Registered Nurse, Alberta Health Services
Presenting on: Thursday October 21
Session Title: Chinese Cultural Influences on Patient and Family Understanding of Psychosis: A Systematic Review
Session description: Early psychosis identification and patient engagement are important for assessment, treatment, and connection with mental health supports. In the Chinese adult population, there can be a longer duration of untreated psychosis due to barriers of treatment adherence and follow-through with mental health appointments. This session focuses on the influences of Chinese culture on patient and family understanding of psychosis. Integration of patient and family cultural values, and connection with Chinese community networks can improve patient treatment adherence, engagement, and overall recovery from psychosis.
Learning Objectives:
1.Identify key cultural influences on the perspectives, attitudes, and beliefs of psychosis for patients and families of Chinese ethnicity
2. Explore strategies to foster the cultural sensitivity and safety of Chinese patients with psychosis in an acute care or community setting
Speaker Biography: Annamaria goes by the pronouns she/her. Her professional focuses include research, advocacy, critical nursing discourse, social justice, and cultural safety. Annamaria holds a Master of Nursing degree with a focus on leadership. She has worked in the areas of inpatient/outpatient mental health, psychiatric outreach, psychiatric emergency, and community harm reduction in a supervised consumption service. Annamaria is also an active member of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association. She took on a shared-role as research coordinator for a study evaluating functional outcomes of patients with schizophrenia who were prescribed long-acting anti-psychotic treatment. Annamaria received a certificate in Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Psychosis from the Beck Institute, and facilitated Cognitive Behavioral Social Skills Training groups for people with schizophrenia.