ONE health professional would like to see more mental health studies done in Barbados.
Registered Nurse Vera Layne made this suggestion, while addressing Monday’s Barbados Community College’s seminar entitled ‘The Impact of Stigma: Client and Family Perspective and Nurses’ Attitudes to Clients with Mental Health Illnesses’ for the Diploma in Psychiatric Nursing Class of 2016/2017 at the Barbados Workers’ Union’s Solidarity House.
Following a presentation of a literature review highlighting studies done on persons suffering from mental illnesses in several international countries, Layne stated that it was time that studies were conducted in Barbados in order to give the local perspective on mental health.
“We heard of the challenges being experienced by those patients in those other countries, and we are grateful for that, but what about here? We need to get some research done on what is the Barbadian experience regarding mental illness,” she insisted.
Admitting that a 2009 study had been conducted by the World Health Organisation on the Barbadian mental health system, she lamented that it had made no mention of stigma or discrimination, which were two major aspects when dealing with the topic that could be looked at within a study.
Speaking specifically on the gap in dealing with those children between the ages of 16 and 18 with a mental illness, Layne insisted that research go into this area.
“It can start with a research project. What happens with that cadre of persons? Present a solid paper that this needs be rectified, cause then you find that these are the same persons that end up in substance abuse and from this can lead to other mental health conditions,” she stated. (JMB)