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Global Theme Issue on Poverty and Human Development
ARCHIVES OF
PSYCHIATRIC NURSING Vol. 21 No. 5
October 2007
EDITORIAL
Global Theme Issue on Poverty and Human Development
A
RCHIVES OF PSYCHIATRIC Nursing is proud to participate in the Council of Science Editors October 2007 Global Theme Issue on Poverty and Human Development. Thus far, hundreds of journals from the global scientific community have agreed to participate in this initiative. There will be original research, editorials, opinion pieces, and commentaries published, all focused on these important topics, toward the goals of raising awareness and stimulating interest and research. The articles featured in this issue are important to the local, national, and global debates about poverty and human development. In the first article, Vandemark addresses the sense of self as being so important to displaced persons; homelessness is used as an illustrative example of displacement. There is a direct link between homelessness and poverty, and there are important mental health lessons learned from those who experience displacement. The author discusses the important influences on selfmanagement skills and health-related decisions and behaviors. One of the most dramatic and recent catastrophic events that led to widespread displacement and homelessness in the United States was 2005's Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast. Many individuals are still displaced, and almost all those in the area hit by Katrina are still recovering. Those most affected were those in poverty. In their article, Rhoads, Pearman, and Rick address the mental health issues of those who stayed in the area after the natural disaster. Importantly,
these authors offer evidence-based interventions that health care providers can use to assist. The third featured article focuses on satisfaction among adult recipients of Medicaid mental health services. Howard, Rayens, El-Mallakh, and Clark have identified predictors of patient satisfaction and perceptions of overall quality of care that should help all providers deliver high-quality care, especially to those who often fall through the cracks in the US health care system. These authors found that the adults were satisfied with the consumer–provider relationships but dissatisfied with the functional outcomes resulting from treatment. Consumer satisfaction was positively correlated with ratings of mental health care, an important feedback for mental health professionals. All together, these articles provide (a) significant insights into the lives and care delivery needs of those who need us the most and (a) timely information for nurses and other mental health professionals who are there in times of greatest need. Elsevier, the publisher of Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, has agreed to make these key contributions available to the scientific community through open access. This system makes the material freely available on the Internet, a process that will not only inform the scientific community of the work of n 2007 Published by Elsevier Inc. 0883-9417/1801-0005$30.00/0 doi: 10.1016/j.apnu.2007.06.002
Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, Vol. 21, No. 5 (October), 2007: pp 239–240
239
240
mental health nurse scientists but also inform the general public of the important issues of poverty and human development. We know that our readers will benefit both from our participation in this Council of Science Editors initiative and from the articles published related to the poverty and human
EDITORIAL
development theme. Please join me in thanking the authors for their insights and for their scientific work in this key area for nursing research. Joyce J. Fitzpatrick Editor
PSYCHIATRIC NURSING Vol. 21 No. 5
October 2007
EDITORIAL
Global Theme Issue on Poverty and Human Development
A
RCHIVES OF PSYCHIATRIC Nursing is proud to participate in the Council of Science Editors October 2007 Global Theme Issue on Poverty and Human Development. Thus far, hundreds of journals from the global scientific community have agreed to participate in this initiative. There will be original research, editorials, opinion pieces, and commentaries published, all focused on these important topics, toward the goals of raising awareness and stimulating interest and research. The articles featured in this issue are important to the local, national, and global debates about poverty and human development. In the first article, Vandemark addresses the sense of self as being so important to displaced persons; homelessness is used as an illustrative example of displacement. There is a direct link between homelessness and poverty, and there are important mental health lessons learned from those who experience displacement. The author discusses the important influences on selfmanagement skills and health-related decisions and behaviors. One of the most dramatic and recent catastrophic events that led to widespread displacement and homelessness in the United States was 2005's Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast. Many individuals are still displaced, and almost all those in the area hit by Katrina are still recovering. Those most affected were those in poverty. In their article, Rhoads, Pearman, and Rick address the mental health issues of those who stayed in the area after the natural disaster. Importantly,
these authors offer evidence-based interventions that health care providers can use to assist. The third featured article focuses on satisfaction among adult recipients of Medicaid mental health services. Howard, Rayens, El-Mallakh, and Clark have identified predictors of patient satisfaction and perceptions of overall quality of care that should help all providers deliver high-quality care, especially to those who often fall through the cracks in the US health care system. These authors found that the adults were satisfied with the consumer–provider relationships but dissatisfied with the functional outcomes resulting from treatment. Consumer satisfaction was positively correlated with ratings of mental health care, an important feedback for mental health professionals. All together, these articles provide (a) significant insights into the lives and care delivery needs of those who need us the most and (a) timely information for nurses and other mental health professionals who are there in times of greatest need. Elsevier, the publisher of Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, has agreed to make these key contributions available to the scientific community through open access. This system makes the material freely available on the Internet, a process that will not only inform the scientific community of the work of n 2007 Published by Elsevier Inc. 0883-9417/1801-0005$30.00/0 doi: 10.1016/j.apnu.2007.06.002
Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, Vol. 21, No. 5 (October), 2007: pp 239–240
239
240
mental health nurse scientists but also inform the general public of the important issues of poverty and human development. We know that our readers will benefit both from our participation in this Council of Science Editors initiative and from the articles published related to the poverty and human
EDITORIAL
development theme. Please join me in thanking the authors for their insights and for their scientific work in this key area for nursing research. Joyce J. Fitzpatrick Editor