Sexual health significantly influences individual well-being. It is thus crucial for primary care physicians to address these concerns effectively.

To evaluate the perspectives and approaches of primary care practitioners towards sexual health.

A descriptive survey was disseminated to 350 primary care physicians via Google Forms in August 2022.

Of the respondents, 53.1% were female. The majority (71.4%) were affiliated with the public health sector, and over 75% were based in urban areas. All acknowledged the importance of addressing sexuality in their patients’ health. In this context, 62% spontaneously initiated discussions on the subject with their patients. Also, 72% noted that patients anticipate a regular dialogue about sexual health with their primary care provider. Over 90% believed in the value of addressing sexual dysfunctions more proactively, with 56% comfortable in leading such discussions. Additionally, 64% were inclined to include targeted questions on sexual health in their consultations. Notably, 77.6% expressed interest in creating specialized sexual health consultations in their practice. However, 54% felt unease in discussing sexual health with opposite-gender patients, and 82% lacked referrals to sexologists.

Sexual health issues are not uncommon in general practice. Primary care providers play a vital role in counseling, screening, and educating patients on these concerns, necessitating specialized training to enhance patient management.

None Declared

Sexual life is affected by physiological, psychological and social changes during pregnancy. Therefore, pregnancy is considered as a stressor affecting sexual lives of women and as a period when sexual dysfunctions can easly appear.

The aim of our study was to explore the prevalence of sexual dysfunctions among pregnant womens.

we conducted a cross-sectional and descriptive study among Tunisian pregnant women. The questionnaire used was performed with Google Forms and posted on social media. It contained questions concerning personal and sociodemographic aspects and questions concerning obstetrical data such as parity, gestational age and complications during the current pregnancy. We used the Female Sexual Function Index to examine Sexual dysfunction. Total scores of 26.55 or less characterize deficiency of female sexual function.

Fifteen women (44.1%) were primiparous and 19 (55.9%) were multiparous with 29% being in the first trimester, 27% in the second, and 44% in the third. Half had at least one child. Most of participants reported better satisfaction with their sexuality before pregnancy than during pregnancy (76.5% vs. 26.5%). This difference in satisfaction was statistically significant (p=0.004). A sexual dysfunction was found in 70.6% of cases and we did not identify any correlations between the presence of sexual dysfunction and sociodemographic or clinical data of the current pregnancy.

The prevalence of sexual dysfunction among Tunisian pregnant women was high and not related tosocio-demographic characteristics.

None Declared

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for the global health system. In this context, we have suggested as a research hypothesis that during this global health crisis, people with mental disorders, due to the phenomenon of “under medicalization”, would be more affected by Covid infection and would have less chance to be vaccinated.

To calculate the infection rate and vaccination rate for COVID-19 in patients with mental disorders.

This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study that took place over a period of one month (from March 2, 2022 to April 2, 2022) and involved patients attending the outpatient department of psychiatry at the Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital in Monastir.

It was conducted using a predeveloped survey with 15 questions exploring sociodemographic characteristics, history of Covid infection (personal infection, hospitalization, infection in the family, death in the family…) and vaccination for Covid-19 and its modalities.

The medium age of our sample was 44.9 ±13.7 years. The average duration of illness was 12.5 years and the average number of hospitalizations was 1.65.

Psychotic disorders were the most represented, 57.1%, compared to mood disorders and anxiety disorders.

Twenty-one percent (21%) of patients reported infection with COVID 19 and 3.1% required hospitalization.

Forty-six percent (46%) had an infected family member and 2.5% had a death in the family caused by COVID-19.

The rate of access to vaccination among our patients was 73.0%. The majority received 2 doses (60.0%), and they were vaccinated on their own initiative (68.0%) and by appointment (71.4%).

The disability presented by mental disorders, particularly psychotic disorders, can expose patients to marginalization. Indeed, patients with severe mental disorders could constitute a vulnerable population to COVID-19 infection because of their difficulty in accessing care, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, hence the recommendations.

Particular attention must always be paid to patients with mental health disorders, regarding their access to care and the promotion of health for this population.

None Declared

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health illness that can develop after being exposed to one or more traumatic events. This is a serious, long-term emotional response to extreme psychological trauma. As for public health emergencies, it demands large-scale coordination among many staff, and participants, especially medical workers, are exposed to high levels of stress, which can easily lead to psychiatric illnesses such as social anxiety disorder (SAD). Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) demonstrate a high degree of comorbidity, yet little is known regarding the nature of this relationship.

The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of PTSD and SAD among health workers in the emergency ward and study the relationship between PTSD and SAD and the associated factors to both disorders among health workers in the emergency ward to suggest some solutions to reduce their effects.

This is a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among medical and paramedical health professionals in the emergency rooms of the university hospital of Sahloul and Hached and the regional hospital of Msaken in Tunisia. The data was collected by a questionnaire that included demographic questions and Yes/No questions, as well as several scales to assess the degree of social nxiety (Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale) and posttraumatic stress disorder (Post-traumatic stress disorder checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5)).

In our study, 81 healthcare workers completed the survey. Of the total responding participants 67.9% were females. We noticed that the example was young (58%), also 59.3% had <1 year of experience. The population was slightly predominated by paramedical staff (56.8%), it also had a low married percentage of 38.3. Among the participants 17.3% smoke tobacco, 12.3% drink alcohol, and 3.7% are under cannabis use. We found that 7.4% of the participants had a psychiatric illness.

In our study, 38% scored positive for PTSD and for SAD 13.58% had marked social anxiety, 12.35% had severe social anxiety and 3.7% had very severe social anxiety, this is associated rather with the female gender, the younger (age range 20-30 years) and the paramedical staff.

PTSD and SAD are more pronounced among those with the fewest years of experience.

We obtained a positive Pearson Correlation between PTSD and SAD (r=0.513).

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) demonstrate a high degree of comorbidity, especially in the healthcare field. Overall, researchers reveal that the link between PTSD and SAD is complicated, owing to a variety of factors such as a person’s genes, trauma history, and psychological vulnerabilities so large-scale epidemiological investigations are required.

None Declared

The legally incapacitated major is any person who, having acquired the legal majority, should therefore enjoy his rights, and face his social duties, but because of an alteration of his physical or mental faculties, is not able to provide alone for the safeguarding of his interests, nor to face alone his social obligations; there is, therefore, a need for protection which is the placing under guardianship.

To describe the clinical and sociodemographic profile of the subjects put under guardianship in the psychiatric services of Monastir.

This is a retrospective descriptive study that focused on 71 files of subjects examined in the context of psychiatric expertise of guardianship in the psychiatric department Fattouma Bourguiba of Monastir during the period from 10-02-2016 to 08-06-2022.

In total, we included 71 files of the subjects who were examined in the framework of the expert assessments of guardianship. The average age was 53 years. The predominance of males was noted with a sex ratio M/F = 1.5. Most of the patients were of urban origin; more than half (54.9%) were single with an average socioeconomic level for most of the patients (81.7%); 53.5% were illiterate and only 11.3% had a higher education level.

Among the somatic antecedents in our population, 40.9% had neurological pathologies: stroke 8.5%, epilepsy 7%, and dementia 9.9%. The psychiatric history (71.8%) was marked by intellectual disability (47.9%) followed by schizophrenia (28.2%).

Neuropsychiatric comorbidity was noted in 25.4%. The diagnoses retained at the time of the expertise were: intellectual disability (47%), followed by psychosis and dementia with similar percentages of 21%. The duration of the evolution of the symptoms in our population varied between 1 year and 60 years with an average of 22.56 years.

The request for guardianship was made by the siblings in 40.8% of cases, followed by the ascendants in 21.1%.

All the assessments took place at the hospital on a pre-arranged appointment and were formulated in French language.

The knowledge of the specificities of the different Tunisian laws governing guardianship is essential and the meticulous drafting of expert reports requires adapted training, which should be included in the basic training modules for psychiatrists.

None Declared

The number of suicidal patients who are consulting hospitals is increasing. Therefore nurses are more frequently faced to dealing with these patients. Empathy plays an essential role in the nurse-patient relationship and influences therapeutic effectiveness.

Assess the impact of empathy level and investigate its factors on psychiatric and emergency department nurses’ attitudes toward a suicidal patient.

This is a cross-sectional analytical study that focused on nurses working in emergency and psychiatric departments in two Tunisian Hospitals. It was conducted between February and April 2022.

We used the Cognitive and Affective Empathy questionnaire (QCAE) to evaluate the empathy level.

Our study involved 60 nurses with an average age of 35,23 and a sex ratio of 0.76. Forty-seven percent of the nurses feel pity for the suicidal person while 16.7% remain indifferent.

Fifty-seven percent of respondents believe that attempting suicide is primarily a sign of weakness and 45% believe that its a sign of suffering.

While dealing with a suicidal patient, 45% of caregivers choose to reassure family and friends while 6.7% prefer to call the police to investigate.

Among the nurses, 58.4% had an affective empathy score greater than or equal to 30 while 51.9% of them had a cognitive empathy score greater than or equal to 40.

There was no statistically significant association (p>0.05) between the QCAE score and: age, gender, marital status, number of years in current service, number of children, and personal psychiatric history.

There is a significant association between The department and both emotional Contagion and Perspective taking ( p<0.05), while no significant association between Proximal Responsiveness, Peripheral Responsiveness, and Online Simulation.

It is undeniable that empathy level affects the quality of the relationship between suicidal patients and caregivers with many influencing factors.

The nurse has a therapeutic role but also a preventive one with regard to the problem of suicide, Therefore, the training of medical and paramedical teams is essential in order to limit any negative attitudes.

None Declared

Consent to care remains the general principle and care without consent must be the exception. However, resorting to care without consent in psychiatry may be indicated when awareness of the disorders or recognition of the need for care is impaired. For this purpose, we have focused on the questions concerning the degree of applicability of this procedure of obligation of care in Tunisia.

The purpose of this study is to describe implementation measures of the obligation of care among patients in the psychiatric department of Monastir.

This is a retrospective, descriptive and qualitative study of five patients followed in the psychiatric department at the Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital of Monastir between January 2020 and August 2022 who were subjects to the obligation of care with reference to Article 30 of Law 92-83 of August 3, 1992, amended by Law No. 2004-40 of May 3, 2004.

All patients in the study were males. Two out of five patients had a higher level of education. Two patients had a history of family psychiatric disorders. Two patients were being followed for schizophrenia, two others had schizoaffective disorder and one patient had a chronic delusional disorder. Only one patient had a duration of untreated psychosis of 6 years. Most of the patients had been hospitalized once to four times prior to their submission to article 30 of the obligation of care. Only one patient was hospitalized at the request of a third party, four patients were hospitalized by order of the court. Four out of five patients were treated with antipsychotic drugs (delayed-release form). After their submission to article 30, three patients were readmitted for decompensation due to treatment discontinuation, one patient did not consult the doctors, and only one of the five patients was present with his family at his post-treatment appointment.

what we deduced from our observation encourages us to work better on improving laws and training dedicated to psychiatric practitioners to optimize this judicial and therapeutic practice in our country.

None Declared

Patients suffering from psychiatric illness represent a population that is particularly vulnerable to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and to the pandemic situation due to several factors.

We aimed in our study to determine the rate of COVID-19 infection and to identify its correlated factors in outpatients of the psychiatry department of Monastir, Tunisia.

This is a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study conducted on 178 outpatients at the department of psychiatry (Monastir, Tunisia) over a period of one month (from March 2022 to April 2022). Data was collected via a questionnaire focused on two main attributes: (1) sociodemographic and clinical characteristics; (2) questions about the COVID-19 personal and family history.

The mean age of our population was 44.9±13.7 years. The majority of them (81.5%) had a chronic evolution of their psychiatric disorder (> 2 years) and 68.7% were hospitalized at least once in psychiatry. Psychosis was the most represented disorder with 57.3% compared to mood disorders and anxiety disorders. Among our population, thirty seven patients (21%) had a SARS-CoV-2 infection and 3.1% required hospital care. The infection by the virus of a family member was reported by 46% of cases and 2.5% had intrafamilial death due to COVID-19 disease. Patients with depressive disorder were the most affected (55%). COVID-19 infection was significantly associated with gender (p=0.02), marital status (p=0.016), diagnosis (p=0.001), treatment (p=0.02) and intrafamilial spread of the disease (p<10-3).

Patients with psychiatric disorders experience a distinct burden of the COVID-19 disease. Awareness of the vulnerability of this population and psychiatric institutions is necessary in order to adapt mental health care planning and implement preventive measures during potential subsequent pandemics.

None Declared

Sexual relationship is affected by the emotional factors, changes in women’s body, sexual dysfunctionsand also common beliefs about sex in pregnancy. Couples might tend to avoid sexual intercourse in pregnancy due to different beliefs.

Our objective was the evaluation of sexual related and common beliefs among pregnant womens.

We conducted a cross-sectional and descriptive study. We targeted Tunisian pregnant women whatever the term of pregnancy. We collected data using a self-questionnaire performed with Google Forms and posted regularly on social networks over a period of six months. In order to assess the most common beliefs, we used a panel of questions inspired by the literature.

34 pregnant women participated to the study. Mean age was 31,56 years (SD =3,25). All the participants had a secondry or university education (5.9% and 94.1% respectively). Ninteen women (55.9%) were multiparous with 44% in the third trimester.

Among participants, 20.6% believe that sexual intercourse can be harmful to the baby, 41.2% believe that the number of intercourse should be limited during pregnancy and 17.6% thought that sexual intercourse should be stopped in the first three months.

In relation to body image, 11.8% of women approve that pregnancy takes women’s all beauty and 8.8% thought that their bodies weren’t attractives as before for spouses. About a quarter of our population (23.5%) agreed that pregnant women lose sexual desires and 14.7% approved that intercourse satisfies only men. Only one women (2.9%) reported that intercourse during pregnancy is considered a sin.

We have identified through this study different beliefs about sexuality during pregnancy, sometimes aberrant and which can affect the sexuality of couples. Attention of health professionals should be attracted to this issue and sexuality should definitely be integrated into prenatal care and counselling.

None Declared

Fear of death is somehow a normal sensation. Though for those having a cancer, it could increase the burden of the disease and have negative psychological impacts. This death anxiety isn’t easily verbalized by patients, thus it’s important for caregivers to manage it to improve those patients’ quality of life.

Assess death anxiety in cancer patients and to identify factors that may influence it

Our study was a cross-sectional descriptive study with an analytical focus on quantitative specifications. It targeted patients hospitalized at the oncology department or consultant at the day hospital of the regional hospital of Gabes, Tunisia. Participants completed a questionnaire including sociodemographic and clinical data, using HADS scale for anxious and depressive symptoms and DAS scale for death anxiety.

One hundred and twenty patients were enrolled in the study. The average age of participants were 54, 9 ±11, 8 years. The majority of patients were married (68.3%) and had an average socioeconomic level (74, 2%). Our results showed that 43, 3% of patients had a high death anxiety score. Higher level of threat of death, were found in older patients(p=0.028), females (p=0.018) and for those having children (p=0,01). Death anxiety were also higher in patients having anxiety (p=0.007) and those having depression (p=0.033).

The degree of death anxiety among cancer patients seems important. Its assessment and resolution by the caregivers remains paramount. The identification of this death anxiety should optimize the overall care of the patient.

No significant relationships.

End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients have difficult and challenging lifestyle due to the burden of the disease that, leads to numerous psychological issues. Regardless, healthcare providers usually focus on the somatic side and don’t take care of the psychological dimension.

Determine the effect of psychological support on the wellbeing of patients with ESRD.

A survey sheet including sociodemographic and clinical data were distributed to two different groups. Psychological counseling was given to one of the groups, and wasn’t given to the other one.

Patients not receiving psychological support had higher levels of anxious and depressive symptoms and suicidal ideations compared to the group receiving psychological support that had lower levels of anxious, depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation.

ESRD patients are at risk of developing all sorts of psychological issues. Which underlines the importance of the psychological support associated to the appropriate somatic care.

No significant relationships.

Covid-19 pandemic represents a sanitary crisis with social, economic and political negative impacts. Studies had well established the link between stress and the display or maintenance of addictive behaviour. Measures like social distancing and confinement imposed by governments during this pandemic, could explain an outbreak of internet addiction cases.

Assess the prevalence of internet addiction in times of the covid-19 pandemic and to study its relationship with personal and family factors but also with the psychiatric comorbidities.

We conducted a cross sectional analytical study during the period of the covid-19 pandemic, using an internet survey exploring socio-demographic and clinical data: through Hamilton depression and anxiety rating scale and the Rosenberg self esteem scale. The assessment of internet addiction was carried out using Young’s Internet Addiction test.

Our study included 150 users, the average age was 36 years, mainly made up of women, married, having children, with a good socioeconomic level and of university education. The prevalence of depressive and anxious symptoms were respectively 7.3% and 18.7%. The prevalence of internet addiction in our study was 9.4% including 0.7% having severe repercussions. Being married (p<10-3) and having children (p=0.006) were considered as protective factors against internet addiction. People having an internet addiction were at bigger risk of having low self esteem (p=0.023), depressive (p=0.04) and anxious symptoms (p<10-3).

Internet addiction is a new concept, though it’s impact on the well being is well established and it’s likely to worsen in times of pandemic. Therefore, it’s necessary to take preventive measures to deal with it.

No significant relationships.

Tunisian revolution has been a major upheavel in the tunisian history and has brought many political, social and economic changes. Little were found about the revolution’s potential impact on the psychiatric demand.

Compare the clinical profile of all the new consultants in the out ward psychiatry department before and after the revolution.

The study had a retrospective descriptive design including all the new consultants in the outpatient psychiatry department in the general hospital Fattouma Bourguiba in Monastir, Tunisia before (during 2007) and after (during 2016) the revolution. We used a pre-established questionnaire including sociodemographic and clinical data.

After the revolution, an increase in the number of new patients (p<10-3) 438 to 451 were found. In 2016, there were more unemployed consultants(p=0.004), having criminal record (p=0.01) and having a problematic substance use (p<10-3). An increase also concerned patients consulting for anxiety(p=0.002) and suicidal ideation (p=0.022). Considering the clinical diagnosis, there were also a significant increase regarding anxiety disorders (p=0.001) and mood disorders (p=0.011) essentially major depressive disorder (p=0.002). Although a significant decrease concerned somatoform disorder (p<10-3).

Our study showed a change in the profile of consultants after the Tunisian revolution. A study in the general population could find specific etiological factors. Thus highlight the importance of implementing preventive measures in general population in crisis’ times.

No significant relationships.