Background/Purpose As a result of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) pandemic, the World Health Organization placed Taiwan on the travel alert list from May 21 to July 5, 2003. The aim of this study was to explore the post-crisis psychological distress among residents in Taiwan after the SARS epidemic. Methods The target population consisted of a nationwide representative sample of residents aged ≥ 18 years. Data were collected using computer assisted telephone interview systems by stratified random sampling according to geographic area. The survey (n = 1278) was conducted in November 2003, about 4 months after resolution of the SARS crisis in Taiwan. The maximum deviation of sampling error at the 95% confidence level was ± 2.74%. Psychological distress was measured by a question related to subject’s changes in perception of life, plus the five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the correlation of psychological distress. Results About 9.2% of the participants reported that their perceptions of life became more pessimistic following the SARS crisis. The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity was 11.7%. Major predictors of higher levels of pessimism after the SARS epidemic included demographic factors, perception of SARS and pre-paredness, knowing people or having personal experiences of SARS-related discrimination, and individual worries and psychiatric morbidity. The correlates of symptomatic cases, as indicated by the five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale, included age ≥ 50 years, senior high school graduate, and worries about recurrence of SARS. Conclusion Psychological distress was significantly correlated with demographic factors and perception regarding the SARS epidemic. It is suggested that marketing of mental health education should be segmented according to age and education level, which should enhance crisis communication for newly emerging infectious diseases among community populations.

Spokespersons of health and medical institutions play an important role in media relations during the crisis of a newly emerging infectious disease.

The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence and correlates of lifetime suicidal ideation (SI) among HIV-infected male inmates. All participants in seven prisons, comprising roughly 20% of all HIV-infected male inmates in Taiwan, were stratified by geographic location and surveyed using a self-administered, anonymous questionnaire. The five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5) was used on 535 participants to measure various dimensions of psychological distress. Seven questions regarding lifetime psychiatric symptoms were also added to the questionnaire. Questionnaire results in this sample revealed that 23.7% had suffered depressive symptoms for at least two weeks, 20.6% experienced serious anxiety or tension symptoms, 12.5% had serious thoughts of suicide symptoms, and 4.1% had made a suicide attempt. Results of multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that SI was significantly related to (1) recent psychological distress, and (2) lifetime experience of depression for two weeks or more, serious anxiety or tension, or hallucinations. Since nearly 70% of the respondents reported at least one psychiatric symptom in their lifetime, it would seem important to target HIV-infected male inmates with mental health interventions and suicide prevention.