Mental Health Outcomes of Unaccompanied Refugee Minors: a Rapid Review of Recent Research

Abstract Purpose To examine mental health outcomes of unaccompanied refugee minors during global policy shift. Additionally, to consider mental health service delivery and placement type for this group. Methods A rapid systematic search of research published since 2018 which related to mental health outcomes of unaccompanied refugee minors. Data extracted, risk of bias assessed and outcomes reviewed qualitatively. Research Findings We found 181 papers, of which 14 met inclusion criteria. This review found consistently high levels of PTSD and PTSS among URMs in various contexts. Exposure to trauma, being unaccompanied (compared to accompanied), being female and being older are associated with poor outcomes. Depression and anxiety were consistently high among URMs and associated with discrimination, limited language attainment and daily hassles. Summary High rates of mental illness and symptoms among unaccompanied refugee minors were consistent across national and settlement contexts but the quality of the evidence is variable with significant heterogeneity of assessment. We relate persistence of poor mental health outcomes with problems accessing mental health services and discuss the role of key post-migration factors influencing outcomes—in particular placement type and the use of detention centres.

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Financial stress and mental health among higher education students in the UK up to 2018: rapid review of evidence

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health ◽

10.1136/jech-2019-212154 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 73 (10) ◽

pp. 977-984 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Tayla McCloud ◽

David Bann

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Higher Education ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Financial Stress ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Rapid Review ◽

Education Students ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Uk

IntroductionIn the United Kingdom and many other countries, debt accrued during higher education has increased substantially in recent decades. The prevalence of common mental health problems has also increased alongside these changes. However, it is as yet unclear whether there is an association between financial stress and mental health among higher education students.MethodsWe conducted a rapid review of the peer-reviewed scientific literature. Eligible studies were English-language publications testing the association between any indicator of financial stress and mental health among higher education students in the UK. Papers were located through a systematic search of PsychINFO, PubMed and Embase up to November 2018.ResultsThe search strategy yielded 1272 studies—9 met the inclusion criteria. A further two were identified through hand-searching. The median sample size was 408. Only three of seven studies found an association between higher debt and worse mental health. There was a consistent cross-sectional relationship between worse mental health and both experience of financial difficulties (seven of seven studies) and debt worry/financial concern (four of five studies), though longitudinal evidence was mixed and limited to six studies.ConclusionAmong higher education students in the UK, there is little evidence that the amount of debt is associated with mental health. However, more subjective measures of increased financial stress were more consistently associated with worse mental health outcomes. Nevertheless, the identified evidence was judged to be weak; further research is required to examine whether links between financial stress and mental health outcomes are robust and causal in nature.

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Time out of cell and time in purposeful activity and adverse mental health outcomes amongst people in prison: a literature review

International Journal of Prisoner Health ◽

10.1108/ijph-06-2020-0037 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Thomas Stephenson ◽

Jane Leaman ◽

Éamonn O’Moore ◽

Anh Tran ◽

Emma Plugge

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Literature Review ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Significant Heterogeneity ◽

Indirect Measure ◽

Content Type ◽

Time Out ◽

The Impact ◽

Purposeful Activity

Purpose The purpose of this study is to synthesise the available peer-reviewed literature on the impact of time out of cell (TOOC) and time in purposeful activity (TIPA) on adverse mental outcomes amongst people in prison. Design/methodology/approach The outcomes of interest of this literature review were mental health, suicide, deliberate self-harm (DSH) and violence. Exposures of interest were TOOC, TIPA or a partial or indirect measure of either. In total, 14 studies were included. An abbreviated review methodology was used because of time constraints. Findings There was consistent evidence of an association between lower TOOC and TIPA and worse mental health and higher suicide risk. Limited evidence suggests a link between TOOC and DSH. No evidence was identified regarding the relationship between TOOC/TIPA and violence. Research limitations/implications A lack of longitudinal studies prevents conclusions regarding causality. Significant heterogeneity of mental health outcomes limits the comparability of studies. Practical implications These findings highlight the importance of considering the impact of TOOC and TIPA on adverse mental outcomes for prisoners when designing prison regimes, including during urgent adaptation of such regimes in response to Covid-19. They are likely to be of interest to practitioners and policymakers concerned with prison regime design. Originality/value This paper is the first to synthesise the existing literature on the impact of TOOC and TIPA on mental health outcomes.

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Mental health of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and evidence-based frameworks for mitigation: A rapid review

10.1101/2021.01.03.21249166 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ajay Major ◽

Fay J Hlubocky

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Health Care ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Rapid Review ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Care Workers ◽

Pubmed Database

Background: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the mental health of health care workers (HCWs), and optimal strategies to provide psychological support for HCWs are not currently established. Aims: To rapidly review recently-published literature on the mental health of HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Query of all quantitative research through the PubMed database on the mental health of HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic which utilized validated mental health instruments. 723 articles were screened and 87 articles were included. Results: Nearly all included studies were cross-sectional, survey-based assessments of the prevalence of and risk factors for mental illness. Only one interventional study was identified. Prevalence of mental health outcomes varied widely: 7.0-97.3% anxiety, 10.6-62.1% depression, 2.2-93.8% stress, 3.8-56.6% post traumatic stress, 8.3-88.4% insomnia, and 21.8-46.3% burnout. Risk and protective factors were identified in personal and professional domains, including degree of COVID-19 exposure, adequacy of protective equipment, and perception of organizational support. Conclusions: The myriad risk factors for poor mental health among HCWs suggests that a comprehensive psychosocial support model with individual- and organization-level interventions is necessary. Further longitudinal research on specific evidence-based interventions to mitigate adverse mental health outcomes among HCWs is urgently needed as the pandemic continues.

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What is the Impact of Placement Type on Educational and Health Outcomes of Unaccompanied Refugee Minors? A Systematic Review of the Evidence

Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review ◽

10.1007/s10567-018-0256-7 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 354-365 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Aoife O’Higgins ◽

Eleanor Marie Ott ◽

Michael William Shea

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Unaccompanied Refugee Minors ◽

Placement Type ◽

The Impact ◽

Refugee Minors

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Financial Stress and Mental Health among Higher Education Students in the United Kingdom up to 2018: a Rapid Review of Evidence

10.31234/osf.io/35djy ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Tayla McCloud ◽

david bann

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Higher Education ◽

United Kingdom ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Financial Stress ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Rapid Review ◽

Education Students ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

The Uk

IntroductionIn the UK, as in many other high-income countries, debt due to higher education has increased substantially in recent decades. For example, as of 2018, the average student in England will have accrued £50,000 of debt upon university completion. The prevalence of common mental health problems has also increased, alongside these increased financial pressures. However, it is as yet unclear whether there is an association between financial stress and mental health among higher education students.Methods We conducted a rapid review of the peer-reviewed scientific literature to examine the links between indicators of financial stress and mental health among university students in the UK. Studies were located through a systematic search of Psychinfo, Pubmed and Embase up to November 2018. Eligible studies were English-language publications testing the association between any indicator of financial stress and mental health among higher education students in the United Kingdom. ResultsThe search strategy above yielded 1,272 studies, from which only 9 met the inclusion criteria. A further two studies were identified through hand-searching. Financial indicators included amount of debt, experience of financial difficulties and financial concerns/debt worry. There was little evidence that debt level was associated with mental health—only 3 of 7 studies found an association in the expected direction between higher debt and worse mental health. Evidence was more consistent for a cross-sectional relationship between subjective measures of financial difficulty (7 of 7 studies) and debt worry/financial concern (4 of 5 studies) with worse mental health, though longitudinal evidence was very limited. ConclusionAmong higher education students in the UK, there is little evidence that the amount of debt is associated with mental health, while subjective measures of higher financial stress are more consistently associated with worse mental health outcomes. The identified evidence was judged to be weak due to uncertain study generalisability, and the potential for bias due to common causes of financial stress and mental health outcomes (confounders). Thus, further research is required to examine whether links between financial stress and mental health outcomes are robust and causal in nature.

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A rapid review of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of healthcare workers: implications for supporting psychological well-being

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-020-10070-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Johannes H. De Kock ◽

Helen Ann Latham ◽

Stephen J. Leslie ◽

Mark Grindle ◽

Sarah-Anne Munoz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Social Care ◽

Close Contact ◽

Well Being ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Rapid Review ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

Care Workers ◽

Health And Social Care

Abstract Background Health and social care workers (HSCWs) have carried a heavy burden during the COVID-19 crisis and, in the challenge to control the virus, have directly faced its consequences. Supporting their psychological wellbeing continues, therefore, to be a priority. This rapid review was carried out to establish whether there are any identifiable risk factors for adverse mental health outcomes amongst HSCWs during the COVID-19 crisis. Methods We undertook a rapid review of the literature following guidelines by the WHO and the Cochrane Collaboration’s recommendations. We searched across 14 databases, executing the search at two different time points. We included published, observational and experimental studies that reported the psychological effects on HSCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results The 24 studies included in this review reported data predominantly from China (18 out of 24 included studies) and most sampled urban hospital staff. Our study indicates that COVID-19 has a considerable impact on the psychological wellbeing of front-line hospital staff. Results suggest that nurses may be at higher risk of adverse mental health outcomes during this pandemic, but no studies compare this group with the primary care workforce. Furthermore, no studies investigated the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social care staff. Other risk factors identified were underlying organic illness, gender (female), concern about family, fear of infection, lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and close contact with COVID-19. Systemic support, adequate knowledge and resilience were identified as factors protecting against adverse mental health outcomes. Conclusions The evidence to date suggests that female nurses with close contact with COVID-19 patients may have the most to gain from efforts aimed at supporting psychological well-being. However, inconsistencies in findings and a lack of data collected outside of hospital settings, suggest that we should not exclude any groups when addressing psychological well-being in health and social care workers. Whilst psychological interventions aimed at enhancing resilience in the individual may be of benefit, it is evident that to build a resilient workforce, occupational and environmental factors must be addressed. Further research including social care workers and analysis of wider societal structural factors is recommended.

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Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on mental health in Germany: longitudinal observation of different mental health trajectories and protective factors

Translational Psychiatry ◽

10.1038/s41398-021-01508-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

K. F. Ahrens ◽

R. J. Neumann ◽

B. Kollmann ◽

J. Brokelmann ◽

N. M. von Werthern ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Perceived Stress ◽

Multilevel Models ◽

Daily Hassles ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Psychological State ◽

Cognitive Emotion Regulation ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Impact

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic and resulting measures can be regarded as a global stressor. Cross-sectional studies showed rather negative impacts on people’s mental health, while longitudinal studies considering pre-lockdown data are still scarce. The present study investigated the impact of COVID-19 related lockdown measures in a longitudinal German sample, assessed since 2017. During lockdown, 523 participants completed additional weekly online questionnaires on e.g., mental health, COVID-19-related and general stressor exposure. Predictors for and distinct trajectories of mental health outcomes were determined, using multilevel models and latent growth mixture models, respectively. Positive pandemic appraisal, social support, and adaptive cognitive emotion regulation were positively, whereas perceived stress, daily hassles, and feeling lonely negatively related to mental health outcomes in the entire sample. Three subgroups (“recovered,” 9.0%; “resilient,” 82.6%; “delayed dysfunction,” 8.4%) with different mental health responses to initial lockdown measures were identified. Subgroups differed in perceived stress and COVID-19-specific positive appraisal. Although most participants remained mentally healthy, as observed in the resilient group, we also observed inter-individual differences. Participants’ psychological state deteriorated over time in the delayed dysfunction group, putting them at risk for mental disorder development. Consequently, health services should especially identify and allocate resources to vulnerable individuals.

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A rapid review of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of health and social care workers: implications for psychological interventions

10.21203/rs.3.rs-62472/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Johannes H. De Kock ◽

Helen Ann Latham ◽

Stephen J Leslie ◽

Mark Grindle ◽

Sarah-Anne Munoz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Social Care ◽

Close Contact ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Rapid Review ◽

Psychological Wellbeing ◽

Psychological Interventions ◽

Care Workers ◽

Health And Social Care

Abstract BackgroundHealth and social care workers (HSCWs) have carried a heavy burden during the COVID-19 crisis and in the challenge to control the virus have directly faced its consequences. Supporting their psychological wellbeing continues therefore to be a priority. This rapid review was carried out to identify whether there are any identifiable risk factors for adverse mental health outcomes amongst HSCWs during the COVID-19 crisis. The review also sought to identify a participant population for the trial of a digital intervention to support HSCW’s psychological wellbeing during the pandemic. MethodsWe undertook a rapid review of the literature following guidelines by the WHO and the COVID-19 Cochrane Collaboration’s recommendations. We searched across 14 databases, executing the search at two different time points. We included published observational and experimental studies that reported the psychological effects on health and care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. ResultsThe 24 studies included in this review reported data predominantly from China (18 out of 24 included studies) and most sampled urban hospital staff. Our study indicates that COVID-19 has a considerable impact on the psychological wellbeing of front line hospital staff. Results suggest that nurses may be at higher risk of adverse mental health outcomes during this pandemic, but no studies compare this group with the social care or primary care workforce. Other risk factors identified were underlying organic illness, gender (female), concern about family, fear of infection, lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and close contact with COVID-19. Resilience was identified as a factor protecting against adverse mental health outcomes. ConclusionsThe evidence to date suggests that female nurses with close contact with COVID-19 patients may have the most to gain from psychological interventions. However, inconsistencies in findings and a lack of data outside of hospital settings, suggest that we should not exclude any groups when addressing psychological wellbeing in health and social care workers. Psychological interventions aimed at enhancing psychological resilience and utilising innovative methods to personalise treatments without excluding groups may be of benefit.

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A rapid review of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of healthcare workers: implications for supporting psychological well-being

10.21203/rs.3.rs-62472/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Johannes H. De Kock ◽

Helen Ann Latham ◽

Stephen J Leslie ◽

Mark Grindle ◽

Sarah-Anne Munoz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Social Care ◽

Close Contact ◽

Well Being ◽

Hospital Staff ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Rapid Review ◽

Psychological Wellbeing ◽

Care Workers

Abstract BackgroundHealth and social care workers (HSCWs) have carried a heavy burden during the COVID-19 crisis and, in the challenge to control the virus, have directly faced its consequences. Supporting their psychological wellbeing continues, therefore, to be a priority. This rapid review was carried out to establish whether there are any identifiable risk factors for adverse mental health outcomes amongst HSCWs during the COVID-19 crisis. MethodsWe undertook a rapid review of the literature following guidelines by the WHO and the COVID-19 Cochrane Collaboration’s recommendations. We searched across 14 databases, executing the search at two different time points. We included published observational and experimental studies that reported the psychological effects on health and care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. ResultsThe 24 studies included in this review reported data predominantly from China (18 out of 24 included studies) and most sampled urban hospital staff. Our study indicates that COVID-19 has a considerable impact on the psychological wellbeing of front-line hospital staff. Results suggest that nurses may be at higher risk of adverse mental health outcomes during this pandemic, but no studies compare this group with the primary care workforce. Furthermore, no studies investigated the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social care staff. Other risk factors identified were underlying organic illness, gender (female), concern about family, fear of infection, lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and close contact with COVID-19. Systemic support, adequate knowledge and resilience were identified as factors protecting against adverse mental health outcomes. ConclusionsThe evidence to date suggests that female nurses with close contact with COVID-19 patients may have the most to gain from efforts aimed at supporting psychological well-being. However, inconsistencies in findings and a lack of data collected outside of hospital settings, suggest that we should not exclude any groups when addressing psychological wellbeing in health and social care workers. Whilst psychological interventions aimed at enhancing resilience in the individual may be of benefit, it is evident that to build a resilient workforce, occupational and environmental factors must be addressed. Further research including social care workers and analysis of wider societal structural factors is recommended.

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