See the published version of this article at International Journal of Mental Health Systems.
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Schizophrenia in The Context of Mental Health Services in Palestine: a literature review
Mohammad Marie
An-najah National University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Corresponding Author
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published version at International Journal of Mental Health Systems.
Background: Mental health conditions remain a significant cause of disability in the Arab World. Palestinians are predominantly at a higher risk for mental health problems due to their chronic exposure to political violence, prolonged displacement, and others as limited professional, educational, financial opportunities and mental health services. Schizophrenia is an overwhelming mental illness that affects nearly one percent of the various populations throughout the world. Studies have shown patients with schizophrenia die prematurely and have lower life expectancy compared to the general population. Moreover, antipsychotic medications and client’s lifestyle play a significant role in increased morbidity and mortality in these patients. The present study willingly undertakes a literature review on schizophrenia in the context of mental health services in Palestine.
Methods: Studies were identified through PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, CINAHL, Semantic Scholar and Elsevier.
Results: Twenty-four studies were included in this review; eleven articles related to schizophrenia and thirteen articles related to mental health services in Westbank and Gaza. Results revealed the life of patients with schizophrenia in Palestine is complicated. Barriers as lacking awareness about mental illness, stigma, inconsistent availability of medications, absence of multidisciplinary teamwork, insufficient specialists, fragmented mental health system, occupation, and other obstacles stand in the face of improving the quality of life among these patients.
Limitations: Palestine is a state that is seeking independence with a scarcity of resources. It has been described as “uncharted territories'' due to a lack of data, resources and records. As a result, there is insufficient data regarding schizophrenia in Palestine. Therefore, a thesis study that estimated Ten years’ risk of coronary heart diseases in patients with schizophrenia was included.
Conclusions: Recommendations include ending the occupation as the leading cause of mental illness for Palestinians and implementing efficient and effective mental health nursing care through the multidisciplinary work and raising awareness regarding mental illness to fight the stigma.
Keywords
Schizophrenia, Schizophrenia in Palestine, Mental health services, Mental health needs.
Sheri Oz
commented on 29 April, 2020
The authors raise important issues concerning the need for improvement of the mental health field in the Palestinian Authority and ways to achieve that. If the article was better organized and written, it can be an interesting addition to the professional literature. And I have other concerns: 1. They exclude from their review "all articles that discussed schizophrenia from a genetic view". Why? How many of these were there? Were there more than the 11 articles on schizophrenia or 13 on general mental health that they did include? They were not reviewing hundreds, or even dozens, of articles. Surely adding another few would not be a great hardship. And how would these additional articles have affected their findings? After all, it is unclear how the stated cause of schizophrenia would affect treatment and associated problems. 2. Citation 55 is used to provide some support for their claim that the occupation causes schizophrenia given the observation that in the PA more men than women were found to suffer from it as opposed to other studies showing men and women to be equally represented in the schizophrenic population. However, citation 55 is the psychiatric case study of one man who was allegedly arrested and held five times without charges. The psychiatrist who wrote the study made the unsupported statement in her introduction that 40% of the men in the PA have been detained by Israel. No more no less. Yet, the authors turned the otherwise undocumented story of one man into something that supposedly happens to 40% of the PA male population. I will leave my comments to these points. Thank-you for the opportunity to comment at this stage of the development of the paper.
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CURRENT STATUS: Published
Version 2
Posted 15 Apr, 2020
Published
On 15 Jun, 2020
Community comments: 1
Review #1 received
Received 28 May, 2020
Editorial decision: Accept
On 28 May, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 16 May, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 16 May, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 15 May, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 11 May, 2020
Editor assigned
On 09 Apr, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 08 Apr, 2020
Editor invited
On 08 Apr, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Minor revision
On 26 Mar, 2020
Review #3 received
Received 25 Mar, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 23 Mar, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 20 Mar, 2020
Reviewer #5 agreed
On 12 Mar, 2020
Reviewer #4 agreed
On 10 Mar, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 09 Mar, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 09 Mar, 2020
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 09 Mar, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 09 Mar, 2020
Editor assigned
On 06 Mar, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 05 Mar, 2020
Editor invited
On 05 Mar, 2020
First submitted
On 04 Mar, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 1
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
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This preprint is under consideration at International Journal of Mental Health Systems. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research
Schizophrenia in The Context of Mental Health Services in Palestine: a literature review
Mohammad Marie
An-najah National University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Corresponding Author
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Published
Version 2
Posted 15 Apr, 2020
Published
On 15 Jun, 2020
Community comments: 1
Review #1 received
Received 28 May, 2020
Editorial decision: Accept
On 28 May, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 16 May, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 16 May, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 15 May, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 11 May, 2020
Editor assigned
On 09 Apr, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 08 Apr, 2020
Editor invited
On 08 Apr, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Minor revision
On 26 Mar, 2020
Review #3 received
Received 25 Mar, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 23 Mar, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 20 Mar, 2020
Reviewer #5 agreed
On 12 Mar, 2020
Reviewer #4 agreed
On 10 Mar, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 09 Mar, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 09 Mar, 2020
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 09 Mar, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 09 Mar, 2020
Editor assigned
On 06 Mar, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 05 Mar, 2020
Editor invited
On 05 Mar, 2020
First submitted
On 04 Mar, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 1
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published version at International Journal of Mental Health Systems.
Background: Mental health conditions remain a significant cause of disability in the Arab World. Palestinians are predominantly at a higher risk for mental health problems due to their chronic exposure to political violence, prolonged displacement, and others as limited professional, educational, financial opportunities and mental health services. Schizophrenia is an overwhelming mental illness that affects nearly one percent of the various populations throughout the world. Studies have shown patients with schizophrenia die prematurely and have lower life expectancy compared to the general population. Moreover, antipsychotic medications and client’s lifestyle play a significant role in increased morbidity and mortality in these patients. The present study willingly undertakes a literature review on schizophrenia in the context of mental health services in Palestine.
Methods: Studies were identified through PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, CINAHL, Semantic Scholar and Elsevier.
Results: Twenty-four studies were included in this review; eleven articles related to schizophrenia and thirteen articles related to mental health services in Westbank and Gaza. Results revealed the life of patients with schizophrenia in Palestine is complicated. Barriers as lacking awareness about mental illness, stigma, inconsistent availability of medications, absence of multidisciplinary teamwork, insufficient specialists, fragmented mental health system, occupation, and other obstacles stand in the face of improving the quality of life among these patients.
Limitations: Palestine is a state that is seeking independence with a scarcity of resources. It has been described as “uncharted territories'' due to a lack of data, resources and records. As a result, there is insufficient data regarding schizophrenia in Palestine. Therefore, a thesis study that estimated Ten years’ risk of coronary heart diseases in patients with schizophrenia was included.
Conclusions: Recommendations include ending the occupation as the leading cause of mental illness for Palestinians and implementing efficient and effective mental health nursing care through the multidisciplinary work and raising awareness regarding mental illness to fight the stigma.
Sheri Oz
commented on 29 April, 2020
The authors raise important issues concerning the need for improvement of the mental health field in the Palestinian Authority and ways to achieve that. If the article was better organized and written, it can be an interesting addition to the professional literature. And I have other concerns: 1. They exclude from their review "all articles that discussed schizophrenia from a genetic view". Why? How many of these were there? Were there more than the 11 articles on schizophrenia or 13 on general mental health that they did include? They were not reviewing hundreds, or even dozens, of articles. Surely adding another few would not be a great hardship. And how would these additional articles have affected their findings? After all, it is unclear how the stated cause of schizophrenia would affect treatment and associated problems. 2. Citation 55 is used to provide some support for their claim that the occupation causes schizophrenia given the observation that in the PA more men than women were found to suffer from it as opposed to other studies showing men and women to be equally represented in the schizophrenic population. However, citation 55 is the psychiatric case study of one man who was allegedly arrested and held five times without charges. The psychiatrist who wrote the study made the unsupported statement in her introduction that 40% of the men in the PA have been detained by Israel. No more no less. Yet, the authors turned the otherwise undocumented story of one man into something that supposedly happens to 40% of the PA male population. I will leave my comments to these points. Thank-you for the opportunity to comment at this stage of the development of the paper.