Traditional Health Services Research Articles

Digital cognitive behavioural psychoeducation as a free, mass intervention that can involve all school psychologists offi ces in Poland

The article presents the possibility of implementation of digital cognitive behavioural psychoeducation as a mass, free intervention in Polish schools. The author describes the iFightDepression tool which was implemented as part of the EAAD-Best.eu project, funded by the European Commission. This tool can involve a lot of users, increase access to treatment and reach people who are reluctant to use traditional mental health services. iFightDepression is based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and has been clinically tested to show positive antidepressant effects. The author draws attention to the possibility of using the tool as an element of prevention in school psychological and pedagogical offices, which may contribute to reducing mental health crises in Polish schools.

Efficacy of digital cognitive behavior therapy intervention on adults enrolled in mental wellness care program on Mfine Application

The 2020 pandemic witnessed a surge in mental health cases in India which undoubtedly paved the way for mass adherence of digital health and digital mental health services. Traditional mental health services have issues of scalability, accessibility, stigma & cost effectiveness, and this can be resolved by digitizing these services. Since CBT is an evidence based therapeutic intervention validated by several research in the past, the current study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a Digital Cognitive Behavior Therapy (dCBT) intervention delivered via Mfine application, on adults, using Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS21) before and after the intervention. For this purpose, a total of 150 adults who enrolled in the Mfine mental wellness program, from a time period of February 2021-September 2022 were selected. Data was collected via Mfine App. on video call by Rehabilitation Council of India certified clinical psychologists. 5 structured, 1-hour cognitive behavior therapy sessions were provided over a period of 2 months with an additional extension of 1 month for missed sessions, spaced between a gap of 10 days. Pre and post assessment scores were statistically analyzed using SPSS version 20 for all the completers in the program (N=95). The results proved that the dCBT intervention was significantly effective in improving mental health outcomes in adults (p=.000 ). Our study holds the potential to support the development of evidence-based digital mental health interventions and address the barriers of scalability and stigma in mental health services.

Urban American Indian Experiences Living with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

This qualitative interpretive study aimed to describe the experiences of 13 American Indians living in urban settings and their use of traditional healing and biomedical health services for type 2 diabetes. Urban American Indian adults living in the United States who used traditional healing and biomedical health services for type 2 diabetes were recruited for the study through purposive sampling, including snowball sampling. Thirteen participants completed semi-structured interviews. Participants reported positive experiences and barriers to traditional healing and Western biomedical services. They also discussed feelings of disorientation when diagnosed at a young age with type 2 diabetes but self-empowerment as an adult. Participants felt disconnected from their tribal community and identified inaccessibility and lack of communication as barriers to using traditional healing practices. Participants noted access and convenience to biomedicine as a reason to use it and the services provided within the system. They also identified barriers to biomedicine, such as short consultation time, costs, and lack of rapport or communication. Implications for positive social change include improving awareness and understanding of healthcare providers and educators regarding urban American Indian populations’ health needs and being able to implement better-informed health programs for them.

Perspective of the Baduy Community in Utilizing Health Services

A good health service system is an important part of improving health status and is a necessity for everyone. This system will enable the achievement of health development goals in an efficient, efficient, and targeted manner, and will provide effective health services by taking into account the values that exist in society. Sick community most often self-medicate, both in urban and rural areas. The Baduy community are famous for maintaining their unique traditions and lifestyle and avoiding the effects of modernization. They live simply and respect nature. They shun other community and strictly adhere to their customs. They oppose government policies to provide facilities to other parties, such as building education and health centers. As a result, community there use more traditional health services such as dukun and paraji according to their religious beliefs. This activity was carried out through direct observation and interviews with the Baduy community in Kanekes Village, Leuwidamar Sub-district, Lebak Regency, Banten Province. The purpose of this activity was to see how the perspective of the Baduy community in the utilization of health services. From the results of observations and interviews, it can be concluded that the Baduy community, especially the Baduy Dalam, get more health services through traditional medicine, but if they need more intensive care, there is the Cisimeut health center, which is the only community health center in Baduy that allows the Baduy community to get adequate medical care. need medical personnel. However, access to the community health center takes two to three hours.

Juntos hacemos la diferencia [together we make the difference]: A network analysis of Latinx caregivers' use of youth support services.

Latinx families face unique barriers to accessing traditional youth mental health services and may instead rely on a wide range of supports to meet youth emotional or behavioral concerns. Previous studies have typically focused on patterns of utilization for discrete services, classified by setting, specialization, or level of care (e.g., specialty outpatient, inpatient, informal supports), yet little is known about how youth support services might be accessed in tandem. This analysis used data from the Pathways to Latinx Mental Health study - a national sample of Latinx caregivers (N = 598) from across the United States collected at the start of the coronavirus pandemic (i.e., May-June 2020) - to describe the broad network of available supports that are used by Latinx caregivers. Using exploratory network analysis, we found that the use of youth psychological counseling, telepsychology, and online support groups was highly influential on support service utilization in the broader network. Specifically, Latinx caregivers who used one or more of these services for their child were more likely to report utilizing other related sources of support. We also identified five support clusters within the larger network that were interconnected through specific sources of support (i.e., outpatient counseling, crisis, religious, informal, and non-specialty). Findings offer a foundational look at the complex system of youth supports available to Latinx caregivers, highlighting areas for future study, opportunities to advance the implementation of evidence-based interventions, and channels through which to disseminate information about available services.

REGULATION OF LEGAL NORMS TO PROVIDE LEGAL PROTECTION OF THE TRADITIONAL HEALERS BASED ON SUPERNATURAL AND RELIGIOUS APPROACHES

Traditional health services refer to Law Number 36 of 2009 concerning Health, carried out by people who carry out the profession as traditional healers. Several traditional health service methods are supernatural methods and religious approach methods. The two traditional health service methods are included in the empirical traditional health service method in Minister of Health Regulation No. 61 of 2016. However, religious services have not received full recognition because they are not in accordance with the principles of medical science, but in life, this approach is valid and proven. This study aims to find out how the ideal form of legal regulation is to protect the traditional medicine profession based on the supernatural and religion. This research is a normative legal research using statutory approaches, philosophical approaches, conceptual approaches and comparative approaches. The analysis technique uses legal theories as a knife of analysis, including the theory of Legal Protection, Justice Theory, Receptio in Complexu theory, Legal Certainty Theory and legislation theory. The results of the study show that traditional healing using supernatural methods and a religious approach is a form of local wisdom that already exists, and grows and develops in society, as human beings who have God and culture who have relationships and beliefs. The importance of regulation and legal protection for traditional healers is needed as an effort to make people healthy according to the mandate of the constitution and the right of the people to get health and the traditional healer profession gets full recognition and legal certainty as a traditional healer profession, by providing legal protection, the concept of regulation must be prepared in the form of legislation such as the Health Law, to be able to participate in Health and preserve the nation’s culture.

Towards implementation of context-specific integrated district mental healthcare plans: A situation analysis of mental health services in five districts in Ghana.

Access to quality mental health services in Ghana remains poor, yet little is known about the extent of the access gaps and provision of mental health services at the district level in Ghana. We aimed to conduct an analysis of mental health infrastructure and service provision in five districts in Ghana. A cross-sectional situation analysis was conducted using a standardised tool to collect secondary healthcare data, supplemented by interviews with key informants, across five purposively selected districts in Ghana. The Programme for Improving Mental Health Care (PRIME) situation analysis tool was adapted to the Ghanaian context and used for data collection. The districts are predominantly rural (>60%). There were severe challenges with the provision of mental healthcare: there were no mental healthcare plans, supervision of the few mental health professionals was weak and unstructured, access to regular supplies of psychotropic medications was a major challenge, and psychological treatments were extremely limited given the lack of trained clinical psychologists. There were no available data on treatment coverage, but we estimate this to be <1% for depression, schizophrenia, and epilepsy across districts. Opportunities for mental health systems strengthening include: the commitment and willingness of leadership, the existence of the District Health Information Management System, a well-established network of community volunteers, and some collaboration with traditional and faith-based mental health service providers. There is poor mental health infrastructure across the five selected districts of Ghana. There are opportunities for strengthening mental health systems through interventions at the district healthcare organisation, health facility, and community levels. A standardised situation analysis tool is useful for informing district-level mental healthcare planning in low-resource settings in Ghana and potentially other sub-Saharan African countries.

Biofeedback-Based Videogames: Fostering Emotion Regulation at a Diverse Community Summer Camp.

Implementing nonstigmatized mental health interventions and tools within community programs serving diverse populations may reduce inequities in access to mental health care and preventative emotional learning. One potentially impactful tool is Mightier, a heart rate biofeedback-based videogame that aims to foster emotion regulation skills and practice through game play. In a randomized controlled trial, the present study evaluated the efficacy of Mightier when utilized in a community setting. Seventy-two children (ages 7-12) from a low-cost community summer camp were randomly assigned to play Mightier for 6 weeks or continue camp activities as usual. All campers participated in biweekly social and emotional learning groups. Participants exhibited significantly greater levels of adaptive emotion regulation and lower levels of emotional dysregulation, internalizing symptoms, and externalizing behaviors after the intervention. Caregivers of participants in the intervention group also reported significantly less parenting-related stress after the intervention. When incorporated into community programs, biofeedback-based videogames can foster emotional intelligence competencies in children without access to traditional mental health services.

Changes in digital healthcare search behavior during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic: A study of six English-speaking countries

Public interest is an important component influencing the likelihood of successfully implementing digital healthcare. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic allowed us to assess how public interest in digital health changed in response to disruptions in traditional health services. In this study, we used a difference-in-differences approach to determine how digital healthcare search behavior shifted during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the same period in 2019 across six English-speaking countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland. In most cases, we observed that the official declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic on 11 March 2020 was associated with a significant overall increase in the volume of digital healthcare searches. We also found notable heterogeneity between countries in terms of the keywords that were used to search for digital healthcare, which could be explained by linguistic differences across countries or the different national digital health landscapes. Since online searches could be an initial step in the pathway to accessing health services, future studies should investigate under what circumstances increased public interest translates into demand for and utilization of digital healthcare.

Weight Loss in a Digital Diabetes Prevention Program for People in Health Professional Shortage and Rural Areas.

Individuals with prediabetes living in hard-to-reach and underserved areas experience barriers to accessing traditional in-person preventive health services. The National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) is a preventive health care program designed to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Although there have been increasing numbers of remote DPPs accessible, there are little data on the clinical outcomes of digital DPPs for members living in hard-to-reach and underserved areas. This study assessed whether living in a designated Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) and a rural versus urban area impacted the weight loss of N = 7266 members of a fully digital program called Lark DPP. Secondary analyses included between-group comparisons of program retention and member characteristics, demographics, and socioeconomics. Percent weight loss did not differ by HPSA (P = 0.16) or rural/urban status (P = 0.15), despite greater potential barriers for members residing in HPSAs (eg, highest starting body mass index, lowest income, lowest education). Mean percent weight loss for members residing in an HPSA and rural area was mean (M) = 4.75%, standard error (SE) = 0.09; for members in a non-HPSA, rural area M = 4.96%, SE = 0.16; for members in an HPSA, urban area M = 4.55%, SE = 0.13; and for members in a non-HPSA, urban area M = 4.77%, SE = 0.13. Members of a fully digital DPP achieved weight loss that did not differ by HPSA or urban/rural designation. Fully digital programs offer a solution to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes in areas where residents may not otherwise have access to diabetes prevention services.

The roles of ERIANIN in tumor and innate immunity and its' perspectives in immunotherapy.

Traditional Chinese medicine has been used in China for thousands of years. In 2022, the 14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine was released, aiming to enhance traditional Chinese medicine health services and improve policies and systems for high-quality traditional Chinese medicinal development by 2025. ERIANIN, the main component of the traditional Chinese medicine Dendrobium, plays an important role in anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antitumor, antiangiogenic, and other pharmacological effects. ERIANIN has broad-spectrum antitumor effects, and its tumor-suppressive effects have been confirmed in the study of various diseases, such as precancerous lesions of the stomach, gastric cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, osteosarcoma, colorectal cancer, leukaemia, nasopharyngeal cancer and melanoma through the multiple signaling pathways. Thus, the aim of this review was to systematically summarise the research on ERIANIN with the aim of serving as a reference for future research on this compound and briefly discuss some future perspectives development of ERIANIN in combined immunotherapy.

"It's Taboo to Talk About It": Korean American Clergy Members' Views of Mental Health.

Korean Americans are more likely to seek guidance from church leaders than to use traditional mental health services. Through semistructured key informant interviews with 16 Christian clergy members serving later-generation Korean Americans, the authors explored clergy members' perceptions of the mental health needs of their congregants. Insights from the study suggested that communication and collaboration between mental health professionals and church leaders may be helpful in addressing the Korean American community's emotional and mental health needs.

Upaya Peningkatan Stamina Melalui Therapi Akupressure Pada Pasangan Usia Subur (PUS) Di Desa Kungkai Baru Seluma

Acupressure is a type/method of health care that is carried out through pressure techniques on the body's surface on acupuncture points using fingers, or other body parts, or blunt-tipped devices for health purposes (Ministry of Health, 2021). The acupressure method prioritizes promotive and preventive. Acupressure is a form of traditional health service by stimulating certain points by pressing on the surface of the body using fingers or blunt objects for fitness purposes or to help overcome health problems. Couples of childbearing age are couples who are at a productive age. such as pregnancy, childbirth etc. Acupressure in fertile couples is very useful to increase stamina so that it can improve the health of the PUS, the increase in the health of the PUS will have an impact on the reproductive health of the PUS itself.

Intergenerational Deliberations for Long Term Sustainability

Grŵp Cynefin, a social housing association in North Wales, United Kingdom (UK) with other partner organisations, had a vision to create a community Hub in the Nantlle Valley to strengthen and support the health and well-being of the local community through the provision of a range of traditional and preventative services. Social prescribing (SP), which is a non-medical support using community assets, would be a part of this new innovative Hub. SP activities would be co-designed and co-produced by current community members. Drawing on the principles of citizens’ assembly deliberations and Future Design, four focus groups (n = 16) were conducted to develop sustainable strategies for SP activities as part of the proposed Hub. Deliberations on the perspectives of future generations were considered along with current community needs. Findings from the focus groups imply that current members of society are open to the concept of taking an inter-generational approach when designing SP activities to address the social and economic needs of the community along with integration of traditional and preventative community health services. Deliberations highlighted that the proposed Hub could strengthen communities and support community health and well-being, by providing a place to socialise and acting as a single point of access for community services, which could promote social cohesion in line with the Well-being for Future Generations (Wales) Act. Applying a long-term thinking approach to citizens’ assembly deliberation design offers a voice to the interests of future generations, providing inter-generational equity.

Patient perceptions of trauma-focused telemental health services using the Telehealth Satisfaction Questionnaire (TSQ).

Telehealth services can address many barriers to traditional office-based mental health services. Few studies have assessed youth and caregiver perceptions of and satisfaction with trauma-focused interventions delivered via telemental health. The present study reports data collected using the Telehealth Satisfaction Questionnaire (TSQ), which was developed to measure child and caregiver satisfaction with services, comfort with the telehealth equipment, and barriers to traditional office-based services. Thirteen clinicians delivered home- and school-based Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) via videoconferencing on tablets and computers to 60 child patients (71.7% Latinx, 18.3% Black, and 10.0% non-Hispanic White). Patients and caregivers completed the TSQ at treatment discharge via telephone, videoconferencing, or in-person interviews. There was a high level of satisfaction among patients and caregivers receiving TF-CBT via telemental health. Furthermore, most youth and caregivers felt comfortable using the telehealth equipment from the outset of therapy, and all participants who were not initially comfortable using the equipment reported feeling more comfortable over time. The most common barriers to traditional office-based services were caregiver work schedule (57.7%), distance to mental health clinic (55.8%), and lack of transportation (44.2%). Patients and caregivers expressed a preference for telemental health services if given the option between receiving therapy via videoconferencing versus going to an office-based clinic. Findings indicated telemental health treatment addressed barriers that would have otherwise prevented families from accessing office-based services. The TSQ can be used to help clinics and providers assess patient and caregiver satisfaction with telehealth services in various settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Digital Health-Seeking Behavior: Big Data Interrupted Time-Series Analysis of Google Trends.

Due to the emergency responses early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of digital health in health care increased abruptly. However, it remains unclear whether this introduction was sustained in the long term, especially with patients being able to decide between digital and traditional health services once the latter regained their functionality throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to understand how the public interest in digital health changed as proxy for digital health-seeking behavior and to what extent this change was sustainable over time. We used an interrupted time-series analysis of Google Trends data with break points on March 11, 2020 (declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic by the World Health Organization), and December 20, 2020 (the announcement of the first COVID-19 vaccines). Nationally representative time-series data from February 2019 to August 2021 were extracted from Google Trends for 6 countries with English as their dominant language: Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland. We measured the changes in relative search volumes of the keywords online doctor, telehealth, online health, telemedicine, and health app. In doing so, we capture the prepandemic trend, the immediate change due to the announcement of COVID-19 being a pandemic, and the gradual change after the announcement. Digital health search volumes immediately increased in all countries under study after the announcement of COVID-19 being a pandemic. There was some variation in what keywords were used per country. However, searches declined after this immediate spike, sometimes reverting to prepandemic levels. The announcement of COVID-19 vaccines did not consistently impact digital health search volumes in the countries under study. The exception is the search volume of health app, which was observed as either being stable or gradually increasing during the pandemic. Our findings suggest that the increased public interest in digital health associated with the pandemic did not sustain, alluding to remaining structural barriers. Further building of digital health capacity and developing robust digital health governance frameworks remain crucial to facilitating sustainable digital health transformation.

URBAN-RURAL DISPARITIES IN TRADITIONAL HEALTH SERVICE USE IN INDONESIA: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

The government encourages increasing traditional health service use in Indonesia. Meanwhile, urban-rural disparities still exist in modern health services in Indonesia. This study analyzes the urban-rural differences in traditional health service use in Indonesia. The study employed the 2018 Indonesian Basic Health Survey data. We examined 629,370 respondents for this cross-sectional study. The study examined age, gender, marital status, education, occupation, and wealth as control factors in addition to residence type and traditional health service use. The study used binary logistic regression to evaluate the data. The result shows that those who live in urban areas can be 1.051 higher than those in rural areas to use traditional health services (95% CI 1.039-1.063). All age groups are more likely to use traditional health services than the ≤ 25. Females are 1.064 more likely to use conventional health services (95% CI 1.051-1.076). All marital statuses are more likely than “never in union” to use traditional health services. The higher the education level, the higher the use of traditional health services. All categories are more likely than no work to use traditional health services. The better the wealth status, the higher the possibility of using conventional health services. The study concluded that urban-rural disparities existed in traditional health service use in Indonesia. The novelty and scientific contribution of the study was the urban-rural differences in traditional health service use. Previous studies rarely disclose information about it. Keywords: Traditional Health Services, Urban-Rural Disparities, Conventional Health Service DOI： https://doi.org/10.35741/issn.0258-2724.58.3.32

Providers' Competencies and Management Practices for Traditional Palliative Cancer Care Service Delivery in Kenya.

Many people in developing countries are struggling with chronic diseases yet traditional health services remain under-utilized in the quest for universal health care. Thousands patronize these outlets for care yet little is known about provider's competence and how these competencies inform palliative care decisions and practices. The study documented traditional health practitioners (THPs) competencies and practices for traditional palliative cancer care service delivery in Kenya. This study utilized mixed-methods design and was undertaken in major towns across Kenya. A total of 201 Traditional health practitioners were purposely sampled, and interviewed. Five in-depth interviews and 6 focus group discussions were conducted. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSSv22 while thematic and discourse analysis was carried out for qualitative data. Majority (92.7%) of the THPs provided general traditional health services. Nearly half of the respondents (47.7%, n = 92) stated that they had received their knowledge and abilities through divine gifting, 71 (36.8%) lineage, 61 (31.6%) apprenticeship, and 39 (20.2%) formal study. Palliative care was determined by patient state and followed consultation with caregivers for 165 (85.5%) of respondents. For 160 respondents (83%), management practices involved a mix of patient examination, conventional medical tests, herbal medicine administration, follow-up or referral. Positive feedback consisted of symptom reduction and function recovery. Core competencies identified include: knowledge acquisition and specialization, assessment, diagnosis and disclosure, decision making, treatment, follow-up, and referral. Traditional palliative care providers share common health-related beliefs, practices and abilities that influence how they approach and make decisions regarding the health management of their patients, despite marked ethnic diversity. The shared pathways offer a chance to develop a cogent traditional palliative care service delivery model and health policy framework to promote its integration within the health workforce. The leading unmet requirements are knowledge of intellectual property rights, disclosure frameworks, and ethical regulation principles.

The Role of Chatbots in Mental Health Interventions: User Experiences

This study aims to explore the user experiences of individuals interacting with mental health chatbots, identifying key themes related to engagement, efficacy, satisfaction, barriers, and potential improvements. The objective is to inform the design and implementation of chatbot interventions to better meet the needs of users seeking mental health support. A qualitative research design was employed, utilizing semi-structured interviews with 22 participants who have used mental health chatbots. Thematic analysis was conducted to extract major and minor themes from the transcribed interviews, focusing on the aspects of user interaction, perceived benefits, and areas for enhancement in chatbot functionality. Five major themes were identified: User Engagement and Interaction, Perceived Efficacy, User Satisfaction and Trust, Barriers and Limitations, and Future Directions and Improvements. These encompassed various categories such as ease of use, personalization, emotional support, privacy concerns, technological issues, and suggestions for advanced AI and better integration with professional care. Participants valued chatbots for their accessibility and personalized support but highlighted the need for improvements in emotional understanding and technical reliability. Mental health chatbots are a promising tool for supporting individuals with their mental health needs, offering benefits in terms of engagement, personalized support, and perceived efficacy. However, addressing identified barriers such as technological limitations and emotional disconnect is crucial for enhancing user satisfaction and trust. Future developments should focus on incorporating advanced AI technologies, ensuring user privacy, and integrating chatbots more closely with traditional mental health services.

Factors Associated with the Use of Traditional Health Services in Indonesia: A Secondary Analysis of the Indonesian Basic Health Research

Factors Associated with the Use of Traditional Health Services in Indonesia: A Secondary Analysis of the Indonesian Basic Health Research