual daytime sedation and tolerance development. Withdrawal difficulties may increase dependency. In the older patient there are safety issues related to daytime sedation including increase risk of falls. With the importance of sleep in hospital recovery and the side effects of sleep medication becoming more widely recognized, there has been an impetus to s use nonpharmacological alternatives , such as music.. This pilot study builds on the potential impact of music’s effectivity by introducing music therapy as a safe, cost effective and culturally sensitive intervention.
Aug 2017 DOI 10.14302/issn.2644-1101.jhp-17-1665
Objective: To describe the presence of mental distress in a representative sample of the Surinamese ethnic groups in the population, across urban and rural areas. Design and Methods: The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale was applied to data from the Suriname Health Study (n=5,434 (15 to 65 years)) designed according to WHO Steps guidelines,to determine prevalences for mental distress in all living areas. Calculations were made in subgroups of sex, age, ethnicity, education, income, marital and employment status. The Odds Ratio (OR) for Sex and Ethnicity was estimated for mild-moderate and severe mental distress. Results: An overall prevalence of 3.8% (95%CI, 3.3-4.4) was observed for severe mental distress, 4.9% (95%CI, 4.4-5.5) for moderate mental distress and 10.8% (95%CI,10.0-11.6) for mild mental distress. The OR for mild-moderate and severe mental distress was 0.7 and 0.5 for men compared to women and higher prevalence of all categories of mental distress were found in women compared to men. Respondents with lower education and lower income showed higher prevalence of all categories of mental distress. Prevalence was also higher among respondents living in urban versus rural coastal areas, among singles versus people living with a partner and in unemployed versus employed. Maroons had higher Odds for mild-moderate and severe mental distress compared to Hindustani. Amerindian and Javanese had lower Odds for mild-moderate mental distress and Creole had lower Odds for Severe mental distress compared to Hindustani. Conclusions: Overall 19.5% of respondents reported mental distress. The main risk factors were female gender, Maroon ethnicity, low level of education and income, living in urban areas, unemployment and being single.