scholarly journals Mental Health of Clinical Staff Working in High-Risk Epidemic and Pandemic Health Emergencies: A Rapid Review of the Evidence and Meta-Analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaughan Bell ◽  
Dorothy Wade
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Clinical Staff ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
High Exposure ◽  
Additional Burden ◽  
Low Exposure ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe global pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 has raised concerns about the potential mental health impact on frontline clinical staff. However, given that poor mental health is common in staff working in acute medicine, we aimed to estimate the additional burden of working directly with infected patients during epidemic and pandemic health emergencies. We completed a rapid review of the evidence and identified 74 relevant studies from outbreaks of COVID-19, Ebola, H1N1 influenza, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Due to varying caseness criteria, a meta-analysis of prevalence was not possible. However, it was clear that levels of self-reported depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related symptoms were high, and somewhat higher in clinical staff working in high exposure roles. To assess the impact of high- versus low-exposure healthcare work more formally, we estimated the standardised mean difference (SMD) of scale means using a random effects meta-analysis. High exposure work was associated with only a small additional burden of acute mental health problems compared to low exposure work (anxiety: SMD=0.22, 95% CI 0.06 – 0.38; PTSD symptoms: SMD=0.21, 95% CI 0.01 – 0.4; depression: SMD=0.20, -0.07 – 0.47). This effect was potentially inflated by publication bias and there was a moderate risk of bias in the studies in the meta-analysis. A narrative review of candidate risk factors identified being a nurse, seeing colleagues infected, experiencing quarantine, non-voluntary role assignment, and experiencing stigma, as associated with particularly poor mental health outcomes. Protective factors included team and institutional support, use and faith in infection prevention measures, and a sense of professional duty and altruistic acceptance of risk. Notably, formal psychological support services were valued by frontline staff, although those with the highest burden of mental health difficulties were the least likely to request or receive support.

scholarly journals Mental health of clinical staff working in high-risk epidemic and pandemic health emergencies a rapid review of the evidence and living meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaughan Bell ◽  
Dorothy Wade
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Service Management ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Clinical Staff ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Ptsd Symptoms ◽  
High Exposure ◽  
Additional Burden

Abstract Purpose The SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns about the potential mental health impact on frontline clinical staff. However, given that poor mental health is common in acute medical staff, we aimed to estimate the additional burden of work involving high exposure to infected patients. Methods We report a rapid review, meta-analysis, and living meta-analysis of studies using validated measures from outbreaks of COVID-19, Ebola, H1N1 influenza, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Results A random effects meta-analysis found that high-exposure work is not associated with an increased prevalence of above cut-off scoring (anxiety: RR = 1.30, 95% CI 0.87–1.93, Total N = 12,473; PTSD symptoms: RR = 1.16, 95% CI 0.75–1.78, Total N = 6604; depression: RR = 1.50, 95% CI 0.57–3.95, Total N = 12,224). For continuous scoring, high-exposure work was associated with only a small additional burden of acute mental health problems compared to low-exposure work (anxiety: SMD = 0.16, 95% CI 0.02–0.31, Total N = 6493; PTSD symptoms: SMD = 0.20, 95% CI 0.01–0.40, Total N = 5122; depression: SMD = 0.13, 95% CI -0.04–0.31, Total N = 4022). There was no evidence of publication bias. Conclusion Although epidemic and pandemic response work may add only a small additional burden, improving mental health through service management and provision of mental health services should be a priority given that baseline rates of poor mental health are already very high. As new studies emerge, they are being added to a living meta-analysis where all analysis code and data have been made freely available: https://osf.io/zs7ne/.

scholarly journals The impact of affective information on working memory: A pair of meta-analytic reviews of behavioral and neuroimaging evidence

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Schweizer ◽  
Ajay Satpute ◽  
Shir Atzil ◽  
Andy Peter Field ◽  
Caitlin Hitchcock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Occipital Cortex ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Healthy Individuals ◽  
Affective Information ◽  
The Impact

Everyday life is defined by goal states that are continuously reprioritized based on available, often affective information. To pursue these goals, individuals need to process and maintain goal-relevant information, while ignoring potentially salient information that distracts resources from these goals. Empirically, this ability has typically been operationalized as working memory (WM) capacity. Interestingly, however, until recently there have been few concerted research efforts to investigate the impact of information’s affective salience on WM capacity. In the present review we address this question by exploring the potential differential impact of affective compared to neutral information on WM, and the underlying neural substrates. One hundred and sixty-five individual studies were included in the meta-analysis (N = 7433). Results showed negligible to small (d ̂ = –.07 – .20) effects of affective information on behavioral measures of WM in healthy individuals (n = 4936) that varied as a function of valence and task-relevance. For all behavioral results heterogeneity analyses were significant, demonstrating the need to identify further task-specific factors and individual differences that moderate affective WM. At the neural level (33 studies; n = 683), processing affective versus neutral material during WM tasks was associated with more frequent recruitment of the vlPFC, the amygdala and the temporo-occipital cortex. In contrast to healthy individuals, across behavioral studies those suffering from mental health problems (n = 2041) showed an impairment of WM accuracy (d ̂ = –0.21) in the presence of affective material. These findings highlight the importance of integrating behavioral and neural levels of analysis. Finally, these findings suggest that affective WM capacity may be a transdiagnostic mechanism associated with poor mental health.

scholarly journals Associations among child abuse, mental health, and epigenetic modifications in the proopiomelanocortin gene (POMC): A study with children in Tanzania

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (4pt2) ◽  
pp. 1401-1412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Hecker ◽  
Karl M. Radtke ◽  
Katharin Hermenau ◽  
Andreas Papassotiropoulos ◽  
Thomas Elbert
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Child Abuse ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Epigenetic Modifications ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
Emotional And Behavioral Problems ◽  
High Exposure ◽  
Low Exposure ◽  
Altered Gene

AbstractChild abuse is associated with a number of emotional and behavioral problems. Nevertheless, it has been argued that these adverse consequences may not hold for societies in which many of the specific acts of abuse are culturally normed. Epigenetic modifications in the genes of the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis may provide a potential mechanism translating abuse into altered gene expression, which subsequently results in behavioral changes. Our investigation took place in Tanzania, a society in which many forms of abuse are commonly employed as disciplinary methods. We included 35 children with high exposure and compared them to 25 children with low exposure. Extreme group comparisons revealed that children with high exposure reported more mental health problems. Child abuse was associated with differential methylation in the proopiomelanocortin gene (POMC), measured both in saliva and in blood. Hierarchical clustering based on the methylation of the POMC gene found two distinct clusters. These corresponded with children's self-reported abuse, with two-thirds of the children allocated into their respective group. Our results emphasize the consequences of child abuse based on both molecular and behavioral grounds, providing further evidence that acts of abuse affect children, even when culturally acceptable. Furthermore, on a molecular level, our findings strengthen the credibility of children's self-reports.

scholarly journals Mental health in relation to changes in sleep, exercise, alcohol and diet during the COVID-19 pandemic: examination of four UK cohort studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aase Villadsen ◽  
Praveetha Patalay ◽  
David Bann
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cohort Studies ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Adverse Health ◽  
Anxiety Depression

AbstractBackgroundResponses to the COVID-19 pandemic have included lockdowns and social distancing with considerable disruptions to people’s lives. These changes may have particularly impacted on those with mental health problems, leading to a worsening of inequalities in the behaviours which influence health.MethodsWe used data from four national longitudinal British cohort studies (N=10,666). Respondents reported mental health (psychological distress and anxiety/depression symptoms) and health behaviours (alcohol, diet, physical activity, and sleep) before and during the pandemic. Associations between pre-pandemic mental ill-health and pandemic mental ill-health and health behaviours were examined using logistic regression; pooled effects were estimated using meta-analysis.ResultsWorse mental health was related to adverse health behaviours; effect sizes were largest for sleep, exercise and diet, and weaker for alcohol. The associations between poor mental health and adverse health behaviours were larger during the May lockdown than pre-pandemic. In September, when restrictions had eased, inequalities had largely reverted to pre-pandemic levels. A notable exception was for sleep, where differences by mental health status remained high. Risk differences for adverse sleep for those with the highest level of prior mental ill-health compared to those with the lowest, were 21.2% (95% CI: 16.2, 26.2) before lockdown, 25.5% (20.0, 30.3) in May, and 28.2% (21.2, 35.2) in September.ConclusionsTaken together, our findings suggest that mental health is an increasingly important factor in health behaviour inequality in the COVID era. The promotion of mental health may thus be an important component of improving post-COVID population health.

scholarly journals Exploring the relationship between housing concerns, mental health and wellbeing: a qualitative study of social housing tenants

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. e231-e238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor Holding ◽  
Lindsay Blank ◽  
Mary Crowder ◽  
Edward Ferrari ◽  
Elizabeth Goyder
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Social Housing ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Housing Quality ◽  
Community Safety ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background The rising prevalence of mental health problems is a growing public health issue. Poor mental health is not equally distributed across social groups and is associated with poverty and insecure housing. An evaluation of a social housing intervention provided an opportunity to explore the connections between housing and wider determinants of health and wellbeing. Methods We undertook 44 interviews with social housing tenants over a two-year period to explore their views on housing, health and wellbeing. Results Poor mental health was common. The results suggest that perceptions of housing quality, service responsiveness, community safety, benefit changes and low income all have a detrimental effect on tenants’ mental health. Conclusions Social housing providers who wish to have a positive impact on the mental health of their tenants need to consider how to best support or mitigate the impact of these stresses. Addressing traditional housing officer functions such as reporting or monitoring home repairs alongside holistic support remains an important area where social housing departments can have substantial health impact. Tackling the complex nature of mental health requires a joined up approach between housing and a number of services.

scholarly journals Mental health problems in the general population during and after the first lockdown phase due to the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic: Rapid review of multi-wave studies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Richter ◽  
Steffi Riedel-Heller ◽  
Simeon Zuercher
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Care Utilization ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
General Populations ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundThe SARS-Cov-2 pandemic and the lockdown response have increased mental health problems in general populations compared to pre-pandemic times. The course of mental health problems during and after the first lockdown phase has not yet been reviewed.MethodsWe conducted a rapid review of multi-wave studies in general populations with time points during and after the first lockdown phase. Repeated cross-sectional and longitudinal studies were included. The main outcome assessed was whether indicators of mental health problems have changed during and after the first lockdown phase. The study was registered with PROSPERO No. CRD42020218640Findings23 studies with 56 indicators were included in the qualitative review. Studies that reported data from pre-pandemic assessments through lockdown indicated an increase in mental health problems. During lockdown no uniform trend could be identified. After lockdown mental health problems decreased slightly.InterpretationAs mental health care utilization indicators and data on suicides do not suggest an increase in demand during the first lockdown phase, we regard the increase in mental health problems as general distress that is to be expected during a global health crisis. Several methodological, pandemic-related, response-related and health policy-related factors need to be considered when trying to gain a broader perspective on the impact of the first wave of the pandemic and the first phase of lockdown on general populations’ mental health.

scholarly journals The impact of paternal alcohol, tobacco, caffeine use and physical activity on offspring mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kayleigh E Easey ◽  
Gemma C Sharp
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Tobacco Smoking ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Prenatal Period ◽  
The Impact

AbstractBackgroundThere is some evidence that paternal health behaviours during and around pregnancy could be associated with offspring health outcomes. However, the impact that paternal health behaviours during pregnancy can have on offspring mental health is understudied and remains unclear.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of articles in PubMed describing studies of potentially modifiable paternal health behaviours (tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, caffeine consumption and physical activity) in the prenatal period in relation to offspring mental health.ResultsTen studies were included and categorized by paternal health behaviour and offspring mental health outcome investigated. The narrative synthesis provided evidence of association between paternal health behaviours around pregnancy and offspring mental health problems, with the strongest evidence shown for tobacco use. Grouped by analysis type, two separate meta-analyses showed evidence of paternal smoking during pregnancy being associated with greater odds of ADHD in offspring (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.99; HR 1.28, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.39).ConclusionsOur review suggests that paternal tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption in the prenatal period are associated with poorer offspring mental health, particularly hyperactivity/ADHD. Future investigation using methods that allow stronger causal inference is needed to further investigate if these associations are causal.

scholarly journals 2.L. Workshop: Poor parental mental health and impacts on early child health in the context of Danish welfare state

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Socioeconomic Position ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Parental Mental Health ◽  
Early Child ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Globally, the prevalence of mental health problems is high and seems to be increasing and it estimated that 10-20% of pregnant women experience poor perinatal mental health. In the future, more children may grow up in families where one or both parents are struggling with mental health problems. Poor mental health is linked to wider determinants of health as low social position increase the risk of poor mental health and may limit access to care. Moreover, poor mental health can negatively impact the social position and resources of individuals and families as well as child health, thus representing an important public health challenge. The foundation of life-long health is laid before birth and in early childhood, and a better understanding of the impact of poor parental health and other determinants of early child health is crucial. This workshop aims to A) offer new insights on the impact of early child health of poor parental health in the context of Denmark, a Nordic welfare state with strong principles of free and equal access to health care services. Also, B) it encourages a discussion about the main challenges and new ways to support families and through this improve short- and long-term child health and potentially also parental health. The knowledge presented as point of departure for discussions, derives from two new Danish studies. One is a qualitative study of the experiences of pregnant women/new parents receiving targeted, community-based perinatal services due to mental health problems. This gives voice to parents' own perspectives of the services they have offered and their lived experiences with poor mental health and parenthood. The other study is the epidemiological CoVer-P project (Children of Vulnerable Parents) based on a cohort of all live-born children born in Denmark 2000-2016 and their parents and a large range of data from Danish nationwide registers. This large cohort have allowed studies that address existing knowledge gabs by examining different severity levels of parental mental health problems, the impact of also the father's mental health and the interaction between mental health and socioeconomic position. The workshop will start with a short introduction and invitation to share thoughts it's topic from the chair (5 min) followed by four 10-minut presentations. First, Frederiksen shares her insights on pregnant women/new parents with mental health problems and their lived experiences. Secondly, Knudsen & Christesen analyse the effect of maternal mental health and socioeconomic position on the risk of preterm birth. Thirdly, Christensen reports new knowledge about perinatal outcomes of infants born to mothers with poor mental health. Fourth, Heuckendorff describes the impact of the mental health as well as socioeconomic position of both mother and father on child morbidity, age 1-6. In the final part of the workshop (15 min), the chair will introduce and moderate a general discussion of aim B with the audience Key messages Share knowledge on how poor parental mental health may affect perinatal and child negatively, presenting an important public health challenge. Raise awareness about the needs and perspective of parents with poor mental health and raise discussion about how to improve services and support.

Effectiveness of training workplace managers to understand and support the mental health needs of employees: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 462-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aimée Gayed ◽  
Josie S Milligan-Saville ◽  
Jennifer Nicholas ◽  
Bridget T Bryan ◽  
Anthony D LaMontagne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Employee Outcomes ◽  
Manager Training ◽  
The Impact

Managers are in an influential position to make decisions that can impact on the mental health and well-being of their employees. As a result, there is an increasing trend for organisations to provide managers with training in how to reduce work-based mental health risk factors for their employees. A systematic search of the literature was conducted to identify workplace interventions for managers with an emphasis on the mental health of employees reporting directing to them. A meta-analysis was performed to calculate pooled effect sizes using the random effects model for both manager and employee outcomes. Ten controlled trials were identified as relevant for this review. Outcomes evaluating managers’ mental health knowledge (standardised mean difference (SMD)=0.73; 95% CI 0.43 to 1.03; p<0.001), non-stigmatising attitudes towards mental health (SMD=0.36; 95% CI 0.18 to 0.53; p<0.001) and improving behaviour in supporting employees experiencing mental health problems (SMD=0.59; 95% CI 0.14 to 1.03; p=0.01) were found to have significant pooled effect sizes favouring the intervention. A significant pooled effect was not found for the small number of studies evaluating psychological symptoms in employees (p=0.28). Our meta-analysis indicates that training managers in workplace mental health can improve their knowledge, attitudes and self-reported behaviour in supporting employees experiencing mental health problems. At present, any findings regarding the impact of manager training on levels of psychological distress among employees remain preliminary as only a very limited amount of research evaluating employee outcomes is available. Our review suggests that in order to understand the effectiveness of manager training on employees, an increase in collection of employee level data is required.

Impact of guidance on intervention adherence in computerised interventions for mental health problems: a meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Peter Musiat ◽  
Catherine Johnson ◽  
Melissa Atkinson ◽  
Simon Wilksch ◽  
Tracey Wade
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Symptoms Of Depression ◽  
Mental Health Interventions ◽  
Intervention Content ◽  
Intervention Adherence ◽  
The Impact

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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