Community Mental Health Nursing
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Browsing Community Mental Health Nursing by Author "Dr. Adham Abu Taha"
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- ItemBlood Profile of Schizophrenic Clients in Northern Palestine(2013) Hisham zaher zhran; Dr. Iyad Ali; Dr. Adham Abu TahaBackground: People with schizophrenia die prematurely because antipsychotic medications and patients’ lifestyle, contribute to excess morbidity and mortality in these patients. Hematological side effects of antipsychotic drugs such as leucopenia, neutropenia, agarnulocytosis, leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, thrombocythaemia and anemia occur infrequently but remain a potential cause of serious toxicity and people with schizophrenia make poor dietary choices. Complete blood count is one of the measures to investigate these morbidities and mortalities. Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the blood profile and general characteristics in a group of schizophrenic patients in Northern West-Bank, Palestine. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted between August 2011 and February 2012 at the governmental primary psychiatric health care centers in Northern West-Bank, Palestine. Two hundred and fifty patients were selected by convenience sampling method. A complete blood count (CBC) was performed on blood samples collected from the selected patients to investigate the white and red blood cells, as well as platelet count. Results: The number of schizophrenic patients having anemia in our study was 63 (25.2%). Regression analysis showed that gender was significant factor associated with the prevalence of anemia in schizophrenic patients, the prevalence of female patients they have anemia more than male patients. The majority of patients had normal white blood cells and platelets counts. Conclusion and recommendation: Anemia was found among 25.2% of study population in schizophrenic patients as result of poor nutritional status, unhealthy life style of these patients, and antipsychotic drugs. It is recommended that mental health providers deliver patients with an appropriate community-based intervention strategy for prevention, detection and treatment of anemia. Furthermore, the low educational achievement among participants makes education a potentially important area for interventions targeted at this group. Lastly, the job skills of patients should be improved.