Introduction: Burns is one of the foremost causes of worldwide morbidity. Changes in appearance and functional impairment causes stigmatisation, impacting socio-occupational engagement and causing discomfort. Aims and Objectives: The study examined prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in post-burn patients, their perceived social support and self-esteem. It further assessed quality of life amongst post-burn patients. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in a tertiary care centre where 100 patients were interviewed using purposive sampling technique over six months. Patients were administered a semi-structured questionnaire along with Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and WHO Quality Of Life – BREF (WHOQOL- BREF) scales. Contingency tables and Spearman's correlation helped to examine associations and correlations. Fischer's exact test, Mann Whitney test and ANOVA test were also used for statistical analysis. Results and Discussion: There is high prevalence of psychiatric morbidity among patients with burns. The most common disorder was major depressive episode. Low self-esteem was found in one-third of patients with burns. Patients having low self-esteem had eleven times higher prevalence of suicidality. Patients with burns had high perceived social support. Quality of life in patients with burns depends on self-esteem, perceived social support and presence of psychiatric illnesses. Conclusion: This study illustrates the need for thorough evaluation and screening in patients with burns for psychopathology and self-esteem issues by primary physicians. Behaviour therapy, supportive psychotherapy, counselling and adequate socio-occupational rehabilitation of the patient should be done. Spreading awareness and organising support groups for patients with burns at the primary health centre level can be effective.

<p><strong>Background:</strong> Acne vulgaris is characterized by chronic inflammation of the pilosebaceous units. It has been strongly associated with social impairment among adolescents. The study aims to assess the level of perceived stress, self-esteem, body image disturbance and suicidal ideation in patients of acne vulgaris; uncover any underlying association or correlation between these and the severity of acne vulgaris and further examine the association and co-relation of body image disturbance with perceived stress and self-esteem.</p><p><strong>Methods:</strong> Cross-sectional observational study of 72 patients with acne vulgaris was undertaken by purposive sampling technique. After taking informed consent, subjects were assessed on perceived stress scale-10, Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale, appearance anxiety inventory and Columbia-suicide severity rating scale. Spearman's correlation coefficient helped to examine the correlations.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> 31.94% patients had severe acne, 72.22% of patients had high body image disturbance. More than half the patients of acne had high level of perceived stress. Almost three quarters of the patients had low self-esteem. 5.55% patients had suicidal ideation. No significant association was seen between severity of acne with perceived stress, self-esteem, body image disturbance and suicidal ideation. Body image disturbance was significantly associated with perceived stress and self-esteem. A positive correlation between body image disturbance and perceived stress and a negative correlation between body image disturbance and self-esteem was obtained.</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> All patients, irrespective of the objective severity of acne, can experience high perceived stress and low self-esteem along with body image disturbances. This warrants consultant liaison between dermatologists and psychiatrists in routine practice for psychosocial intervention.</p>

Introduction:India accounts for the highest estimated number of suicides in the World. In 2012, more than 258,000 of the 804,000 suicide deaths worldwide occurred in India. Early identification and effective management of suicidal ideation and behavior are paramount to saving lives. However, mental health resources are often scarce and limited. Throughout India, there is a severe shortage in mental health professions trained, which results in a treatment gap of about 90%. A comprehensive needs assessment was undertaken to identify the nature of the deficits in suicide prevention training for physicians in three Indian cities: Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Mysore.Materials and Methods:The study was carried out in several concurrent phases and used a mixed-method approach of converging quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Data were collected using survey questionnaires, focus groups, consultations, and environmental scans. A total of 46 physicians completed the questionnaire. Focus groups were conducted in Mumbai and Ahmedabad with 40 physicians. Consultations were carried out with psychiatrists and psychiatric residents from hospitals and clinics in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Mysore.Results:Training gaps in suicide prevention exist across the health care professions. Existing training lacks in both quality and quantity and result in critical deficits in core competencies needed to detect and treat patients presenting with suicidal ideation and behavior. Only 43% of the surveyed physicians felt they were competent to treat suicidal patients. The majority of surveyed physicians believed they would greatly benefit from additional training to enhance their suicide risk assessment and intervention skills.Conclusions:There is a dire need for medical schools to incorporate suicide prevention training as a core component in their medical curricula and for continuing medical education training programs for physicians to enhance competencies in early detection and management of suicidal behavior.