Range Of Mental Health Issues Research Articles

Improving access to psychological intervention in low-middle income settings: Results from a waitlist-controlled, proof-of-concept trial of the MemFlex intervention for trauma-exposed Afghan youth.

Low-intensity interventions targeting a range of mental health issues offer a scalable approach for young trauma survivors in low-middle income countries. Here, we present results from a proof-of-concept, randomized, waitlist-controlled trial evaluating MemFlex, an autobiographical memory-based intervention, for trauma-exposed Afghan youth residing in Iran. MemFlex seeks to reduce the negative and overgeneral memory biases which maintain and predict poor mental health. Young people aged 12-18 years (N = 40) with parents who had experienced forced migration from Afghanistan were recruited from high schools in Karaj City in Iran. All had experienced a traumatic event in the last year. Participants were randomized to receive four weeks of a group-based delivery of MemFlex or Waitlist. Our primary cognitive outcome was autobiographical memory flexibility, that is, the ability to deliberately retrieve any memory type on demand. Primary clinical outcome was emotional distress, measured on the Farsi version of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist. Results indicated that MemFlex participants demonstrated large effect sizes for pre-to-post improvement in memory flexibility (d = 2.04) and emotional distress (d = 1.23). These improvements were significantly larger than Waitlist (ds < .49), and were maintained at three-month follow-up. Positive benefits were observed for completion of MemFlex, and future comparison against an active intervention appears warranted. Further evaluation of MemFlex in this context may offer a low-cost, and low-resource intervention to improve access to psychological intervention for young migrants in low-middle income countries.

Exploring Faith Leaders' Experiences in Supporting Individuals with Mental Health Challenges in Ottawa, Canada.

Faith leaders are often called upon to provide mental health support to their congregants, yet there is limited research on how these leaders experience this aspect of their role. The objective of this study is to understand the experiences of faith leaders who are sought by individuals for mental health support. We report on the findings from a qualitative study based on interviews with faith leaders of different denominations in Ottawa, Canada. The results indicate that faith leaders are asked to provide support for a wide - but not comprehensive - range of mental health issues; that faith leaders experience various challenges in managing role boundaries; and that these leaders believe that training not only in mental health issues, but also on subjects of liability and self-care to maintain their own wellness would be valuable. We address implications for research and practice.

Impact of confrontation to patient suffering and death on wellbeing and burnout in professionals: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundPalliative care and oncology generate a risk of burnout and psychological distress in professionals. The purpose of this study is to identify both psychopathological and positive factors related to mental health at work. It aims (i) to explore the extent to which these professionals are confronted with suffering, illness, and death; and to explore the prevalence of psychological distress and/or burnout, (ii) to identify potential determinants of burnout and psychological wellbeing at work, (iii) to develop an integrative model of mental health; and to identify frequency and impact of confrontations with death, and (iv) to identify profiles of professionals are at risk of developing a mental health disorder or, conversely, characterized by wellbeing.MethodsA cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted in palliative care and oncology evaluating confrontations with death, coping, burnout, psychological distress, personality, self-esteem, well-being and meaning at work. Regressions, clustering, and structural equation modeling analyses were performed.Results109 professionals participated (58% from oncology and 42% from palliative care), of which 79% were female, and 65% were between 30 and 49 years old. Aim i: 30% witnessed an intolerable suffering at least 9 times a month, 45% reported moderate to high levels of burnout, 39% suffered from anxiety and 11% from depression. Aim ii: the determinants of burnout were the personality traits conscientiousness and neuroticism, low meaning of work, and low wellbeing (R2 = 0.44). The determinants of wellbeing were work meaning, depersonalization, self-esteem, fulfillment and low emotional exhaustion (R2 = 0.71). Aim iii: the integrative model included both well-being (self-esteem, conscientiousness) and psychopathology (neuroticism, anxiety) parameters, and strongly satisfied the standard SEM goodness of fit indices (e.g., CFI, IFI, and TLI ≥ 0.95). Aim iv: three profiles were identified: (a) a “distressed profile” with a majority of professionals at the patient’s bedside, (b) a “disengaged profile” with professionals working as second-line consultants, (c) a “wellbeing profile” contains profiles of caregivers insensitive to psychological distress and with a high level of positive Impact of confrontation on different areas of their lives.ConclusionsAn integrative approach is essential to understand the full range of mental health issues for professionals. Meaning of work is a key factor in professional interventions that should primarily affect front-line professionals with limited experience.

A prospective study of nightmare disorder among Chinese adults in Hong Kong: Persistence and mental health outcomes.

Previous studies showed that nightmares are prevalent and are associated with negative health outcomes. However, no empirical data is available demonstrating the extent to which nightmare disorder persists over time. Current literature provides a limited understanding of the trajectory and wider mental health outcomes of nightmare disorder. This longitudinal study examined the persistence and mental health outcomes of nightmare disorder. A total of 230 Hong Kong Chinese adults completed standardized assessments twice with an interval of about 6 months. Over half (66.7%) of the participants with probable nightmare disorder at baseline remained to meet the DSM-5 criteria for the disorder at follow-up. Participants with probable nightmare disorder at baseline were significantly more likely to screen positive for PTSD (82.1% vs 18.3%) (p < .001) (p < .001), and they reported higher rates of mental health service usage at both timepoints (p = .001 to .003). Baseline nightmare disorder severity was negatively associated with subsequent self-rated mental health (β = -.151, p = .010) and self-esteem (β = -.141, p = .009) and it also predicted subsequent PTSD symptoms (β = .122, p = .012). This study provides first empirical data showing that nightmare disorder could be persistent over time. Nightmare disorder symptoms are associated not only with PTSD symptoms but also with a broader range of mental health issues. This study points to the public health importance of identifying and managing nightmare disorder symptoms in the community. Additionally, the presence of nightmare disorder symptoms may be a helpful indicator for identifying post-traumatic stress.

A Mental Stress Classification Method Based on Feature Fusion Using Physiological Signals

Mental stress can cause a range of mental health issues, which makes it challenging to develop a stress classification method especially based on physiological signals. Although cutting-edge deep learning models are currently popular for recognizing mental stress, most frameworks rely solely on deep features, which may not provide a comprehensive understanding of physiological signals. In response to this concern, we propose a mental stress classification method that uses feature fusion. We integrate the squeeze-excitation attention mechanism and voting classifier technique to learn detailed and typical information about mental stress. To be more precise, the feature fusion segment consists of two steps: we first extract shallow statistic features and deep features separately from raw signal recordings, and the deep features are dimensionally reduced using principal component analysis to enable better integration with the shallow features. We then flatten both kinds of features and concatenate them by column to create a combined set that contains more salient information about physiological signals. Our experiments show that the attention mechanism and voting classifier technique improve the accuracy of stress classification. Furthermore, our proposed model based on feature fusion achieves remarkable performance compared to state-of-the-art methods.

Integrated first‐level psychosocial response to disasters in low‐ and middle‐income countries

AbstractThe widespread occurrence of disasters in recent times has largely been attributed to climate change, with its long‐term consequences on the welfare and mental well‐being of individuals and communities. Increasingly, studies indicate that victims of disasters may experience a range of mental health issues, with post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder ranking as the most common. Low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) face unique challenges in providing proper rehabilitation and adequate mental health services after a disaster, due to poverty, lack of educational opportunities, lack of awareness and knowledge of disaster, and lack of resources and infrastructure. Despite these challenges, some LMICs have made efforts to address mental health needs in the aftermath of disasters. However, they are faced with the challenge of implementing formalised mental health support programmes. Moreover, immediate mental health support should be provided to victims of disasters to ameliorate the psychopathologies that may develop afterwards. The current approach of providing mostly physical and social relief neglects the psychosocial implications of disasters on victims. The biopsychosocial model of health, which is being advocated for, suggests that treatment should encompass all aspects of an individual's life, and thus, a team of mental health workers can provide holistic interventions to aid victims in their recovery process by making efforts to involve them in the emergency response teams usually employed during disasters.

The military spouse experience of living alongside their serving/veteran partner with a mental health issue: A systematic review and narrative synthesis.

Military healthcare studies have reported a wide range of mental health issues amongst military personnel. Globally, mental health issues are one of the main causes of ill health. Military personnel have a greater prevalence of mental health issues than that of the general population. The impact of mental health issues can be wide and far reaching for family and carers. This systematic narrative review explores the military spouse experience of living alongside their serving or veteran partner with a mental health issue. The systematic review performed was based on the PRISMA guide for searching, screening, selecting papers for data extraction and evaluation. Studies were identified from CINHAL, ASSIA, Proquest Psychology, Proquest Nursing & Allied Health source, Proquest Dissertations & Theses, ETHOS, PsychArticles, Hospital collection, Medline, Science Direct Freedom Collection and hand searching of citations and reference lists. Twenty-seven studies were included in the narrative synthesis. Five overarching themes from the experiences of military spouses' living alongside their serving/veteran partners mental health issue were identified: caregiver burden, intimate relationships, psychological/psychosocial effects on the spouse, mental health service provision and spouse's knowledge and management of symptoms. The systematic review and narrative synthesis identified that the majority of studies focused on spouses of veterans, very few were specific to serving military personnel, but similarities were noted. Findings suggest that care burden and a negative impact on the intimate relationship is evident, therefore highlight a need to support and protect the military spouse and their serving partner. Likewise, there is a need for greater knowledge, access and inclusion of the military spouse, in the care and treatment provision of their serving partner's mental health issue.

A LITERATURE REVIEW ON RASAYANA IN GERIATRIC MENTAL HEALTH CARE

Ageing is a multidimensional process of physical, psychological and social change. Ayurveda Rasayana therapy has given powerful contribution to overcome age related disorders and act essentially on nutrition dynamics and rejuvenate the body and the mind.Rasayana is an ancient Ayurvedic therapy that aims to rejuvenate and revitalize the body and mind. The term Rasayana comes from the Sanskrit words rasa and ayana, which mean essence and path respectively. According to Ayurvedic theory, Rasayana therapies are designed to promote the production and circulation of vital fluids, such as blood and lymph, and to remove toxins from the body.The use of Rasayana therapies in geriatric mental health care is based on the idea that as we age, our body and mind becomes less efficient at producing and circulating vital fluids, and more susceptible to the effects of toxins and stress. This can lead to a wide range of mental health issues, including depression, anxiety and dementia. By promoting the production and circulation of vital fluids, and removing the toxins from the body, Rasayana therapies are believed to help prevent and alleviate these conditions, Result of the study revealed that improvement in the signs and symptoms of Agnibala, Dehabala and Sattvabala on elderly individuals.

Comprehensive mental health and psychosocial support for war survivors at Chenna Kebele, Dabat woreda, North Gondar, Ethiopia

BackgroundArmed conflict and natural disasters cause serious psychosocial problems. Providing comprehensive bio-psychosocial support to the community after a war, traumatic, or devastating event has a significant impact on community reconstruction and resilience. As a result, the goal of this project was to conduct community diagnosis, identify individuals experiencing psychological distress, and provide comprehensive mental health and psychosocial support for the Chenna Kebele population in Dabat Woreda, North Gondar, Ethiopia.MethodsA mixed research approach, specifically an explanatory study design, was used to assess psychosocial issues among war survivors. In-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and observation were used to assess the psychosocial and economic consequences of the war on survivors. Additionally, a structured questionnaire was employed to assess mental health problems among the target population. The project was conducted in three phases.ResultA total of 550 households were assessed using a structured questionnaire. Of them, 45 people reported a range of mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), adjustment disorder, protracted bereavement disorder, and insomnia. PTSD is the most common diagnosis, accounting for 38 cases. Four cases of major depressive disorder, three cases of prolonged grief, and two neurologic cases were also identified during the screening. Females had a higher number of PTSD cases as compared with males. Fifteen women reported sexual violence, and the number may be high because of underreporting and refusal to disclose the situation. The result also indicated significant property damage, loss of life stocks, and disengagement from basic services like water. Intervention with follow-up was provided at the individual, group, and community levels in order to reverse the devastating situation. The intervention included pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, and social networking.Conclusion and recommendationOverall, the community has experienced multiple psychosocial and economic problems. Hence, providing holistic mental health psychosocial support, clearing the site and burying the dead body, and re-initiating the terminated social gathering event will alleviate the existing problem and create a resilient community.

Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Their Associations with Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Among Chinese Adolescents with Depression.

The presence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in adolescents diagnosed with depression has been associated with an extensive range of mental health issues, including non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). However, there has been a dearth of research into the prevalence of ACEs and their associations with NSSI among depressed adolescent populations in China. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of different types of ACEs and their associations with NSSI in depressed Chinese adolescents. Utilizing Chi-squared tests, latent class analysis (LCA), and multinomial logistic regression, the prevalence of different types of ACEs and their associations with NSSI were determined in a sample of 562 adolescents with depression. Among depressed adolescents. 92.9% of depressed adolescents reported ACEs, and the prevalence of emotional neglect, physical abuse, caregiver treated violently, and bullying was relatively high. ACEs, including sexual abuse (OR = 5.645), physical abuse (OR = 3.603), emotional neglect (OR = 3.096), emotional abuse (OR = 2.701), caregiver divorce/family separation (OR = 2.5), caregiver treated violently (OR = 2.221), and caregiver substance abuser (OR = 2.117), were associated with increased odds of exposure among depressed adolescents with NSSI. The high ACEs class (19%), the moderate ACEs class (40%), and the low ACEs class (41%) were identified as latent classes. NSSI was more prevalent in the high/moderate ACEs class compared to the low ACEs class, particularly in the high ACEs class. The situation of the prevalence of ACEs among adolescents with depression was unsatisfactory, and certain types of ACEs were associated with NSSI. Eliminating potential risk factors for NSSI requires the early prevention and targeted intervention of ACEs. Moreover, additional large-scale longitudinal studies are necessary to assess the different development trajectories associated with ACEs, such as the relationships between the different development periods of ACEs and NSSI, and to ensure the adoption of evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies.

Association between Urban Educational Policies and Migrant Children’s Social Integration in China: Mediated by Psychological Capital

China's urban educational policies have been established to solve the problems of potential discrimination and inequitable access to education, disrupting migrant children who move from rural areas to urban cities and who tend to suffer from a range of mental health issues. However, little is known regarding how China's urban educational policies affect migrant children's psychological capital and social integration. This paper aims to explore the effect of urban education policies on improving migrant children's psychological capital level in China. The second objective of this paper is to examine whether policies can encourage them to integrate into urban society in a positive way. This paper thoroughly analyzes the impact of China's urban educational policies on three dimensions of social integration of migrant children (identification, acculturation, and psychological integration), and also verifies the mediating effects of psychological capital on the relationships between these variables. The subjects of this study are 1770 migrant children in grades 8-12, who are sourced from seven coastal cities in China. Multiple regression analysis and mediation effect tests are employed to analyze the data. This study reveals that migrant children's identification with educational policies has a significant positive impact on their psychological capital. Psychological capital has partial mediating effects on the relationship between identification with educational policies and the three dimensions of social integration. In other words, identification with educational policies indirectly affects the process of social integration of migrant children through psychological capital. Based on this, for the purpose of promoting the positive impacts of educational policies of inflow cities on the social integration of migrant children, this study makes the following recommendations: (a) at the micro-level, the psychological capital of individual migrant children should be enhanced; (b) at the meso-level, the partnerships between migrant children and urban children should be taken seriously; and (c) at the macro-level, the urban educational policies related to migrant children should be improved. This paper not only makes policy recommendations for improving the educational policies of inflow cities, but also offers a Chinese perspective on the research related to the tricky issue facing all countries around the world, the social integration of migrant children.

Problematic Anger in the Military: Focusing on the Forgotten Emotion.

Problematic anger is common in veteran and military populations, yet understudied relative to other mental health difficulties. However, in recent years, more clinical and research attention has been turned to problematic anger. This paper highlights important new findings in the epidemiology, course, and neurobiology of anger, the associations of anger with other mental health problems and risk, and next steps for research and practice. In longitudinal research, findings show that problematic anger changes over the life course of military members and veterans, and that deployment increases the likelihood of problematic levels of anger. Problematic anger is related to a range of mental health issues, most perniciously aggression and suicidality. Promising new assessment and treatment approaches are emerging, including innovations that leverage digital technology. Key areas of research include advancing assessment of problematic anger to identify patterns of heterogeneity, as well as advancing the evidence base for anger treatments. Recommended progress in clinical practice include conducting routine assessment of problematic anger in veteran and military populations, developing prevention and early intervention for at risk individuals, and optimizing the timing of interventions throughout the military lifecycle.

333 Prevalence of Moral Injury and its Clinical Consequences Among Filipino Emergency Physicians During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

BackgroundMoral Injury is defined as the distress experienced by an individual when circumstances are discordant with one’s ethical code. If left unaddressed, it can become a risk factor for a range of mental health issues. The COVID-19 pandemic has recently been regarded as a cause of moral injury for Filipino health care workers but to date, has not been formally investigated.Study ObjectivesWe aimed to determine the prevalence of moral injury, identify risk factors and clinical consequences on mental health among Filipino emergency physicians who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic.Method: Our cross-sectional study utilized a nationwide survey of Emergency Medicine Residents and Consultants from accredited training programs in the Philippines. The online questionnaire comprised of 4 validated tools for mental health evaluation: Moral Injury Symptom Scale-Health Professionals, Belief Into Action Scale, Abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. The survey was conducted from August to October 2021.ResultsA total of 129 emergency physicians responded to the survey, which revealed high prevalence of moral injury at 96.9%. Concurrent with this, respondents were found to suffer from burnout causing emotional exhaustion (p=0.007) and depersonalization (p=0.044) as well as anxiety and depression (p=0.002). Females and those that do not have any children were more likely to experience moral injury.ConclusionThere is high prevalence of moral injury among Filipino emergency physicians during the period of study, which coincided with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Moral injury was also associated with the co-occurrence of burnout, anxiety and depression.No, authors do not have interests to disclose BackgroundMoral Injury is defined as the distress experienced by an individual when circumstances are discordant with one’s ethical code. If left unaddressed, it can become a risk factor for a range of mental health issues. The COVID-19 pandemic has recently been regarded as a cause of moral injury for Filipino health care workers but to date, has not been formally investigated. Moral Injury is defined as the distress experienced by an individual when circumstances are discordant with one’s ethical code. If left unaddressed, it can become a risk factor for a range of mental health issues. The COVID-19 pandemic has recently been regarded as a cause of moral injury for Filipino health care workers but to date, has not been formally investigated. Study ObjectivesWe aimed to determine the prevalence of moral injury, identify risk factors and clinical consequences on mental health among Filipino emergency physicians who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic.Method: Our cross-sectional study utilized a nationwide survey of Emergency Medicine Residents and Consultants from accredited training programs in the Philippines. The online questionnaire comprised of 4 validated tools for mental health evaluation: Moral Injury Symptom Scale-Health Professionals, Belief Into Action Scale, Abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. The survey was conducted from August to October 2021. We aimed to determine the prevalence of moral injury, identify risk factors and clinical consequences on mental health among Filipino emergency physicians who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Our cross-sectional study utilized a nationwide survey of Emergency Medicine Residents and Consultants from accredited training programs in the Philippines. The online questionnaire comprised of 4 validated tools for mental health evaluation: Moral Injury Symptom Scale-Health Professionals, Belief Into Action Scale, Abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. The survey was conducted from August to October 2021. ResultsA total of 129 emergency physicians responded to the survey, which revealed high prevalence of moral injury at 96.9%. Concurrent with this, respondents were found to suffer from burnout causing emotional exhaustion (p=0.007) and depersonalization (p=0.044) as well as anxiety and depression (p=0.002). Females and those that do not have any children were more likely to experience moral injury. A total of 129 emergency physicians responded to the survey, which revealed high prevalence of moral injury at 96.9%. Concurrent with this, respondents were found to suffer from burnout causing emotional exhaustion (p=0.007) and depersonalization (p=0.044) as well as anxiety and depression (p=0.002). Females and those that do not have any children were more likely to experience moral injury. ConclusionThere is high prevalence of moral injury among Filipino emergency physicians during the period of study, which coincided with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Moral injury was also associated with the co-occurrence of burnout, anxiety and depression.No, authors do not have interests to disclose There is high prevalence of moral injury among Filipino emergency physicians during the period of study, which coincided with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Moral injury was also associated with the co-occurrence of burnout, anxiety and depression.

Mental Health Challenges and the Associated Factors in Women Living with HIV Who Have Children Living with HIV in Indonesia: A Qualitative Study.

Women living with HIV (WLHIV) are vulnerable to various mental health challenges. However, there is a paucity of studies globally and in the Indonesian context that have specifically explored mental health challenges among mothers living with HIV who also have children living with HIV (CLHIV). This qualitative study explored mental health challenges and the associated factors in mothers living with HIV who have CLHIV in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. In-depth interviews were employed to collect data from the participants (N = 23) who were recruited using the snowball sampling technique. A qualitative data analysis framework was used to guide the analysis of the findings. The findings showed that the mothers experienced a range of mental health issues due to their own, and their child’s diagnoses of stress, depression, anxiety, fear, sadness, and guilt. Lack of knowledge about HIV, fear of death, shame, not knowing whom to talk with and what to do after their own HIV diagnosis, and the HIV diagnosis of their children were factors that challenged their mental health. Difficulties in dealing with daily life or social activities of their CLHIV, dilemmas in addressing questions and complaints of their CLHIV about HIV treatment, and concerns about the health condition of their CLHIV and how their children cope with any potential negative social impacts also impacted the mothers’ mental health. Social factors such as unsympathetic expressions from friends towards them and their CLHIV and negatively worded religious-related advice from parents and relatives also contributed to their poor mental health. Our findings indicate the need for intervention programs that support mothers living with HIV and their CLHIV. Future large-scale studies involving mothers living with HIV who have CLHIV in Indonesia and other settings globally are needed to obtain a comprehensive understanding of mental health challenges and the associated factors they face.

Three-arm randomised controlled trial of an m-health app and digital engagement strategy for improving treatment adherence and reducing suicidal ideation in young people: study protocol

IntroductionYouth suicidal ideation and behaviour is concerning due to its widespread prevalence, morbidity and potentially fatal consequences. Digital mental health interventions have been found to improve access to low-cost and...

The impact of COVID-19 on social work mental health services in the United States: lessons from the early days of a global pandemic

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a multitude of changes to service delivery systems, heavily impacting the experiences of both clients and practitioners. Most research documenting these impacts is quantitative in nature. This qualitative exploratory cross-sectional study provides a richer understanding of the experiences of social work practitioners, clients receiving mental health services, and organizations in the early months of the pandemic. For clients, findings reflect a range of mental health issues, stressors, and sources of resilience. For practitioners, findings reflect professional and personal effects of the pandemic. This article details these findings and provides practice and policy recommendations.

A systematic review of parenting interventions used by social workers to support vulnerable children

This paper reports on the findings from a systematic review of parenting interventions used by social workers to support vulnerable children in the United Kingdom. The study focused on children from birth to 11 years and 11 months based on Munro's rationale for early intervention. From the 423 papers initially identified, twelve met the inclusion criteria for this review. Four common themes were identified: developing relationships, the effectiveness of parenting interventions, societal impact on families and health and psychological concerns. The importance of effective relationships between parents and social workers was identified as key to effective parental interventions but there was limited evidence of improved outcomes for children despite this. A common factor in the studies was the level of parental deprivation which in many cases was associated with a range of mental health issues frequently seen in association with drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence. The review identified a number of successful outcomes across a range of parenting interventions. However, what was surprising was the limited input from the children themselves within this review. Applying our findings to practice, the authors recommend a number of ways to contribute to the development of parenting interventions.

Impact of Social Media Coverage of Taliban's Takeover on the Mental Health of Afghan Scholars in Pakistan

Taliban re-controlled Afghanistan on August 15 2021, for the second time in its history. This rapid takeover left immense effects on the lives of Afghans globally. It also affected the economy, politics and routine affairs of the country. Some of the Afghans lost their lives while others lost their jobs. Using thematic analysis, the current study probes the frequency and priority of social media use for information about the Taliban takeover (TTO). This study majorly investigates the effects of social media's coverage of the TTO on the mental of Afghan scholars in Pakistan. The findings of the study show that the majority of respondents spend 3.7 hrs on social media sites daily. They spent more time on social media during the TTO than on normal days, resulting in a range of mental health issues. However, the majority of them rely on Facebook as the primary source of information, followed by Twitter and YouTube.

Evidence on Digital Mental Health Interventions for Adolescents and Young People: Systematic Overview.

BackgroundAn estimated 1 in 5 adolescents experience a mental health disorder each year; yet because of barriers to accessing and seeking care, most remain undiagnosed and untreated. Furthermore, the early emergence of psychopathology contributes to a lifelong course of challenges across a broad set of functional domains, so addressing this early in the life course is essential. With increasing digital connectivity, including in low- and middle-income countries, digital health technologies are considered promising for addressing mental health among adolescents and young people. In recent years, a growing number of digital health interventions, including more than 2 million web-based mental health apps, have been developed to address a range of mental health issues.ObjectiveThis review aims to synthesize the current evidence on digital health interventions targeting adolescents and young people with mental health conditions, aged between 10-24 years, with a focus on effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and generalizability to low-resource settings (eg, low- and middle-income countries).MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, and Cochrane databases between January 2010 and June 2020 for systematic reviews and meta-analyses on digital mental health interventions targeting adolescents and young people aged between 10-24 years. Two authors independently screened the studies, extracted data, and assessed the quality of the reviews.ResultsIn this systematic overview, we included 18 systematic reviews and meta-analyses. We found evidence on the effectiveness of computerized cognitive behavioral therapy on anxiety and depression, whereas the effectiveness of other digital mental health interventions remains inconclusive. Interventions with an in-person element with a professional, peer, or parent were associated with greater effectiveness, adherence, and lower dropout than fully automatized or self-administered interventions. Despite the proposed utility of digital interventions for increasing accessibility of treatment across settings, no study has reported sample-specific metrics of social context (eg, socioeconomic background) or focused on low-resource settings.ConclusionsAlthough digital interventions for mental health can be effective for both supplementing and supplanting traditional mental health treatment, only a small proportion of existing digital platforms are evidence based. Furthermore, their cost-effectiveness and effectiveness, including in low- and middle-income countries, have been understudied. Widespread adoption and scale-up of digital mental health interventions, especially in settings with limited resources for health, will require more rigorous and consistent demonstrations of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness vis-à-vis the type of service provided, target population, and the current standard of care.

New Innovations Needed to Address Psychotropic Medication Use in Foster Care

The number of children in foster care has grown by 10.6 percent in the last five years to nearly 443,000 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2019). Research has shown that foster youths (FY) have short- and long-term adverse health effects (Nguyen, 2014) including a range of mental health issues (Raghavan, Inoue, Ettner, Hamilton, & Landsverk, 2010). Up to 67 percent of FY had some type of mental health disorder, including 23 percent with major depression, 28 percent with conduct disorder, and 8 percent with posttraumatic stress disorder (Bronsard et al., 2016). Unfortunately, only about half of these FY receive care and services meeting any type of national standard (Raghavan et al., 2010). One particular area of concern is the use of psychotropic medications (PMs) to address mental health issues among FY (Government Accountability Office [GAO], 2017)....