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Aim of the website on cross-cultural aspects of impulsivity is to create awareness among general public ,promote research and policy changes.It operates in association with www.impulsivity.org.To begin with English version has been launched and it is planned to have sections in Hindi(spoken by over 300 m people mostly in northern India as well as by people of Indian origin settled abroad ),French,Italian and Japanese. Other languages may also be considered.
The website is a result of interaction among the following-
DR Frank J Bayle,MD(Psychiatry),France
DR Herve caci,MD(paychiatry), PhD
DR Andrea Fossati,PhD,Italy
DR Kaoru sakado, MD(psychiatry),PhD,Japan
Dr Frederick G. Moeller,MD(Psychiatry),USA
Prof DR R K Solanki,MD(Psychiatry),India
Dr P J Singh,MD(Psychiatry),India
Dr P S Bhatnagar,PhD, India
Prof Dr E S Barratt,PhD of USA kindly provided us BIS - 11 which he has developed with laborious efforts . Our Mission Attention Please!!
website will be continuously up-dated. Information given here is for awareness only and is not a substitute for clinical advise. Every effort has been made to give correct information but please check yourself about authenticity and quality of any source of information.
Objectives of this website are to promote - 1. cross-cultural research into impulsivity
2.Policy changes i)Policy formulation-(Health ministries,planning commissions,education curriculum formulation bodies) ii)Policy implementation agencies(hospitals,medical colleges,educational institutions) 3.Cultural laws
4.Inter-disciplenary interaction e.g. medico-legal aspects of impulsivity,cultural laws,behavioural genetics,psychosomatic medicine
5.Involve centres of cross-cultural health
6.Funding sources useful in cross-cultural research on impulsivity
7. Focus on emerging issues such as e-counselling and psychiatric telemedicine
8.Literature access to developing country professionals- Open Access Model HINARI- Health Inter Network Access to Research Initiative ; a WHO initiative which gives online access to 2200 high quality medical journals at drastically reduced prices.
9.Journals in cross-cultural and impulsivity research
For general public--
FAQ on impulsivity 1
.What is impulsivity(for definition ,please see ISRI homepage)
2.Is it an emerging disease like AIDS or newly emerging strains of malaria?
No
3.Is it caused by demons,gods/goddessess/evil spirits/magic
No
4.Can it be cured by going to a magician,faith healer,places of worship
No
5.What are the areas where impulsivity affects- psychiatric disorders,day to day life,medico-legal cases 6.Is it infectious
No
7.Is it genetic Yes, a hereditary component may be involved .
8.What is culture "A set of guidelines which individuals inherit as member of a particular society and which tells them how to view the world and how to behave in relation to other people,supernatural forces, or gods and to the environment.These are transmitted by symbols,language,art and ritual(Helman,1990) 9.What is sub-culture? "When there are substantial differences within groups of people in a society or even among the same ethnic group, they are termed as sub-cultures(Tseng,2001)
10.Does culture play a role when I go to see a mental health professional who is of same or different culture than that of me ?
Yes.It can affect diagnosis and treatment of your psychiatric disorder.A culturally/cross-culturally sensitive approach is required.
11.Sources of information on impulsivity.
You may see ISRI's newsletter.Internet access can be a challenge in many instances,so along with internet use ,we will encourage traditional methods of creating awareness caused by digital divide due to slow internet speed,high cost of internet at some places, lack of access to internet in some areas,preference to traditional mode of information,age (younger generation is more keen for information technology )and computer illiteracy. Your mental health professional Internet Medico-legal profesionals seminars/symposia/conferences/workshop/lectures/chairs/drama/puppetry /story telling festival in your area can be organised to impart information Print/electronic media can also play a role in this area
12.What to do when you go to a Dr?
Be aware, forewarned is forearmed,know that cultural differences (your and your health profesional's language,gestures) can play important role in diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, so make sure there is no communication gap between you and your mental/medico-legal health professional,follow the instructions given by your mental health professional,do not stop/reduce/increase medicines your self 13.How do I get information on culture?
Explore governmental agencies(there may be a Department of Culture) and good NGOs in your area through telephone .Embassies,High Commissions usually have a Cultural Centre to promote information about culture of the country concerned.Telephone directory and internet may also be useful.
13. Are there cross-cultural differences in impulsive behaviour
Yes.
Please take a note-
The best medicine -laughter- is available without Doctor's prescription and that too free of cost!! Avail it as much as possible. Drink at least 8 glasses of clean water in a day.
The website shall promote term search and searcher instead of research and research to highlight innovation . It shall also promote gender balance, environment conservation(e.g. roof top rain water harvesting),flexible schedule of working especially for woman with family,integration of traditional and modern approaches(such as use of website and cultural events, use of e-post- where an email is delivered to recipient not having internet access by conventional post ,being used in selected cities in India by Indian Post offices,blending of virtual conferences with conventional conferences,promotion of attendance at international conferences/symposia/seminar/workshop by developing country participants,north -south dialogue and south-south co-operation. | |
Organization News We hail Parliament of Maldovia for declaring internet access a basic human right.
We also applaud Ministry of Health,Labour and Welfare Ministry,Japan for banning sale as well as import ,cultivation and advertisement of magic mushroom which contains hallucinogic ingredients psilocybin or psilocin .
We very much appreciate Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR),India for initiating the move to give grants for publication of journals in regional languages of India .A good step in promoting India's diverse cultural activities.
Dr P J Singh ,Assistant Professor in Psychiatry(with several years of experience) at SMS Medical College,Jaipur,India ,invites collaborations from Chinese(or those working in other countries having sizeable Chinese migrants) psychiatrists/mental health professionals in the area of impulsivity . Collaborations with mental health professionals from other countries are also welcome. Please contact - Dr Pankaj Sarup Bhatnagar (e-mail cet67@lycos.com)
Please examine gender balance at your mental health institution and the differences it has made , particularly in the area of impulsivity and the challenges you are facing . I shall compile the outcome of this work and put it on the website . It can also find a place in the newsletter of ISRI(with kind permission of Dr F G Moeller).
At SMS Medical College,Jaipur,India we have just one lady Psychiatrist(DR Krishna Kanwal) , one clinical psychologist (Dr Preet Kamal),and there are three female resident doctors doing MD (Psychiatry) . There are of course several female nurses and other support staff who are female .
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