Quantifying the Shortage of Mental Health Care in Venezuela Through Media Content Analysis
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University of Central Florida STARS Honors Undergraduate Theses UCF Theses and Dissertations 2019 Quantifying The Shortage of Mental Health Care in Venezuela Through Media Content Analysis Andrea B. Alfonsi University of Central Florida Part of the Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the UCF Theses and Dissertations at STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Undergraduate Theses by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Alfonsi, Andrea B., "Quantifying The Shortage of Mental Health Care in Venezuela Through Media Content Analysis" (2019). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 651. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses/651 QUANTIFYING THE SHORTAGE OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE IN VENEZUELA THROUGH MEDIA CONTENT ANALYSIS by ANDREA BELEN ALFONSI B.S. University of Florida, 2017 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in the Department of Health Sciences in the College of Health Professions and Sciences at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Fall Term 2019 ABSTRACT The aim of this thesis was to assess the gaps and deficits in the mental health care staffing and related prescription drug or therapeutic intervention availability in Venezuela using media content analysis. This thesis also assessed the measures suggested by Venezuelan medical professionals for addressing the population’s needs for mental health services amid the nation’s crisis. The shortage of mental health care in Venezuela was assessed because various stressors, including life events, chronic stressors, and daily hassles, are substantially less than optimal among Venezuelans. The mental health consequences of these factors, along with the detrimental psychosocial demands commonly faced by Venezuelans, was explored within this study. Such an investigation is critical in light of the poor prioritization of intangible mental health care within the already inadequate health care system existing in Venezuela. The used media content included newspapers and periodicals published in Venezuela and foreign newspapers covering the medical crisis in Venezuela, published or posted interviews with Venezuelan medical personnel describing the health care crisis, social media posts involving requests for or availability of medicine and services, and social media posts of videos or images as visual testimony of the crisis. Coder reliability was assessed, and descriptive and inferential statistical tests were implemented for deductive analysis of the study’s results and to find possible answers to the presented research questions. Key words: Venezuela, mental health, medical shortage, medical crisis, media content analysis, matrix method ii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 Venezuela’s History ................................................................................................................. 1 Brief Period of Prosperity ...................................................................................... 1 Chronicle of Venezuela’s Health Care System ....................................................... 2 Previous Accomplishments in Venezuelan Mental Health Care................ 3 How Health Disparities Propelled the Entrance of Hugo Chávez .............. 4 Chávez’s Universal Health Care Policies ................................................................................. 5 Misión Barrio Adentro ............................................................................................ 5 Nationalization of Pharmaceutical Providers, Changes in Currency Exchange System, Reliance on Imports, and Departure of International Pharmaceutical Companies .............................................................................................................. 6 Flaws in Chávez’s Health Care System .................................................................. 7 The Shortfalls of Misión Barrio Adentro ................................................................ 7 Nicolás Maduro’s Attempt to Continue Chávez’s Agenda ..................................... 9 Recent Conflicts Pertaining to Venezuela .............................................................................. 10 The Collapse of Venezuela’s Infrastructure ........................................................................... 11 Connection between Stress and Physical Health .................................................................... 16 How the Infrastructural Collapse has Affected Health Care in Venezuela ............................ 17 Mental Health Care Supply Crisis .......................................................................................... 20 Currently Available Statistics and Outlook .......................................................... 20 iii The Need for Mental Health Care in Venezuela ................................................... 21 Current Projections Concerning Depressive Diseases .............................. 21 Elevated Suicide Rates ............................................................................. 21 Shortage in Psychiatric Medications ........................................................ 22 High-Stress Environment.......................................................................... 22 Long Term Impacts on the Populace ........................................................ 25 Abysmal Conditions in Psychiatric Hospitals .......................................... 26 Poor Implementation of Mental Health Policies ...................................... 27 Research Questions ................................................................................................................ 28 METHODS ................................................................................................................................... 31 Media Content Analysis ......................................................................................................... 31 Relevant Content ................................................................................................... 31 Sampling ............................................................................................................... 33 Analysis Design .................................................................................................... 35 Coding Protocol.................................................................................................... 36 Reliability Procedure ............................................................................................ 38 Analysis with Matrix Method ................................................................................ 39 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................................... 41 Media Content Table .............................................................................................................. 41 NVivo Query Results and Excel Charts ................................................................................. 48 Matrix Method Results ........................................................................................................... 54 iv Factors that Worsened Venezuelans’ Mental Health ........................................... 54 Economic Factors ..................................................................................... 55 Cultural Factors ........................................................................................ 55 Factors Identified by Mental Health Professionals ................................... 57 Vulnerable Populations ............................................................................. 58 Mass Migration of Venezuelans ............................................................... 61 Electric Outages ........................................................................................ 61 Prevalence of Negative Information ......................................................... 62 Increase in Mental Health Problems .................................................................... 62 Increase in Suicides .................................................................................. 62 Increase in Anxiety and Depression ......................................................... 64 Relapse in Psychiatric Patients ................................................................. 69 Increase in Self-Destructive Behavior ...................................................... 70 Increase in Physical Sequelae ................................................................... 70 Increase in Emergency Mental Health Call Line Use .............................. 71 Shortage of Mental Health Personnel .................................................................. 71 Shortage of Mental Health Medications ............................................................... 73 Deterioration or Closure of Mental Health Care Institutions .............................. 75 Neglect of Mental Health Care by the Venezuelan Government .......................... 78 Recommendations by Mental Health Experts for Addressing Mental Health Crisis ....................................................................................................................