Objective To raise policy suggestions for public health bureaus by analyzing the mental health service in Chengdu City in 2004. Methods We applied descriptive methods to analyze the mental health service. Results The mental health resources in Chengdu City were insufficient and the utilization rate of health resources was low. Conclusions Strategies to improve this may include setting up mental health management sections; increasing the funds for health service; strengthening professionals training; exploiting the service field of relevant specialties and developing community mental health.
Objective To investigate the use of the mental health service by college students and the main factors which influence this. Methods A stratified sampling study was conducted among 2 800 students from 5 of the top 100 colleges (as ranked by Internet). All five were located in Southwest China. The students were surveyed by the Questionnaires of Mental Health Service for College Students. Results We retrieved 2 760 (98.58%) questionnaires. Of these, 11.2% of the students (310/2 760) used the mental health service before entering college. 13.6% (376/ 2 760) used mental health service after entering college, of these, 78.5%(295/376) broke off. The mental health service was needed by 32.7% (902/ 2 760), but they did not seek it. When college students considered the mental health service, 65.8%(1 815/2 760), were concerned about the ability of the service organizations to provide professional help, 48.4% (1 336/2 760) were concerned about the service cost, 47.9% ( 1 312/2760) were concerned about the convenience of the service and 38.0% (1 049/2 760) were concerned about social cultural factors. Conclusion Currently, few college students use the mental health service. The main factors influencing the use of the mental health service by college students are the professional ability of the service organizations, the nature and severity of the student’s psychological problems, and the convenience and cost of the mental health service.
Objective To evaluate the mental status of survivors after Wenchuan earthquake, so as to provide relevant information for psychological and medical intervention. Methods Demographic data was recorded and the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) was evaluated. The acute stress disorder (ASD) were assessed with the DSM-IV criteria in the survivors from the central earthquake area who are now living in two shelters in Chengdu. Results Among the 780 retrieved questionnaires, 729 baseline registration forms and 450 PCL-C were valid. In the 729 baseline registration forms, male to female ratio was 1:1.31 and the mean age was 36.73±20.82. 9.5% of subjects suffered from physical diseases, 9.7% needed assistance in daily activities, 70.7% were passive and didn’t participate in community activities, 9.1% suffered from severe psychological problems. In the present study, 30.9% of subjects were found to meet the DSM-IV criteria for ASD. 41.3%, 22.2% and 18.4% of subjects had a PCL-C score ≥ 38, ≥ 45 and ≥50, respectively. Consistency check showed there was no significant difference between the screening result of PCL-C score ≥45 and clinical diagnosis (Kappa=0.780, P=0.033). There was significant difference in the age of subjects between ASD and non-ASD groups (Plt;0.05). Conclusion The earthquake survivors suffered from psychological problems after the disaster in the early stage. Thus, in addition to life rescue, we should pay more attention to psychological intervention.