Different parameters of suicide attempts treated since the implementation of the Attention to Suicide Risk Program (ARSUIC) in 2012 at the Hospital Ramón y Cajal in Madrid Region are described in this paper.
The sample was composed of 107 patients and the information was collected through a questionnaire created ad hoc with the following variables: type of suicidal ideation; drug use immediately prior to the attempt; method (in case of drug overdosing: drug/s used); location; accessibility to rescue; planning; intentionality; criticism; and brakes.
Descriptive statistics were obtained and a comparison by gender was made through the χ2 and contingency coefficients tests. The data from the retrospective longitudinal study showed that the most common profile was of patients with unstructured ideas of death and no previous drug use who took an unplanned drug overdose in the family home, with the intention of self-harm or avoidance of discomfort, especially with benzodiazepines. Patients tend to ask for help afterwards and criticise the attempt, but potential restraints are often not recorded in the clinical report. Regarding the dissimilarities based on gender, statistically significant differences were found in prior alcohol consumption, in favour of men and in the overdose method, specifically with benzodiazepines, in favour of women.
Knowing the types of attempts at self-harm is essential for improving prevention, understanding and patient management.
Medical education has been changing, and the evaluation strategies that make it possible to address not only theoretical knowledge but also clinical skills. In Mental Health, these skills play a central role. The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is one of the evaluations that could assess clinical skills. This article describes the implementation and performance for the evaluation of undergraduate students since the OSCE’s introduction in 2015.
An explanation of the implementation is made, and a description of the OSCEs carried out to undergraduate medical students in the second semester of mental health, using the databases of the final practical examinations during those years. The perception of mental health teachers is also described.
The mental health OSCE implemented in 2015-2, is developed in the Simulated Hospital of the University and has five stations (interview, mental examination, diagnosis, treatment and information to the family and ethics). Between 2016-2 and 2019-2, 486 students performed OSCE with an average score of 3.85 (scale 0–5). It was observed that the grade obtained when evaluating anxiety disorders was below average, that of affective disorders above average, while that of psychotic disorders was within the average. The professors highlight the versatility, the comprehensive objective evaluation of the practical and theoretical aspects, and the possibility of comparison between the different groups.
The OSCE is an examination that provides the possibility to evaluate the competences in psychiatry of medical students and allows the identification of the aspects to be improved in the teaching learning process.
Social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic prevented many children with neurodevelopmental disorders from accessing face-to-face treatments. Telerehabilitation grew at this time as an alternative therapeutic tool. In this study we analysed remote cognitive rehabilitation in neurodevelopmental disorders.
This was a prospective, quasi-experimental (before-after) study that included 22 patients (mean age 9.41 years) with neurodevelopmental disorders who had telerehabilitation for over six months.
After six months of telerehabilitation, a statistically significant improvement was found with a large effect size in these areas: attention (sustained, selective and divided), executive functions (verbal and visual working memory, categorisation, processing speed), visuospatial skills (spatial orientation, perceptual integration, perception, simultanagnosia) and language (comprehensive and expressive). On the Weiss Functional Impairment Scale, all areas (family, learning and school, self-concept, activities of daily living, risk activities) improved with statistical significance. We found a positive correlation between the number of sessions and the improvement observed in executive functions (visual working memory, processing speed), attention (sustained attention, divided attention) and visuospatial skills (spatial orientation, perceptual integration, perception, simultanagnosia). We did not find statistical significance between the family structure and the number of sessions carried out. A high degree of perception of improvement and satisfaction was observed in the parents.
Telerehabilitation is a safe alternative tool which, although it does not replace face-to-face therapy, can achieve significant cognitive and functional improvements in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Problematic Internet use has become a growing problem worldwide; several factors, including personality, play an essential role in understanding this disorder. The Big Five personality traits and their association with problematic Internet use were examined in a large and diverse population.
A survey was applied to a total of 1,109 adults of working age. Each answered the Big Five Inventory and the Internet Addiction Test.
Problematic Internet use was found in 10.6% of them (n = 112). The personality traits extraversion and openness to experience were significantly associated with those with the disorder. With adjustment models, a positive association was found between these traits and being single and higher education.
This study represents the largest of its kind in the Spanish-speaking population, highlighting the importance of recognising the factors involved in problematic Internet use.

