Mental Health and Health of people with Special Needs PDF

Mental Health and Health of people with special needs D R A S M A A FAW Z Y A B D E L N A BY L E C T U R E R O F P U B L I C H E A LT H , FA C U LT Y O F M E D I C I N E , C A I R O UNIVERSITY Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs): By the end of this chapter the students should be able to: ...

Mental Health and Health of people with special needs D R A S M A A FAW Z Y A B D E L N A BY L E C T U R E R O F P U B L I C H E A LT H , FA C U LT Y O F M E D I C I N E , C A I R O UNIVERSITY Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs): By the end of this chapter the students should be able to:  Define determinants of mental health and illness.  Detect factors contributing to mental health promotion.  Define determinants of health and illness of people with special needs.  Detect factors contributing to health promotion and disease prevention in people with special needs.  Definitions: Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects the way we think, feel and act. It also helps us determine how to handle stress, relate to other people, and make decisions. Mental health is important at all stages of life, from childhood and adolescence to adulthood. Having mental health problems affect thinking, mood, and behavior. Many factors contribute to mental health problems, including:  Biological factors, such as genes or brain chemistry  Life experiences, such as trauma or abuse  Family history of mental health problems Early Warning Signs of mental health problem:  Eat or sleep too much or too little  Withdrawal from usual people and activities  Having little or no energy at all  Being numb or feeling like nothing matters anymore  Have unexplained aches or pains Feel hopeless or helpless Smoke, drink, or use drugs more than usual  Feeling unusually confused, forgetful, nervous, angry, upset, worried, or fearful Early Warning Signs of mental health problem:  Yelling or fighting with family and friends  Have significant mood swings that cause relationship problems  Having persistent thoughts and memories that you can't get out of your head  Hearing voices or believing things that are not true  Thinking about hurting yourself or others  Not being able to do daily tasks, such as taking care of your children or going to work or school Ways to maintain positive mental health include:  Get professional help, if needed  connect with others  stay positive  Actively participate in physical activities  Help others  Sleep well  Develop skills to deal with problems  Environmental and social resources for health can include: peace, economic security, a stable ecosystem, and safe housing. Individual resources for health can include: physical activity, healthful diet, social ties, resiliency, positive emotions, and autonomy. Health promotion activities aimed at strengthening such individual, environmental and social resources may ultimately improve well- being. Health of people with special needs: Disability: is limitation or deficiency in one’s ability in performing certain activity in a normal way due to existing impairment either physical, sensory, social, psychological, or mental. Disability refers to the interaction between individuals with a health condition (e.g., cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and depression) and personal and environmental factors (e.g., negative attitudes, inaccessible transportation and public buildings, and limited social supports).  Disability can occur at any age starting since birth by congenital anomaly and extending till old age. It can also occur among workers in certain occupations. The disability can be mental, psychotic, motor, orthopedic, functional, or sensory Examples of disabilities are Down syndrome, myasthenia gravis, speech disorders, congenital or rheumatic heart, hearing defects, sight defects, etc.  Over a billion people are estimated to live with some form of disability. This corresponds to about 15% of the world's population. 80.0% of those with disability are in developing countries. This is due to the high prevalence of malnutrition, infectious diseases, illiteracy, and disasters (manmade as wars and civil instabilities or natural as floods) in these countries. Disability is extremely diverse Etiology of disability:  Congenital disability.  Acquired disability: The following are the most important causes: 1. Infections 2. Traumatic 3. Drugs 4. Nutritional 5. Endocrinal 6. Metabolic 7.Occupational Prevention of disability inter-sectoral cooperation and teamwork at all levels of prevention. 1. Primary prevention of all the etiologic factors whether congenital or acquired. 2. Secondary prevention: Early detection of disabilities, the earlier the discovery the better the results of case management. Proper evaluation of the case physically, mentally, psychologically, and socially to plan the management scheme. 3. Tertiary prevention/rehabilitation: IT IS YOUR ROLE; The goal of rehabilitation is to reach independence compatibility with the disability, and to have a socially accepted, self-sufficient person. Rehabilitation should provide the individual with optimal opportunities to reach the maximum of his potentialities. It includes: Physical - Psychological - Educational - Vocational - Social  Physical rehabilitation The therapies used for treatment are intended to help improve your quality of life by restoring your body’s natural functionality. The injuries or illnesses treated could be affecting your joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, spinal cord, brain, or nervous system. Rehabilitation can not only improve the physical aspect of your well-being but your mental and cognitive state as well. It should also be noted that treatments may differ by age, especially with pediatric and geriatric therapy. Physical rehabilitation covers three major types of therapies. Physical Therapy: is the treatment of disease or injury with physical techniques such as exercise, cold and heat treatments, massage, and stretching. PT can be practiced in a hospital, an outpatient clinic, and even at home. It can help with conditions like arthritis, joint replacement, sports injury, knee pain, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and many more. Occupational Therapy: Occupational therapy (OT) is similar to physical therapy but focuses more on helping you become independent in performing activities of daily life (ADL). These activities may include brushing your teeth, getting dressed, or simply getting out of bed; each session is customized to your normal living behaviors. Many of the therapies and treatments may also be similar to those practiced with physical therapy. While PT focuses on improving the functionality of your body, OT focuses on the actual activity that you need or want to perform every day. Speech & Language Therapy Speech therapy focuses on the improvement of language, communication, swallowing, and fluency. One of the most common symptoms that we treat at Sheltering Arms is dysphagia, which refers to difficulty swallowing. Dysphagia can be caused by a stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, or healing from a physical injury and can affect your tongue, mouth, throat, or esophagus. Any questions