Psychophysiological and Psychosocial Profile of Patients Attending Drug Addiction Centers

AbstractDrug treatment centres provide the highest level of rehab services for patients diagnosed with drug addictions. Most inpatient drug rehab programs focus on medical detox and mental health interventions. However, how to optimize the later remains a challenge. The aim of this study was to examine the psychophysiological and psychosocial profile of patients attending drug addiction centres in comparation with the general population. A total of 105 inpatient drug rehab patients and 50 participants from the general population were compared based on standardized psychophysiological and psychosocial measures. Results of this study suggest that patients attending drug addiction centers differ from general population in several different psychophysiological and psychosocial factors. Patients reported significantly lower levels of physical activity and increased sympathetic responsiveness, and significantly higher levels in loneliness, psychologically inflexibility and neuroticism. The results of this study highlight the importance of address healthy lifestyle behaviors such as sport practice and psychological variables such as loneliness, psychological (in)flexibility and neuroticism to improve current programs aim to prevent or reduce problematic drug consumptions.

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The need for accessible mental health interventions for young adults in the COVID-19 pandemic: A student psychologists’ perspective and rapid systematic review

10.31234/osf.io/fw78q ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Dilan Hulaj ◽

Sophie Antesberger ◽

Tabea Blum ◽

Raffaela Böswald ◽

Hannah M. Brandl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Young Adults ◽

General Population ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Severe Disease ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Medium Effect ◽

Web Based ◽

Mental Health Interventions

Importance: Although young adults are on average less affected by the physical consequences of COVID-19 infections, showing less severe disease progression and lower mortality risk, they suffer strongly from the mental health impact of the pandemic.Objective: We, a group of psychology students experiencing these impacts, aim to provide an overview of the existing literature on prevention and intervention efforts to effectively reduce the development of, or suffering from, mental health problems in young adults (18-35) during the COVID-19 pandemic.Evidence Review: A rapid systematic review was conducted to identify studies focusing on the implementation of mental health interventions for young adults of the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Literature was searched with Pubmed and Web of Science on June 17, 2021. The quality of each study was assessed by two reviewers with the Standard Quality Assessment Criteria for Evaluating Primary Research Papers.Findings: Of N = 76 records initially screened, eight studies met the inclusion criteria. Six applied web-based interventions, of which four were randomized controlled trials. Interventions were based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy approaches (n = 5), mindfulness practices, logo-autobiography, and synergistic thinking methods. The interventions varied in length from single sessions to multiple sessions over a period of up to 10 weeks. All interventions were effective in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms, as well as stress with small to medium effect sizes and a symptom reduction up to 78.9%. With only three studies being of high quality, the overall quality was low.Conclusions and Relevance: Research on mental health interventions for young adults in the general population during the pandemic is sparse. However, all interventions resulted in symptoms reductions and thus have been shown to be effective ways of counteracting the potential development of mental disorders during times of uncertainty, with high levels of stress, such as during a pandemic. Therefore, we propose a concept for an innovative and cost-effective web-based platform to structure and raise awareness for existing measures.

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Physical and psychiatric co-morbidity

Oxford Textbook of Public Mental Health ◽

10.1093/med/9780198792994.003.0031 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 273-280

Author(s):

Niels Okkels ◽

Christina Blanner Kristiansen ◽

Povl Munk-Jørgensen

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Psychiatric Patients ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Holistic Approach ◽

Healthcare Systems ◽

Modern Medicine ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Co Morbidity ◽

High Prevalence ◽

Mental Health Interventions

This chapter explains the concept of co-morbidity and why it is important. The high prevalence of physical illness in psychiatric patients contributes to an increased mortality compared with the general population, particularly from diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The management of patients with co-morbidities is a great challenge to modern medicine: our healthcare systems are fragmented by specialization, clinical trials exclude patients with co-morbidities, and health professionals lack training in common issues related to co-morbidity, such as polypharmacy. To overcome the mortality gap between psychiatric patients and the general population we must rethink our healthcare systems, medical education, and public mental health interventions. To help patients with co-morbid illnesses, we must have a holistic approach that includes the patients’ needs and goals in a collaborative effort across health professions.

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A scoping review of patient-facing, behavioral health interventions with voice assistant technology targeting self-management and healthy lifestyle behaviors

Translational Behavioral Medicine ◽

10.1093/tbm/ibz141 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 606-628 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Emre Sezgin ◽

Lisa K Militello ◽

Yungui Huang ◽

Simon Lin

Keyword(s):

Behavioral Health ◽

Scoping Review ◽

User Satisfaction ◽

Health Research ◽

Healthy Lifestyle ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Self Management ◽

Lifestyle Behaviors ◽

Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors ◽

Behavioral Health Research

Abstract Engaging in positive healthy lifestyle behaviors continues to be a public health challenge, requiring innovative solutions. As the market for voice assistants (Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri) grows and people increasingly use them to assist their daily tasks, there is a pressing need to explore how voice assistant (VA) technology may be used in behavioral health interventions. A scoping review of literature was conducted to address a PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome) question: across populations, how does the use of voice assistants in behavioral health research/interventions influence healthy lifestyle behaviors versus control or comparison interventions? To inform the science, a secondary aim of this review was to explore characteristics of VAs used in behavioral health research. The review was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines with scoping review extension (PRISMA-ScR). Ten studies satisfied the inclusion criteria, representing research published through February 2019. Studies spanned pediatric to elderly populations, covering a vast array of self-management and healthy lifestyle behaviors. The majority of interventions were multicomponent, involving more than one of the following behavior change techniques grouped by cluster: shaping knowledge, self-belief, repetition and substitution, feedback and monitoring, goals and planning, antecedents, natural consequences, comparison of behavior, and identification. However, most studies were in early stages of development, with limited efficacy trials. VA technology continues to evolve and support behavioral interventions using various platforms (e.g., Interactive Voice Response [IVR] systems, smartphones, and smart speakers) which are used alone or in conjunction with other platforms. Feasibility, usability, preliminary efficacy, along with high user satisfaction of research adapted VAs, in contrast to standalone commercially available VAs, suggest a role for VAs in behavioral health intervention research.

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The impact of a Stress Control course delivered in partnership with a sports organisation on mental health outcomes in a general population

The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist ◽

10.1017/s1754470x20000380 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 ◽

Author(s):

Jennifer Hayes ◽

Rosarie Crowley ◽

Yvonne O’Brien ◽

Geraldine Hannon ◽

Emma Hennessey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

General Population ◽

Focus Group ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Large Scale ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Stress Control ◽

Mental Health Interventions ◽

The Impact

Abstract Mental health problems have a significant impact globally in terms of social and economic costs. Increasing access to and uptake of mental health interventions (particularly by men) remains a challenge for service providers. The current study sought to examine the efficacy of a delivering a Stress Control intervention in partnership with a community sporting organisation (the Gaelic Athletic Assocaition, GAA) in ameliorating mental health difficulties in a general population. Measures of anxiety, depression and quality of life were administered before and after the delivery of the 6-week programme. A focus group was conducted afterwards to gather qualitative data on participants’ experiences of the intervention. Statistically significant decreases in depression scores were found following attendance at the course: t (94) = 3.14, p = .002, with a large effect size (0.5) (n = 95). There was an increase in the number of male attendees compared with clinic-based courses. Thematic analysis of the focus group data revealed a number of key themes including increased accessibility in terms of the scale and context of the delivery of the course. Delivering large-scale psychoeducational courses like Stress Control in partnership with the GAA represents a promising avenue for increasing access (for males in particular) to an effective intervention for improving mental health outcomes Key learning aims (1) To gain an understanding of the impact of delivering a large-scale psychological intervention in partnership with a community sports organisation on accessibility and stigma reduction for participants. (2) To become aware of the potential benefits of considering non-clinic-based locations in running public mental health interventions. (3) To understand the key role of the normalisation of the experience of common mental health problems and the impact on intervention uptake.

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