Primary Prevention Of Mental Disorders Research Articles

Couple-Oriented Interventions for Mental Health: A Scoping Review.

The purpose of this research was to systematically examine and collate evidence on couple-oriented interventions for mental health to identify trends in the literature, review research strategies, and suggest directions for future research. A systematic search included studies relating to couple-oriented interventions for preventing mental disorders and/or promoting mental health. We identified a total of 52 studies, which included 55 articles. Our findings revealed that interventions were delivered through various modes, including face-to-face, telephone, and online, with the majority of couple-oriented interventions operating in conjoint sessions. The most common intervention was for selective prevention, targeting patients with cancer and their partners. This review provided evidence of the applicability of theoretical frameworks, dyad analysis, and measurements associated with couple-oriented interventions. Findings can help family nurse practitioners and health care professionals advance strategies to develop and implement evidence-based, couple-oriented interventions for primary prevention of mental disorders and the promotion of mental health.

Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on newborn neurodevelopment: a pilot study

The COVID-19 pandemic can seize the opportunity to explore the hypothesis of prenatal exposure to viral infections increases the risk for neurodevelopmental disorders. Advancing our knowledge in this regard would improve primary prevention of mental disorders in children. For this pilot study, six-week-old infants born to mothers exposed (n = 21) or unexposed (n = 21) to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) were assessed in Santander-Cantabria (Spain) using the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS). Groups comparisons were performed to explore the effects that infection and timing of exposure (in terms of the three trimesters of pregnancy). The infants’ competencies and performances on the NBAS were generally similar in the exposed and unexposed to SARS-CoV-2 groups. The most significant difference found was a less optimally response to cuddliness (item on the state regulation domain) particularly in infants born to mothers exposed in the third trimester of pregnancy, and in pull-to-sit (item on the motor system domain). Although our interpretations must be careful, these preliminary results highlight the possible association between prenatal SARS-CoV-2 exposure and poorer development in motor skills and infant interactive behavior. Further longitudinal studies are needed to explore these relationships and disentangle the biological mechanisms implicated.

Past, present and future of psychiatry

Over the past few decades, psychiatry and mental health sciences have reached several major goals. The importance of mental health and the huge contribution to the burden of disability produced by mental and neurological disorders has been recognized by all and most recently also by the United Nations. Treatment technology has developed and permits the effective management of most mental disorders. Progress has also been made in the recognition of human rights of people with mental illness and those who care for them. More has to be done in these areas but there are also new tasks that are before psychiatry. These include the addition of primary prevention of mental disorders to previous efforts to ensure secondary and tertiary prevention of mental health problems; the development of appropriate ways of work in order to cope with problems of comorbidity of mental and physical disorders; and a fundamental reorientation of training in psychiatry and related sciences.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Establishing a Theory-Based Multi-Level Approach for Primary Prevention of Mental Disorders in Young People.

The increasing prevalence of mental health disorders and psychosocial distress among young people exceeds the capacity of mental health services. Social and systemic factors determine mental health as much as individual factors. To determine how best to address multi-level risk factors, we must first understand the distribution of risk. Previously, we have used psychometric methods applied to two epidemiologically-principled samples of people aged 14–24 to establish a robust, latent common mental distress (CMD) factor of depression and anxiety normally distributed across the population. This was linearly associated with suicidal thoughts and non-suicidal self-harm such that effective interventions to reduce CMD across the whole population could have a greater total benefit than those that focus on the minority with the most severe scores. In a randomised trial of mindfulness interventions in university students (the Mindful Student Study), we demonstrated a population-shift effect whereby the intervention group appeared resilient to a universal stressor. Given these findings, and in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we argue that population-based interventions to reduce CMD are urgently required. To target all types of mental health determinants, these interventions must be multi-level. Careful design and evaluation, interdisciplinary work, and extensive local stakeholder involvement are crucial for these interventions to be effective.

Couple- or family-oriented interventions and outcomes for preventing mental health problems and promoting mental health: a scoping review protocol.

The objective of this scoping review is to map the literature describing couple- and family-oriented interventions and outcomes to prevent mental health problems and promote mental health. Literature involving couple- and family-focused mental health interventions has gained increased attention over the past two decades, yet little is known about the efficacy of these interventions for promoting mental health and preventing mental disorders. Despite recognition that the most sustainable method for reducing the increasing burden of mental disorders is primary prevention, there has been no systematic investigation of relevant couple- and family-focused interventions. This scoping review will consider studies that include couples or multiple family members who have participated in couple- and family-focused interventions aimed at primary prevention of mental disorders and promotion of mental health. This study will include experimental, quasi-experimental, and observational study designs, as well as qualitative studies. Conference abstracts, posters, editorials, commentaries, and opinion papers will be excluded. Multiple databases will be searched, including PubMed (MEDLINE), CINAHL, ERIC, PsycINFO (via EBSCO), Web of Science, Scopus, and Research Information Sharing Service (RISS). Trial registers and gray literature will also be searched. Two independent reviewers will screen the abstract/title of retrieved citations using inclusion and exclusion criteria. After screening titles and abstracts of identified citations, relevant studies will be retrieved in full. Using a data extraction instrument developed specifically for this review, eligible studies will be extracted and presented in diagrammatic or tabular form, accompanied by a narrative summary.

School-based interventions to prevent anxiety and depression in children and young people: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

SummaryBackgroundRates of anxiety and depression are increasing among children and young people. Recent policies have focused on primary prevention of mental disorders in children and young people, with schools at the forefront of implementation. There is limited information for the comparative effectiveness of the multiple interventions available.MethodsWe did a systematic review and network meta-analysis, searching MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled trials for published and unpublished, passive and active-controlled randomised and quasi-randomised trials. We included educational setting-based, universal, or targeted interventions in which the primary aim was the prevention of anxiety and depression in children and young people aged 4–18 years. Primary outcomes were post-intervention self-report anxiety and depression, wellbeing, suicidal ideation, or self-harm. We assessed risk of bias following the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. We estimated standardised mean differences (SMD) using random effects network meta-analysis in a Bayesian framework. The study is registered with PROPSERO, number CRD42016048184.Findings1512 full-text articles were independently screened for inclusion by two reviewers, from which 137 studies of 56 620 participants were included. 20 studies were assessed as being at low risk of bias for both random sequence generation and allocation concealment. There was weak evidence to suggest that cognitive behavioural interventions might reduce anxiety in primary and secondary settings. In universal secondary settings, mindfulness and relaxation-based interventions showed a reduction in anxiety symptoms relative to usual curriculum (SMD −0·65, 95% credible interval −1·14 to −0·19). There was a lack of evidence to support any one type of intervention being effective to prevent depression in universal or targeted primary or secondary settings. Comparison-adjusted funnel plots suggest the presence of small-study effects for the universal secondary anxiety analysis. Network meta-analysis was not feasible for wellbeing or suicidal ideation or self-harm outcomes, and results are reported narratively.InterpretationConsidering unclear risk of bias and probable small study effects for anxiety, we conclude there is little evidence that educational setting-based interventions focused solely on the prevention of depression or anxiety are effective. Future research could consider multilevel, systems-based interventions as an alternative to the downstream interventions considered here.FundingUK National Institute for Health Research.

The Reliable Change Index (RCI) of the WHO-5 in primary prevention of mental disorders. A measurement-based pilot study in positive psychiatry

Introduction: Primary prevention of mental disorders is a major issue in positive psychiatry. Adjustment disorder is one of the very few discrete mental disorders linked to an etiological factor, namely psychosocial stressors given rise to a maladaptive reaction with a course of symptoms vanishing with the removal of the stressor. We have focused on a measurement-based method to prevent the development of an adjustment disorder.Aim: The aim of this study has been to analyze from an ongoing Worklife Barometer Survey in which the World Health Organization Well-Being Scale (WHO-5) has been applied to prevent distress leading to an adjustment disorder.Methods: Persons identified with a decrease of 15 points in their repeatedly WHO-5 ratings over three months were through a brief psychological intervention by experienced psychologists. The Reliable Change Index (RCI) was used to determine the clinically meaningful change in the WHO-5 ratings.Results: Within the group who received the psychological intervention (N = 1338), 35% of the persons were identified by the RCI analysis to have developed a clinically reliable change in the WHO-5 at the time of the intervention. The remaining 65% of the persons obtained changes in the WHO-5 which might be considered as spontaneous fluctuations. In the month after the intervention, the persons with a clinically reliable change in the WHO-5 were restored.Conclusion: In this measurement-based pilot study, the repeatedly WHO-5 ratings identified a group of persons with a clinically reliable change in WHO-5 and a clinically significant improvement after a brief psychological intervention.

The Effect of Emotional Intelligence Training on the Quality of Life in Asthmatic Patients

Background Given the extent of asthma, the Emotional Intelligence Theory provides a new perspective about predicting effective factors for success and primary prevention of mental disorders as well. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of emotional intelligence training on the quality of life in patients with asthma. Method Method of the project has been quasi-experimental that 30 asthmatic patients (confirmed by clinical tests) were selected for sampling and divided into two experimental and control groups (each group had 15 persons) randomly. The experimental group received training in emotional intelligence in 10 sessions of 90 minutes, but the control group did not receive this training. The World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) scales were performed in two stage pre- and post-test for both groups. After collecting, data, were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results The results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between emotional intelligence [EI] and quality of life, and also there was a significant difference between the mean scores of post-test experimental and control groups on measures of physical health and quality of life in asthmatic patients .(P<0.05) Conclusions According to the results achieved in this study, emotional intelligence [EI] can be improved quality of life patients suffering from asthma.

Evaluation of a Technology-Based Adaptive Learning and Prevention Program for Stress Response-A Randomized Controlled Trial.

To prevent deployment-related disorders, Chaos Driven Situations Management Retrieval System (CHARLY), a computer-aided training platform with a biofeedback interface has been developed. It simulates critical situations photorealistic for certain target and occupational groups. CHARLY was evaluated as a 1.5 days predeployment training method comparing it with the routine training. The evaluation was carried out for a matched random sample of N = 67 soldiers deployed in Afghanistan (International Security Assistance Force). Data collection took place before and after the prevention program and 4 to 6 weeks after deployment, which included mental state, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, knowledge of and attitude toward PTSD, and deployment-specific stressors. CHARLY has been significantly superior to the control group in terms of psychoeducation and attitude change. As to the mental state, both groups showed a significant increase in stress after deployment with significant lower increase in CHARLY. For PTSD-specific symptoms, CHARLY achieved a significant superiority. The fact that PTSD-specific scales showed significant differences at the end of deployment substantiates the validity of a specifically preventive effect of CHARLY. The study results tentatively indicate that highly standardized, computer-based primary prevention of mental disorders in soldiers on deployment might be superior to other more personal and less standardized forms of prevention.

Lifestyle factors in preventing mental health disorders: an interview with Felice Jacka.

In this video Q&A, we talk to Associate Professor Felice Jacka about population health approaches to the primary prevention of mental disorders across the lifespan. These include addressing lifestyle factors, such as diet, smoking and physical activity. Latest strategies are being developed through epidemiological studies and clinical trial evidence. Challenges in preventing mental disorders in general and specifically in the workplace are discussed, together with future directions on promoting well-being.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12916-015-0490-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Preventing mental health problems in offspring by targeting dietary intake of pregnant women.

BackgroundThe concept of ‘early life programming’ considers the importance of very early environmental exposures throughout the gestational period on the subsequent health outcomes of offspring. The role of maternal dietary intake, specifically, has been highlighted after recent studies have shown maternal diet quality to predict mental health problems in offspring. Even in the pre-conception period, maternal nutrition can have permanent and sustained phenotypic consequences for offspring.DiscussionHere, we consider these findings in the context of the primary prevention of mental disorders and argue that interventions that target maternal diet could be of significant value.SummaryIt is clear that, in order to reduce the burden of mental health issues across the lifespan, urgent action is required, particularly in the field of prevention. We thus call for the application and evaluation of targeted, primary prevention strategies that focus on dietary intake with the view to improve mental health outcomes of mothers and offspring during the postnatal period and beyond.

Primary Prevention of Mental Disorders in Children of Mentally Ill Parents. The Kanu Programme "Canoe--Moving Jointly Forward"

Children of parents who suffer from mental health disorders are more likely to develop mental disorders than children of parents not suffering from mental disorders. For children at risk, preventive strategies are hardly available and, if available, rarely supported by a scientific evaluation. "Kanu - Gemeinsam weiterkommen (canoe - moving jointly forward)" is a preventive strategy that was developed within a research project focusing on primary prevention in children who live in families with parents affected by mental disorders. The intervention is characterised by a multi-modular concept and was tested in the adult psychiatric setting. Preliminary results indicate a preventive impact of the intervention programme.

Diagnosis and treatment of prepsychotic conditions

Prevention of mental ill health has been declared a major task by the European Commission; and an early detection and intervention in psychosis in terms of an indicated (secondary) prevention in persons already seeking help for mental problems is increasingly approached across Europe both on research as well as clinical level, a mixture of both dominating. The growing interest in this field of research across Western and Western-Central Europe becomes apparent in the rapidly increasing number of publications on this topic since the turn of the century that has nearly increased by the factor of 5. The 3 leading European countries in this are Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.Despite the very well reception of the ‘prevention idea’ by clinicians, researchers, relatives of patients with psychosis and clients and first promising results of early detection and/or early intervention studies, critics caution against the percentage of false-positive predictions by current prodromal criteria and the possibly unnecessary initiation of an antipsychotic psychological and/or pharmacological treatment along with its risks of unwanted side effects including early stigmatization. Supporters, however, argue that these short-comings will be overcome in the course of time and that the potential of new benign preventive interventions was just about to be discovered as well as caution against self-stigmatization by odd, eccentric behaviours and loss of functioning not recognized as part of an illness but attributed to the person him-/herself.In future, joint efforts across clinical and scientific disciplines as well as countries will be required to enhance predictive accuracy, to develop broadly applicable and risk-adapted interventions, to provide help to all in need, to extend preventive efforts to other psychiatric disorders and to possibly reach the ultimate aim, a primary prevention of mental disorders.

Anxious and depressive symptoms in adolescents: epidemiological data of a large scale study in Dresden.

The present large scale epidemiological study was designed to assess the prevalence of mental disorders in adolescents. Two cross-sectional studies have been performed in adolescents in Dresden and the results of the examination of 627 high school and 485 secondary school students (mean age 15.5 years) are presented. Self rating procedures like the Beck Depression inventory (BDI) and clinical interviews have been used to enhance validity. The results underline the high prevalence rates of anxiety and depression in adolescents. Up to 30% of the 9th and 10th grades students suffer from mental disorders or are at risk for the development of mental disorders. Therefore primary prevention of mental disorders is desirable.

The Politics of Prevention: Introduction to the Special Issue

The past year (1996-1997) has seen the emergence of a new force in the field of primary prevention of mental disorders. The new approach is aimed at risk reduction for specific mental diseases included in the DSM IV manual of psychiatric disorders. The new approach (Scientific Prevention) has grown out of a convergence of forces from the U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM), and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Since 1990 NIMH has developed prevention policy based on its model of mental “diseases” allegedly originating from defects in the brain. A recent NIMH Director had proclaimed the 1990s to be the Decade of the Brain during which brain research would uncover the underlying organic causes of most forms of discrete mental “illnesses”. Also, it was promised, new drugs would be developed to treat these “diseases”. The new approach does not include mental health promotion efforts as part of its strategy because such efforts are “not aimed at specific mental disorders”. Clearly the new approach does not accept the traditional model that views stress as the general underlying cause of most mental health disorders. Most of the prevention programs presented at the bi-annual meeting of the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) in Lahti and Helsinki, Finland in July, 1997 were organized by the new Prevention Scientists. The programs were scheduled every morning and afternoon during the meeting and featured presentations focused around the new model emphasizing experimental and control studies of risk reduction in a developmental context. In one sense we can applaud a major new emphasis on prevention programming at the WFMH. On the other hand we can be concerned that the new prevention scientists deny or ignore prevention efforts that focus on (1) efforts at social change aimed at reducing major causes of social stress that have long been seen as causing emotional disorder, (2) efforts

Training and career paths in primary prevention

Increasingly, undergraduate and graduate students as well as mid-career professionals are deciding to pursue careers focused on the primary prevention of mental disorders and the promotion of mental health. Although there are several training and career options available to prospective students of prevention, a compendium of prevention resources is not readily available. This article is intended to help prospective students find training programs, and other sources of information, that focus on prevention. The disciplines of public health, community psychology, social work, and education are reviewed with regard to their respective training options in prevention, and sources of further information are offered.

Planning a Continuum of Care in Child Psychiatric Nursing A Collaborative Effort

A guide for providing a continuum of care for children in need of psychiatric services from the least restrictive services (outpatient care), to a moderately restrictive setting (partial hospitalization), to the most restrictive setting (inpatient care) is described. Movement along the continuum is facilitated by the nurse case manager. Concepts from three theoretical frameworks are integrated to define goals, criteria, and expected outcomes for each level of care along the continuum. They are Neuman's (1982) systems model for nursing practice and education, Caplan's (1961) model for primary prevention of mental disorders in children, and Frances, Clarken and Perry's (1984) differential therapeutics. The continuum provides a guide for nurses and other health care providers to achieve high quality care as economically as possible. It also enhances self-care and self-responsibility for families of disturbed children by offering a sequential graded system of care along the health-illness continuum.

A call for primary prevention: reality or utopia.

The efficacy of primary prevention of mental disorders has been debated over the years. The debate is complicated by ideology, semantic confusion, methodological difficulties and a paucity of good evaluative studies. This paper reviews newer concepts of primary prevention and mental health promotion, methodological issues, model programs, and inherent ethical concerns. Further evaluative studies and an increased contribution of psychiatrists to the primary prevention debate are recommended as necessary steps in further evolution of the field.

Primary prevention of psychiatric disorders.

After a general discussion of factors involved in primary prevention of mental disorders, a case is described where community intervention aiming at reversing a process of social disintegration seemed to reduce the prevalence of anxiety and depression. Further experience with community development as an activity integrated into the functioning of a mental health centre is described. It was possible to encourage the growth of social networks that in turn led to several sustained organizations for self help and mutual aid. Even if this is promising from a preventive point of view, the effect upon mental health is not known. Repeated epidemiological studies in the area show a very stable prevalence level over time with high degree of chronicity and few new cases. This means that change in prevalence over a limited period of time only to a very small degree can be caused by primary prevention.

Primary Prevention and Public Mental Health Policy

OR public health professionals, the prevention of disease and the promotion of health are core concerns. The prevention of mental disorder has been an area that has geng 1 1 3 erated inflated claims about potential for success and sometimes highly acrimonious debate. Yet, data indi(ese9 cating that 1s% of the population suffers from mental disorder (1) and the contention (2) that we are facing a pandemic of mental disorder compel us to the realization that strategies to reduce its incidence must be part of public health policy. This paper will consider the current status of the primary prevention of mental disorders and its place in a public mental health agenda. However, in order to avoid what Leighton (3) referred to as the "Lord Ronald Syndrome" (getting on one's horse and riding off madly in all directions), the issue of prevention and public mental health policy has to be considered within the context of two other issues: the community mental health movement, and psychiatric epidemiology.