a. Physical Illness in Patients with Severe Mental Disorders (Part I) - Slides based on the paper "I. Prevalence, impact of medication and disparities in health care" (De Hert et al., World Psychiatry 2011; 10: 52-77).
b. Physical Illness in Patients with Severe Mental Disorders (Part II) - Slides based on the paper "II. Barriers to care, monitoring and treatment guidelines, and recommendations at the system and individual levels" (World Psychiatry, in press).
Field Test of the WPA Educational Module on Physical Illness in Patients with Severe Mental Disorders
The WPA Educational Module on Physical Illness in Patients with Severe Mental Disorders (published in World Psychiatry, 10:52-77, 2011 and 10:138-151, 2011, and posted on the WPA website, www.wpanet.org) has been tested, with the help of the WPA Early Career Psychiatrists Council, in five regions: Europe I (Northern, Southern and Western Europe); Europe II (Central and Eastern Europe); Asia/Australasia; Africa; and the Americas. A total of 12 centers have been included. At each center, the feasibility and the cost of the implementation of the routine measurements proposed in the Educational Module have been tested.
Overall, the feasibility of the routine measurements at baseline has been found to be good, with the exception of dental examination (which in most centers turned out to be difficult in ordinary practice) and assessment of prolactin levels (found to be problematic as a routine evaluation). Concerning follow-up, assessment at 6 weeks and 3 months was found to be difficult in several centers, where a second assessment at 1 year was regarded as much more feasible.
The cost of the laboratory tests varied significantly across the centers (for instance, from 0.5 USD to 16.79 USD for an electrocardiogram; from 6.26 USD to 19.71 USD for the assessment of plasma prolactin levels; and from 0.7 USD to 10.99 USD for the measurement of total proteins).
The implementation of the Educational Module was consistently reported to enhance the awareness of physical health problems in patients with severe mental illness, in particular of the prevalence of obesity and the impact of antipsychotic medications on body weight.
WPA Past President (2008-2011)