Prevention Of Mental Illness Research Articles

A New Perspective on Mental Illness Prevention Strategy: Utilizing the Socio-Ecological Model Prevention Approach with Nigerian University Students

A New Perspective on Mental Illness Prevention Strategy: Utilizing the Socio-Ecological Model Prevention Approach with Nigerian University Students

Nature-Based Meditation, Rumination and Mental Wellbeing.

Novel approaches for children and young people (CYP) in the prevention and intervention of mental illness are needed and nature-based interventions (NBI) may be clinically useful. This proof-of-principle study tested the effects of a novel brief nature-based meditation on rumination, depressive symptoms and wellbeing in young people. Sixty-eight university students were randomised to one of three conditions: active control (n = 23), indoor meditation (n = 22) or nature-based meditation (n = 23). Participants completed self-report measures on state and trait rumination post intervention and depression and wellbeing at a 2-week follow-up. Depressive rumination significantly decreased post intervention in the nature condition and depressive symptoms improved for both intervention groups. Wellbeing only significantly improved at follow-up in the nature condition. Nature condition participants demonstrated one minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for wellbeing at follow-up. Depressive symptoms for this condition were below the clinically significant threshold for depression. The number needed to treat (NNT) analysis suggested that two to five young people would need to complete the intervention. Preliminary evidence suggests NBIs, such as the one in the present study, can reduce depressive rumination and symptoms and improve wellbeing. Replication with larger clinical samples is required to substantiate findings.

Levels of Covid fear in a sample of adolescents: does mental health literacy helps?

Background: The Covid-19 pandemic generated great fear and anxiety across the world. Debates concerning mental health promotion and mental illness prevention have reinforced the importance of promoting mental health literacy and providing psychological help to the population. Nonetheless, no study has examined the effect of mental health literacy and psychological help in levels of fear of covid. Aims: This study aims to explore the relationship between literacy about mental illness, literacy about mental well-being, having consulted a psychologist / psychiatrist in the past and levels of fear of covid, in a sample of Portuguese adolescents. Methods: Using cross-sectional design we collected a sample of 345 adolescents (53.2% of the participants are female) aged between 15-18 years old, that filled during the months of May-June 2021 an online survey composed of a sociodemographic questionnaire, two mental health literacy scales – one measuring literacy about mental illness (Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire - MHLq), one measuring literacy about mental well-being (Positive Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire - PosMHLit) - and two questionnaires measuring coronavirus anxiety and fear of Covid (CAS and FCV-19S). In order to assess professional psychological help,subjects werealso asked if they had consulted a psychologist or psychiatrist in the past. Results: Fear of covid is related to mental health literacy and having psychological support in the past. Results from multiple regression analysis, on the other hand, suggest that variance in fear of covid is better explained by sociodemographic variables, such as gender, than by mental health literacy. Conclusions: Exploring the main findings and the relationships between variables, the implications of the results will be addressed.

The role of advocacy in improving access to care for children with mental illness

Across the country, most professionals caring for children have likely seen an increase in mental illness. Even prior to the COVID‐19 pandemic, there was already a trend of increasing rates of depression and suicidal ideation in American youth (Mojtabai et al., 2016). Since then, the problem has only worsened, as the collective mental health needs of children have been rising rapidly. A combination of factors, from isolation related to school closure and social distancing, to the traumatic effects of losing a parent, have contributed to this dramatic rise in distress (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2021). The CDC reported that the proportion of mental health‐related ED visits increased abruptly after the beginning of the pandemic, with increases of 24% among children aged 5–11 years and 31% among adolescents aged 12–17 years, compared with the same period in 2019 (Leeb et al., 2020). These changes have been widely publicized, and in response to this national crisis, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), and the Children's Hospital Association (CHA) jointly declared a national state of emergency in October 2021 and created a 10‐point outline for meaningful change in the recognition, prevention, and treatment of childhood mental illness (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2021). In addition, the United States Surgeon General issued an advisory on protecting youth mental health in December 2021 (Department of Health and Human Services, 2021).

Impact of Mental Health First Aid Training for Primary Health Care Nurses on Knowledge, Attitude and Referral of Mentally Ill Patients

Increasing prevalence of mental illnesses worldwide, nurses' competence and preparedness in addressing patients' mental health needs urgent particular attention. However, nurses who receive general nursing training may have inadequate knowledge and beliefs about mental health disorders. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of short-term in-service training programme on improving nurses' knowledge and attitude related to prevention and first aid management of mental illnesses. A quantitative, quasiexperimental one group pre- and post-test design was carried out at a tertiary mental healthcare setting, Karnataka, with the sample consists of 50 registered nurses working at primary healthcare centres and Taluk hospitals located in North Karnataka, India. The results indicate a significant increase in the nurses knowledge (t =−15.70, P < 0.001) and favourable attitude (t = −2.63, P = 0.01) regarding the prevention and first aid management of mental illness among community. There was also a significant improvement in the referring of the cases to mental health care settings at 1 month after attending short-term in-service training programme on prevention and first aid management of mental illness. ((t = −14.23, P < 0.001). The study concludes that well-designed in-service training programme for a nurses not only improves the knowledge and attitude of the nurses but also improves referrals of the mentally ill patients to higher centres.

Ayurveda for Immunity

The Ayurveda- Traditional medicine is also known as folk medicine, indigenous medicine, Indian system of medicine. The Ayurveda medical care, such as daily regime, life style are being practiced since ancient time. The WHO mentioned that these are helpful in prevention, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness. In present scenario, human being is affected with number of contagious diseases, allergic diseases, auto-immune diseases, chronic diseases. There is no definitive treatment are available for such diseases. Further, the result of available treatment is not very encouraging. Hence, there is a search for alternative and traditional modalities for the prevention by enhancing the immunity which is safe and cost effective. Most of the diseases are able to affect the human due to their low diseased resistance power (immune compromised person). The term VyadhiKshamatva in Ayurveda has unique importance in regards immunity enhance by preventing the disease.

The roles of exercise tolerance and resilience in the effect of physical activity on emotional states among college students

Background/objectiveNegative emotional states, such as depression, anxiety, and stress challenge health care due to their long-term consequences for mental disorders. Accumulating evidence indicates that regular physical activity (PA) can positively influence negative emotional states. Among possible candidates, resilience and exercise tolerance in particular have the potential to partly explain the positive effects of PA on negative emotional states. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between PA and negative emotional states, and further determine the mediating effects of exercise tolerance and resilience in such a relationship. MethodIn total, 1117 Chinese college students (50.4% female, Mage=18.90, SD=1.25) completed a psychosocial battery, including the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), the Preference for and Tolerance of the Intensity of Exercise Questionnaire (PRETIE-Q), and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form (IPAQ-SF). Regression analysis was used to identify the serial multiple mediation, controlling for gender, age and BMI. ResultsPA, exercise intensity-tolerance, and resilience were significantly negatively correlated with negative emotional states (Ps<.05). Further, exercise tolerance and resilience partially mediated the relationship between PA and negative emotional states. ConclusionsResilience and exercise intensity-tolerance can be achieved through regularly engaging in PA, and these newly observed variables play critical roles in prevention of mental illnesses, especially college students who face various challenges. Recommended amount of PA should be incorporated into curriculum or sport clubs within a campus environment.

Developing the 2020-2030 mental health strategy for Malta: Addressing the needs of a small island state undergoing rapid socioeconomic transition

Malta has embarked on a renewed national endeavour to reform the mental health sector, prioritising mental health in the context of the national health strategy post 2020. Past attempts at reforming this sector were stifled due to insufficient and unsustained political commitment, leaving it direly under-resourced. An interplay of factors over recent years has rekindled political and public interest in mental health. These include: the establishment of a mental health commissioner; indictment from a National Audit Office report; and coordinated public pressure from local media, non-governmental organisations and professionals. Government responded by publishing a mental health strategy to address both long-standing and new challenges arising from rapid socioeconomic changes which have put further strain on an already overstretched system, demanding urgent action. The concept of strengthening resilience is put forward as a central tenet in the strategy and a combination of initiatives were proposed for the prevention of mental illness, investment in physical and human resources and the creation of a new service framework. Successful implementation of this strategy is dependent on continued political commitment, visible leadership, ongoing investment commitment, and meaningful engagement by key stakeholders. Ongoing stakeholder advocacy appears to be crucial to ensure that mental health continues to be considered as a national priority.

New way of Providing Care: the Role of Telemental Health

Telemental health care can be defined as the delivery of mental health care services at distance, by using information and communication technologies for the exchange of valid information for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental illnesses, as well as for research and education in the field of clinical psychiatry. While telemental health care practice was long established in many countries, its development proceeded with some variability worldwide. Over the past months, however, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has abruptly spread telemental health care practice worldwide, mostly to ensure the provision of care and assistance to psychiatric patients in spite of the governmental social contact restrictions. Although the process of rapid implementation has often happened at different rates and with different quality standards, across the various countries and sites, a global increase of the use of digital technologies has been reported. On the other hand, such recent events have also sparked a real paradigm shift in mental health care, significantly expanding the scope of e-mental health, given the recent availability of newer tools of digital psychiatry. In more detail, the use of mobile phones applications, of social media, of immersive reality and of chatbots is now driving psychiatry towards envisioning a more hybrid form of psychiatric practice, which holds the potential to finally overcome the traditional gap between the unmet needs of psychiatric patients and the relative lack of services and resources in mental health care. Here, the research evidence and the most compelling implementation issues in digital psychiatry will be reviewed.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

A Web-Based Stratified Stepped Care Mental Health Platform (TourHeart): Semistructured Interviews With Stakeholders

BackgroundTourHeart, a web-based stratified stepped care mental health platform, is a one-stop solution that integrates psychoeducation and other well-being promotional tools for mental health promotion and mental illness prevention and evidence-based, low-intensity psychological interventions for the treatment of people with anxiety and depressive symptoms. Instead of focusing only on symptom reduction, the platform aims to be person-centered and recovery-oriented, and continual feedback from stakeholders is sought. Understanding the perspectives of users and service providers enables platform developers to fine-tune both the design and content of the services for enhanced service personalization and personal recovery.ObjectiveThis qualitative study evaluated a web-based mental health platform by incorporating the perspectives of both users and service providers who administered the platform and provided coaching services. The platform included both web-based and offline services targeting adults along the mental health spectrum based on the two-continua model of mental health and mental illness.MethodsInterview questions were designed based on the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance framework (RE-AIM). Views on offline services, the design of the web-based platform, user experience, and the contents of the platform were explored using semistructured interviews. A total of 27 service users and 22 service providers were recruited using purposive criterion sampling. A hybrid thematic analysis was performed to identify salient aspects of users’ and providers’ experiences with and views of the platform.ResultsTotally, 3 broad themes (namely, the quality of the platform, drivers for platform use, and coaching services) emerged from the interview data that highlighted users’ views of and experiences with the web-based platform. The platform’s general esthetics, operations, and contents were found to be critical features and drivers for continued use. Although coaching services were indispensable, participants preferred the autonomy and anonymity associated with web-based mental health services.ConclusionsThis study highlights the importance of web-based mental health services being easy to navigate and understand, being user-centric, and providing adequate guidance in self-help. It also confirms existing design standards and recommendations and suggests that more rigorous, iterative user experience research and robust evaluation should be conducted in the future adaptation of web-based stratified stepped care services, so that they can be more personalized and better promote personal recovery.

Predicting Psychosis: Field Moves From Assessment of Clinical Risk to Search for Biomarkers

Predicting Psychosis: Field Moves From Assessment of Clinical Risk to Search for Biomarkers

IsiPAN (Isinusulong ang Psychiatry At Neurology): Kalusugan ng Diwa, Utak at Kaisipan tungo sa malusog na Pamayanan at Kinabukasan. A Community-Based Mental Health Program

Currently, mental health issues are of greatest importance to society as it is considered to be a growing invisible pandemic. It is strongly suggested to address concerns in the field of neurology and psychiatry, especially at the community level. One of the most popular interventions that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends is to bring health promotion to the periphery. With this in mind, a public health campaign in one of the University of Santo Tomas Simbahayan partner communities, Kasiglahan Village Rodriguez, Rizal was born. This project aims to bring health awareness to the community, especially at the grassroots levels involving the municipal rural health unit, barangay health care workers and allied specialist stakeholders. They were taught symptom recognition, proper referral to specialists and prevention measures that the community may benefit from, which is much needed at this day and age. Further, this program can serve as a precursor to more public health initiatives regarding mental health in the community to spread awareness and aid in the prevention of mental health illnesses. Keywords: mental health community-based program, public health program

Healthcare Services and Formal Caregiver's Psychosocial Risk Factors: An Observational Study.

The prevention and management of chronic disease primarily requires risk reduction measures, through strategic coordination across various government areas. Recognizing that health workers and the public health workforce are integral to building strong and resilient health, the present study analyses the relation between Psychosocial Risk Factors (PRFs, to which formal caregivers are exposed in the healthcare settings), and the work system related elements of the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS 3.0) framework. An empirical study was carried out, involving 333 formal caregivers of healthcare services. A total of 31 PRFs were assessed (using the COPSOQ III), making it possible to find a relationship between the PRFs analyzed with three elements of the work system, namely Task (5 PRFs), Organizational factors (17 PRFs), and Individual (9 PRFs). The present work contributes not only in terms of outcomes that allow the development of mental illness prevention and mental health promotion actions for healthcare formal caregivers, but also in terms of the relevance that these factors can have on the quality of health services, as well as their users (patients), in line with SEIPS 3.0 model.

Predictive Modeling of Mental Illness Onset Using Wearable Devices and Medical Examination Data: Machine Learning Approach.

The prevention and treatment of mental illness is a serious social issue. Prediction and intervention, however, have been difficult because of lack of objective biomarkers for mental illness. The objective of this study was to use biometric data acquired from wearable devices as well as medical examination data to build a predictive model that can contribute to the prevention of the onset of mental illness. This was an observational study of 4,612 subjects from the health database of society-managed health insurance in Japan provided by JMDC Inc. The inputs to the predictive model were 3-months of continuous wearable data and medical examinations within and near that period; the output was the presence or absence of mental illness over the following month, as defined by insurance claims data. The features relating to the wearable data were sleep, activity, and resting heart rate, measured by a consumer-grade wearable device (specifically, Fitbit). The predictive model was built using the XGBoost algorithm and presented an area-under-the-receiver-operating-characteristic curve of 0.712 (SD = 0.02, a repeated stratified group 10-fold cross validation). The top-ranking feature importance measure was wearable data, and its importance was higher than the blood-test values from medical examinations. Detailed verification of the model showed that predictions were made based on disrupted sleep rhythms, mild physical activity duration, alcohol use, and medical examination data on disrupted eating habits as risk factors. In summary, the predictive model showed useful accuracy for grouping the risk of mental illness onset, suggesting the potential of predictive detection, and preventive intervention using wearable devices. Sleep abnormalities in particular were detected as wearable data 3 months prior to mental illness onset, and the possibility of early intervention targeting the stabilization of sleep as an effective measure for mental illness onset was shown.

Walking and Activeness: The First Step toward the Prevention of Strokes and Mental Illness.

Physical activity, especially routine walking, is an imperative factor for the prevention of strokes, mental illness, and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The NIH (National Institute of Health) has also acknowledged walking as the most important factor of the stroke rehabilitation program. Many research studies are presented by physicians and researchers in the literature that highlight the positive impacts of walking on human health (physical and mental). This paper has the objective of studying the impact of regular walking, especially on mental illness, CVDs, and strokes. The C-reactive protein (CRP), P-selectin protein, and homocysteine biomarkers are considered to decide the improvement in the health of an individual with respect to CVDs and strokes. The other parameters considered for the recommendations of physicians and healthcare experts for mental health are PSS (perceived stress score) and ESS (Epworth sleepiness score) that control mental illness. The values are measured for the participating subjects before participating in the walking activity and after the end of the walking schedule to see the impact on individuals. The overall mental and physical health of an individual contributes to the chances of occurrence of CVDs, mental illness, and strokes in individuals aged between 40 years and 55 years, as per the study presented in this paper. The results show that the PSS and ESS scores are improved after the walking activity. Eventually, it improved recovery from many kinds of mental illness and also reduced the chances of strokes. Similarly, the levels of the biomarkers that determine the chances of an individual having CVD or stroke also improved. Walking can impact our overall health in many ways, however, in this paper, the focus is given to ailments, such as strokes, CVDs, and mental illness. The results show that stress and improper sleepiness can impact mental health negatively. The research outcome is measured by adding walking in a routine life so that every individual can get rid of many physical and mental ailments. The results presented in the paper reveal that the 90-day walking program has created a good impact on the health of individuals by improving their physical and mental health.

The Effect of the Imacoco Care Psychoeducation Website on Improving Psychological Distress Among Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundThe prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has affected mental health among workers. Psychoeducational intervention via a website could be effective for primary prevention of mental illness among workers in the current COVID-19 pandemic.ObjectiveThe aim of this randomized controlled trial is to examine the effect of a newly developed online psychoeducational website named Imacoco Care on reducing psychological distress and fear about COVID-19 infection among workers.MethodsParticipants in the study were recruited from registered members of a web survey company in Japan. Participants who fulfilled the eligibility criteria were randomly allocated to the intervention or control group. Participants in the intervention group were invited to access the Imacoco Care program within a month after the baseline survey. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) scores were obtained at baseline and at 1- and 3-month follow-ups.ResultsA total of 1200 workers were randomly allocated to the intervention and control groups (n=600 [50%] per group). The Imacoco Care intervention group showed a significant favorable effect on K6 scores (P=.03) with a small effect size (ES; Cohen d=–0.14) and an adverse effect on FCV-19S scores (P=.01) with a small ES (Cohen d=0.16) at 3-month follow-up. In the per protocol analysis (including only participants who had read the Imacoco Care content at least 1 time), the Imacoco Care intervention group also showed a significant favorable effect on reducing K6 scores (P=.03), while an adverse effect on FCV-19S scores was not significant (P=.06) in the intervention group at 3-month follow-up.ConclusionsA web-based psychoeducation approach may be effective for improving psychological distress among workers; however, it may be important not only to distribute information but also to encourage active engagement with the content of the program to prevent adverse effects of psychoeducational intervention.Trial RegistrationUniversity Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR) UMIN000042556; https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000048548

Passive Way of Measuring QOL/Well-Being Levels Using Smartphone Log.

Research on mental health states involves paying increasing attention to changes in daily life. Researchers have attempted to understand such daily changes by relying on self-reporting through frequent assessment using devices (smartphones); however, they are mostly focused on a single aspect of mental health. Assessing the mental health of a person from various perspectives may help in the primary prevention of mental illness and the comprehensive measurement of mental health. In this study, we used users' smartphone logs to build a model to estimate whether the scores on three types of questionnaires related to quality of life and well-being would increase compared to the previous week (fluctuation model) and whether they would be higher compared to the average for that user (interval model). Sixteen participants completed three questionnaires once per week, and their smartphone logs were recorded over the same period. Based on the results, estimation models were built, and the F-score ranged from 0.739 to 0.818. We also analyzed the features that the estimation model emphasized. Information related to “physical activity,” such as acceleration and tilt of the smartphone, and “environment,” such as atmospheric pressure and illumination, were given more weight in the estimation than information related to “cyber activity,” such as usage of smartphone applications. In particular, in the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), 9 out of 10 top features in the fluctuation model and 7 out of 10 top features in the interval model were related to activities in the physical world, suggesting that short-term mood may be particularly heavily influenced by subjective activities in the human physical world.

IHealth: The ethics of artificial intelligence and big data in mental healthcare

The concept of intelligent health (iHealth) in mental healthcare integrates artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data analytics. This article is an attempt to outline ethical aspects linked to iHealth by focussing on three crucial elements that have been defined in the literature: self-monitoring, ecological momentary assessment (EMA), and data mining. The material for the analysis was obtained by a database search. Studies and reviews providing outcome data for each of the three elements were analyzed. An ethical framing of the results was conducted that shows the chances and challenges of iHealth. The synergy between self-monitoring, EMA, and data mining might enable the prevention of mental illness, the prediction of its onset, the personalization of treatment, and the participation of patients in the treatment process. Challenges arise when it comes to the autonomy of users, privacy and data security of users, and potential bias.

The risk of mental illness in people living with HIV in the UK: a propensity score-matched cohort study.

Prevalence of mental illness is higher in people living with HIV than in the general population, but the incidence of composite mental illness and its components is unclear. We aimed to identify the risk of incident mental illness along with individual conditions of depression, anxiety, and severe mental illness in people living with HIV in the UK. Data for this population-based cohort were extracted from the IQVIA Medical Research Database, a nationally representative UK-based database of primary care electronic health records. We included adults (aged ≥18 years) living with HIV, matched with adults without HIV using propensity score matching (1:1 ratio). The primary outcome was composite mental illness comprising a diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or severe mental illness. Secondary outcomes were individual mental health conditions. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to compare the risk of each outcome between people with and without HIV. Each model excluded those with the outcome at baseline. Individuals were followed up prospectively. The study period was from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 1, 2020. Of 7167 people living with HIV without mental illness at baseline, 586 developed a mental illness (incidence rate 19·6 per 1000 person-years) compared with 418 of 7167 people without HIV (incidence rate 12·1 per 1000 person-years), resulting in an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1·63 (95% CI 1·44-1·85). People living with HIV had higher incidence rates for depression (15·4 per 1000 person-years), anxiety (7·2 per 1000 person-years), and severe mental illness (1·6 per 1000 person-years) compared with people without HIV (7·9, 5·0, and 0·6 per 1000 person-years, respectively), with adjusted HRs of 1·94 (95% CI 1·68-2·24) for depression, 1·38 (1·15-1·66) for anxiety, and 2·18 (1·41-3·39) for severe mental illness. People living with HIV have an increased risk for developing composite mental illness, depression, anxiety, and severe mental illness compared with people without HIV. People living with HIV should be regularly screened for mental illness; however, there is a strong need to improve prevention of mental illness in people living with HIV and for more outreach programmes to ensure that no groups of people living with HIV are being underdiagnosed. None.

The role of resilience in depression and anxiety symptoms: A three-wave cross-lagged study.

Cultivation of resilience is believed to ameliorate mental health problems. The impact of mental health problems on resilience is however rarely discussed. This study investigated the reciprocal relationship of resilience with depression and anxiety symptoms using a three-wave cross-lagged design. Resilience level, depression, and anxiety symptoms were assessed at baseline, the third and the sixth month in 125 university students without psychiatric disorders (62 females). No significant changes in resilience levels were observed across the 6months. Depressive symptoms, but not anxiety symptoms significantly increased at the third and sixth months compared with baseline. The three-wave cross-lagged models revealed an unstable reciprocal relationship of resilience with depression and a stable reciprocal relationship between resilience and anxiety symptoms over time. The reciprocal relationship between resilience and mental health problems indicates the importance of cultivating resilience for the prevention of mental illness as well as the importance of managing mental health symptoms at non-clinical levels for monitoring resilience. The unstable reciprocal relationship between resilience and depression symptoms across time suggests the existence of potential moderators that impact the relationship between resilience and depression. Our findings further support the notion that resilience is conceptualized as a dynamic process.