The unemployment problem is even more severe among people with mental health problems, civic groups and doctors said yesterday, with almost 66 percent of those afflicted unable to find a job in the past year.
For people with schizophrenia, the most important thing they hope medication can do for them is to “be able to go to work or school,” a survey by the Alliance for the Mentally Ill found.
The survey of schizophrenics and their families was conducted by the alliance’s centers nationwide and a total of 233 effective samples were collected out of the 300 surveys handed out.
“The survey showed that about 90 percent of schizophrenia patients live with their families or friends, and almost 70 percent of them are not in school or employed. We can imagine how much of a burden this puts on their families,” project director Eva Teng (滕西華) said.
“Twenty percent say they are not satisfied with their current medication,” Teng said.
The main reasons cited for dissatisfaction with medication was that the drugs “do not make me feel well” (50 percent), “affect daily activities” (37 percent), “prevent me from holding a job” (34 percent) and “affect my social life” (28 percent).
“Aside from hallucinations, schizophrenia patients also have difficulty registering facial expressions, lack motivation and have a tendency to avoid social engagements. These are often the reasons why many people with schizophrenia have difficulty finding employment or developing relationships,” said Chou Yuan-hwa (周元華), a psychiatrist at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital.
Although the unemployment problem nationwide has worsened, it is an even greater problem for the mentally ill, Teng said.
“About 20 to 30 percent of the mentally ill are [involuntarily] unemployed,” she said.
“If more doctors cared about their patients’ social skills instead of only prescribing medications, then more patients could become active members of society,” she said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
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