Using Ethnographic Methods in the Selection of Post-Disaster, Mental Health Interventions

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Bolton ◽  
Alice M. Tang

AbstractThis paper describes a short, ethnographic study approach for understanding how people from non-Western cultures think about mental health and mental health problems, and the rationale for using such an approach in designing and implementing mental health interventions during and after disasters. It describes how the resulting data can contribute to interventions that are more acceptable to local people, and therefore, more effective and sustainable through improved community support.

Author(s):  
Anja Čuš ◽  
Julian Edbrooke-Childs ◽  
Susanne Ohmann ◽  
Paul L. Plener ◽  
Türkan Akkaya-Kalayci

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a major mental health problem associated with negative psychosocial outcomes and it most often starts in early adolescence. Despite this, adolescents are rarely involved in informing the development of interventions designed to address their mental health problems. This study aimed to (1) assess adolescents’ needs and preferences about future interventions that are delivered through smartphones and (2) develop a framework with implications for designing engaging digital mental health interventions. Fifteen adolescent girls, aged 12–18 years, who met diagnostic criteria for a current NSSI disorder and were in contact with mental health services, participated in semi-structured interviews. Following a reflexive thematic analysis approach, this study identified two main themes: (1) Experiences of NSSI (depicts the needs of young people related to their everyday experiences of managing NSSI) and (2) App in Context (portrays preferences of young people about smartphone interventions and reflects adolescents’ views on how technology itself can improve or hinder engaging with these interventions). Adolescent patients expressed interest in using smartphone mental health interventions if they recognize them as helpful, relevant for their life situation and easy to use. The developed framework suggests that digital mental health interventions are embedded in three contexts (i.e., person using the intervention, mental health condition, and technology-related factors) which together need to inform the development of engaging digital resources. To achieve this, the cooperation among people with lived experience, mental health experts, and human computer interaction professionals is vital.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilon van Doorn ◽  
Laurens A. Nijhuis ◽  
Mees D. Egeler ◽  
Joost G. Daams ◽  
Arne Popma ◽  
...  

Objective: Between the ages of 12 and 25 the onset of mental disorders typically occurs, and the burden of mental health problems is greatest for this group. Indicated preventive interventions to target individuals with subclinical symptoms to prevent the transition to clinical levels of disorders have gained considerable traction. However, the threshold to seek help appears to be high even when help is needed. Online interventions could offer a solution, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This scoping review will present an overview of the recent research of indicated online preventive interventions for youth (12–25 years) experiencing the early stages of mental health complaints with the aim of identifying the nature and extent of the research evidence.Methods: The 5-stage framework by Arksey and O'Malley was used. Academic literature published from 2013 onwards in printed or electronic format was included from Scopus, PsychINFO, and Ovid MEDLINE(R) ALL.Results: The search yielded 11,122 results, with the final selection resulting in inclusion of 30 articles for this review. In total, the articles included 4,950 participants. 26.7% of the selected articles focused on youth between 12 and 25 years. Of the articles 60% did not screen for, nor exclude participants with clinical levels of symptoms. Most studies used a common evidence-based therapy for the disorder-category targeted. More than half of the online interventions included some form of human support. Adherence levels ranged between 27.9 and 98%. The results indicate general effectiveness, usability and acceptability of online indicated preventive interventions. The most commonly used approach was CBT (n = 12 studies). Studies varied in their size, rigor of study, effectiveness and outcome measures. Online interventions with a combination of clinical and peer moderation (n = 3 studies) appear to result in the most stable and highest effect sizes.Conclusion: Online indicated preventive mental health interventions for youth with emerging mental health issues show promise in reducing various mental health complaints, and increasing positive mental health indicators such as well-being and resilience. Additionally, high levels of usability and acceptability were found. However, the included studies show important methodological shortcomings. Also, the research has mainly focused on specific diagnostic categories, meaning there is a lack of transdiagnostic approaches. Finally, clear definitions of- as well as instruments to measure- emerging or subclinical mental health symptoms in youth remain are missing.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betty Pfefferbaum ◽  
Jennifer L. Sweeton ◽  
Elana Newman ◽  
Vandana Varma ◽  
Mary A. Noffsinger ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betty Pfefferbaum ◽  
Jennifer L. Sweeton ◽  
Elana Newman ◽  
Vandana Varma ◽  
Pascal Nitiéma ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilan Hulaj ◽  
Sophie Antesberger ◽  
Tabea Blum ◽  
Raffaela Böswald ◽  
Hannah M. Brandl ◽  
...  

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.


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (S1) ◽  
pp. 95-96
Author(s):  
Alastair Canaway ◽  
Christopher Sampson ◽  
Rachel Meacock

Introduction:Interventions and services for people with mental health problems can have broad remits: they are often designed to treat people with a variety of diagnoses. Furthermore, addressing mental health problems can have long-term implications for economic, social, and health outcomes. This represents a challenge for health technology assessment, for which long-term trial data can be lacking. In this review, we sought to identify how analysts have tackled this problem. We reviewed the methods used to extrapolate costs and outcomes for the purpose of economic evaluation where long-term trial data are not available.Methods:We conducted a systematic review of the medical and economic literature evaluating long-term costs and outcomes for mental health interventions and services designed to treat or prevent more than two mental health conditions. We searched key databases including MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and EconLit. Two authors independently screened citations. Articles were excluded if they reported within-trial analyses or employed a time horizon of less than 5 years.Results:The search identified 829 unique records. No papers could be included in the review.Conclusions:This review highlights the lack of research and understanding available to inform the appraisal of broad mental health interventions. In light of our findings, we consider the reasons for this lack of information and review relevant literature on the subject. Potential barriers to research in this context include: (i) challenges in understanding the value of broad mental health services, such as the mental and physical health nexus, intersectoral costs and benefits, and interpersonal impacts, (ii) methodological difficulties, such as data availability, patient heterogeneity, and the challenge of extrapolation, and (iii) parity of esteem. We make recommendations for resolving this problem with regard to funding, data collection, modelling methods, and outcome measurement.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Peter Musiat ◽  
Catherine Johnson ◽  
Melissa Atkinson ◽  
Simon Wilksch ◽  
Tracey Wade

Abstract Web-based interventions are increasingly used for the prevention, treatment and aftercare of mental disorders. A crucial factor to the efficacy of such online programmes is adherence to the intervention content and procedure. It has been frequently suggested that adherence in web-based interventions is low and little is known about which factors influence adherence. To increase intervention uptake and completion, studies increasingly include interventions with some form of guidance. Guided interventions have been shown to have higher efficacy, however, evidence for the impact on adherence is limited and mixed. This meta-analysis explored the impact of human guidance on intervention completion in web-based mental health interventions. A total of 22 studies were included with interventions primarily targeting symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders. Results showed that guidance significantly increases the average amount of intervention completion [g = 0.29, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.18–0.40] and the proportion of intervention completers [log odds ratio (OR) = 0.50, 95% CI 0.34–0.66] with small effects. On average, full completion rates were 12% higher in guided intervention groups. This meta-analysis demonstrated that guidance in web-based mental health interventions does increase adherence, but more research is required to better understand the specific mechanisms between guidance, adherence and outcomes.


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