scholarly journals Mentoring as an intervention to promote gender equality in academic medicine: a systematic review

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. e040355
Author(s):  
Allan House ◽  
Naila Dracup ◽  
Paula Burkinshaw ◽  
Vicky Ward ◽  
Louise D Bryant

BackgroundMentoring is frequently suggested as an intervention to address gender inequalities in the workplace.ObjectivesTo systematically review evidence published since a definitive review in 2006 on the effectiveness of mentoring interventions aimed at achieving gender equality in academic medicine.DesignSystematic Review, using the Template for Intervention Description and Replication as a template for data extraction and synthesis.SampleStudies were included if they described a specific mentoring intervention in a medical school or analogous academic healthcare organisation and included results from an evaluation of the intervention.Eligibility criteriaMentoring was defined as (1) a formally organised intervention entailing a supportive relationship between a mentor, defined as a more senior/experienced person and a mentee defined as a more junior/inexperienced person; (2) mentoring intervention involved academic career support (3) the mentoring relationship was outside line management or supervision of performance and was defined by contact over an extended period of time.OutcomesThe impact of mentoring was usually reported at the level of individual participants, for example, satisfaction and well-being or self-reported career progression. We sought evidence of impact on gender equality via reports of organisation-level effectiveness, of promotion or retention, pay and academic performance of female staff.ResultsWe identified 32 publications: 8 review articles, 20 primary observational studies and 4 randomised controlled trials. A further 19 discussed mentoring in relation to gender but did not meet our eligibility criteria. The terminology used, and the structures and processes reported as constituting mentoring, varied greatly. We identified that mentoring is popular with many who receive it; however, we found no robust evidence of effectiveness in reducing gender inequalities. Primary research used weak evaluation designs.ConclusionsMentoring is a complex intervention. Future evaluations should adopt standardised approaches used in applied health research to the design and evaluation of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 746
Author(s):  
Laura Dellazizzo ◽  
Nayla Léveillé ◽  
Clara Landry ◽  
Alexandre Dumais

Objectives. The COVID-19 pandemic has had many public health impacts, especially on vulnerable individuals including adults with neurocognitive disorders (NCD). With increasing literature, this systematic literature review aimed to address the mental health effects of COVID-19 on people with NCD in addition to examine the impact of the pandemic on treatments/resources for NCD. Methods. A literature search was conducted in the electronic databases of PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Studies were included so long as they assessed the mental health or therapeutic effects of COVID-19 on NCD. Results. Among the retrieved articles, 59 met eligibility criteria. First, the pandemic and resulting self-isolation led to many detrimental effects on psychological well-being. Exacerbation and relapses of neurocognitive and behavioral symptoms were observed, as well as emergences of new psychological symptoms (i.e., depression, anxiety). Second, therapeutic and community services for individuals suffering from NCD, such as social support services and outpatient clinics, were disrupted or reduced leading to postponed appointments and evaluations, as well as reduced access to medications. These issues were somewhat palliated with the growth of telemedicine. Conclusion. This systematic review highlights the extent of the effects of the pandemic, and the topics addressed should be taken into consideration by healthcare practitioners, institutions, and policymakers to ensure that proper measures are employed to protect this population from additional harm.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1220
Author(s):  
Nemanja Lakicevic ◽  
Roberto Roklicer ◽  
Antonino Bianco ◽  
Diba Mani ◽  
Antonio Paoli ◽  
...  

Rapid weight loss (RWL) is commonly practiced among judo athletes. Although it helps them to gain the advantage over their lighter opponents, previous studies have shown that RWL can have a negative impact on the athlete’s performance and overall well-being. This systematic review aimed to synthesize the evidence that examines the influence of rapid weight loss on physiological parameters, biomarkers, and psychological well-being in judo athletes. We followed the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines. We searched for studies on Web of Science and PubMed that elaborate on the influence of ≥5% RWL achieved over ≤7-day period in judokas. Out of 52 studies initially found, 14 studies met our eligibility criteria and were included in the review. In total, we examined data from 1103 judo athletes. Retrieved studies showed conflicting data concerning physiological parameters and biomarkers, while psychological well-being parameters were more consistent than physiological and biomarkers. The feeling of tension, anger, and fatigue significantly increased while a decrease in vigor was demonstrated among athletes who lost weight rapidly. The evidence on the impact of RWL on performance remains ambiguous. More studies under standardized conditions are needed in order to provide firm evidence. Considering the harmful effects of RWL outlined in the existing literature, it is important to determine and monitor athlete’s minimal competitive weight to prioritize the health and safety of the athlete, emphasize fairness, and ultimately benefit the sport.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. e021895
Author(s):  
Marina Araújo Rosas ◽  
Tattiana Dias de Carvalho Cordeiro ◽  
Tatiana de Paula Santana da Silva ◽  
Ada Salvetti Cavalcanti Caldas ◽  
Carlos Eduardo de Souza Leão Ribeiro ◽  
...  

IntroductionDepression is a common debilitating disease that affects individuals in all age groups. The impact of the diagnosis extends beyond the individual, with negative effects on mental health, physical health and social well-being. Self-efficacy has been referenced as an important aspect to the prognosis of mood disorders by conferring co-responsibility to the affected individual to face his/her health problems. Several assessment tools are found in the literature for measuring self-efficacy, but it is not yet clear which of these measures are more applicable to individuals with mood disorders, particularly depression. Thus, the aim of present study is to propose a systematic review to examine the psychometric properties and applicability of assessment tools designed to measure self-efficacy in individuals with symptoms and/or a diagnosis of depression.Methods and analysisThis protocol is reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols statement and the review will be reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. The evaluation of the psychometric properties of the health outcome measures will be conducted according to COSMIN guidelines. Two independent reviewers will perform the electronic searches in the PubMed, Web of Science, PsycInfo, SCOPUS and CINAHL databases, followed by the use of the ‘snowball’ strategy. The inclusion criteria will be (1) instrument validation studies, (2) developed with individuals of any age (3) with symptoms or a diagnosis of depression. Two independent reviewers will analyse the titles and abstracts of the articles retrieved during the search for pre-selection, followed by full-text analyses to determine inclusion in the review based on the eligibility criteria. Cases of a divergence of opinion will be resolved by a third reviewer. Descriptive analysis of the articles will be performed (data on participants, characteristics, psychometric properties and clinical usefulness of the assessment tools).Ethics and disseminationThe proposed systematic review will provide information on assessment tools employed to measure self-efficacy with regard to coping with depression, offering data on the psychometric properties, strong and weak points, and clinical applicability. As a secondary analysis of the literature, the approval of an ethics committee is not required.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42017078707


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Banasik ◽  
Dariusz Jemielniak ◽  
Wojciech P?dzich

BACKGROUND There have been mixed results of the studies checking whether prayers do actually extend the life duration of the people prayed for. Most studies on the topic included a small number of prayers and most of them focused on people already struggling with a medical condition. Intercessory prayer’s influence on health is of scholarly interest, yet it is unclear if its effect may be dependent on the number of prayers for a named individual received per annum. OBJECTIVE We sought to examine if there is a noticeable increased longevity effect of intercessory prayer for a named individual’s well-being, if he receives a very high number of prayers per annum for an extended period. METHODS We retrieved and conducted a statistical analysis of the data about the length of life for 857 Roman Catholic bishops, 500 Catholic priests, and 3038 male academics from the US, France, Italy, Poland, Brazil, and Mexico. We obtained information for these individuals who died between 1988 and 2018 from Wikidata, and conducted an observational cohort study. Bishops were chosen for the study, as they receive millions of individual prayers for well being, according to conservative estimates. RESULTS There was a main effect for occupation F(2, 4391) = 4.07, p = .017, ηp 2 = .002, with pairwise comparisons indicating significant differences between the mean life duration of bishops (M=30489) and of priests (M=29894), but none between the academic teachers (M=30147) and either of the other groups. A comparison analysis between bishops from the largest and the smallest dioceses showed no significant difference t(67.31)=1.61, p = .11. Our main outcome measure is covariance of the mean length of life in each of the categories: bishops, priests, academic teachers, controlled for nationality. CONCLUSIONS The first analysis proved that bishops live longer than priests, but due to a marginal effect size this result should be treated with caution. No difference was found between the mean length of life of bishops from the largest and the smallest dioceses. We found no difference between bishops and male academics. These results show that the impact of intercessory prayers on longevity is not observable.


Author(s):  
Kristy Martin ◽  
Emily McLeod ◽  
Julien Périard ◽  
Ben Rattray ◽  
Richard Keegan ◽  
...  

Objective: In this review, we detail the impact of environmental stress on cognitive and military task performance and highlight any individual characteristics or interventions which may mitigate any negative effect. Background: Military personnel are often deployed in regions markedly different from their own, experiencing hot days, cold nights, and trips both above and below sea level. In spite of these stressors, high-level cognitive and operational performance must be maintained. Method: A systematic review of the electronic databases Medline (PubMed), EMBASE (Scopus), PsycINFO, and Web of Science was conducted from inception up to September 2018. Eligibility criteria included a healthy human cohort, an outcome of cognition or military task performance and assessment of an environmental condition. Results: The search returned 113,850 records, of which 124 were included in the systematic review. Thirty-one studies examined the impact of heat stress on cognition; 20 of cold stress; 59 of altitude exposure; and 18 of being below sea level. Conclusion: The severity and duration of exposure to the environmental stressor affects the degree to which cognitive performance can be impaired, as does the complexity of the cognitive task and the skill or familiarity of the individual performing the task. Application: Strategies to improve cognitive performance in extreme environmental conditions should focus on reducing the magnitude of the physiological and perceptual disturbance caused by the stressor. Strategies may include acclimatization and habituation, being well skilled on the task, and reducing sensations of thermal stress with approaches such as head and neck cooling.


Author(s):  
Mafalda Ferreira ◽  
António Marques ◽  
Paulo Veloso Gomes

Resilience interventions have been gaining importance among researchers due to their potential to provide well-being and reduce the prevalence of mental disorders that are becoming an increasing concern, especially in Western countries, because of the costs associated. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify the intervention studies carried out in the last decade in adult population samples, evaluate their methodological quality and highlight the trends of these types of interventions. This review was performed using systematic literature searches in the following electronic databases: B-on, PubMed, PsycNet and Science Direct. The application of eligibility criteria resulted in the inclusion of 38 articles, of which 33 were randomized controlled trials and the other five were nonrandomized controlled studies. Although most studies showed statistical significance for their results, these were constrained by the great heterogeneity of the studies, the lack of power of the samples and their fair methodological quality. Therefore, it is important to consolidate the theoretical basis and standardize certain methodologies so that the effects of the interventions can be compared through a meta-analysis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 910-920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sani Abubakar Saddiq ◽  
Abu Sufian Abu Bakar

Purpose The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of economic and financial crimes on the economies of emerging and developing countries. Design/methodology/approach Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines and meta-analysis of economics research reporting guidelines were used to conduct a quantitative synthesis of empirical evidence on the impact of economic and financial crimes in developing and emerging countries. Findings A total of 103 studies were searched, out of which 6 met the selection/eligibility criteria of this systematic review. The six selected studies indicated that economic and financial crimes have a negative impact in emerging and developing countries. Originality/value To the best knowledge of the authors, no published systematic review of the impact of economic and financial crimes in developing countries has been conducted to date.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. e046547
Author(s):  
Luke Johnson ◽  
Kerry Gutridge ◽  
Julie Parkes ◽  
Anjana Roy ◽  
Emma Plugge

ObjectiveTo examine the extent, nature and quality of literature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of imprisoned people and prison staff.DesignScoping review.Data sourcesPubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Global Health, Cochrane, PsycINFO, PsychExtra, Web of Science and Scopus were searched for any paper from 2019 onwards that focused on the mental health impact of COVID-19 on imprisoned people and prison staff. A grey literature search focused on international and government sources and professional bodies representing healthcare, public health and prison staff was also performed. We also performed hand searching of the reference lists of included studies.Eligibility criteria for selection of studiesAll papers, regardless of study design, were included if they examined the mental health of imprisoned people or prison staff specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Imprisoned people could be of any age and from any countries. All languages were included. Two independent reviewers quality assessed appropriate papers.ResultsOf 647 articles found, 83 were eligible for inclusion, the majority (58%) of which were opinion pieces. The articles focused on the challenges to prisoner mental health. Fear of COVID-19, the impact of isolation, discontinuation of prison visits and reduced mental health services were all likely to have an adverse effect on the mental well-being of imprisoned people. The limited research and poor quality of articles included mean that the findings are not conclusive. However, they suggest a significant adverse impact on the mental health and well-being of those who live and work in prisons.ConclusionsIt is key to address the mental health impacts of the pandemic on people who live and work in prisons. These findings are discussed in terms of implications for getting the balance between infection control imperatives and the fundamental human rights of prison populations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 520-544

To date, the impact of traditional cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) on anhedonia in major depressive disorder (MDD) has yet been systematically evaluated. This systematic review aims to examine the efficacy of traditional CBT for depressed adults with anhedonia. A literature search for randomised controlled trials of traditional CBT in adults with MDD from inception to July 2020 was conducted in 8 databases. The primary outcome was the levels of anhedonia. Ten studies with adults with MDD met the eligibility criteria. Our results indicate that traditional CBT is as effective as euthymic therapy, positive psychology therapy, self-system therapy,and medications for anhedonia in depression. Besides, our data provide further support for the development of augmented CBT to optimise treatment outcome for depressed adults with anhedonia. Received 11th June 2021; Revised 2nd September 2021; Accepted 20th September 2021


2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 533-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Lagaert ◽  
Henk Roose

This paper studies the gender gap in sport event attendance – characterized by higher male and lower female participation – using a macro-sociological and cross-national comparative approach. We argue that because gender is produced and justified in the realm of sport, gender gaps in sport event attendance may be more pronounced in some societies than others, depending on the position women and men have in the particular context in which someone ‘does’ his/her gender. So, in addition to individual attributes, one has to consider the societal, macro-level gender equality in order to understand the individual-level gender inequalities in sport event attendance. Using multilevel analyses on Eurobarometer data (2007), we evaluate whether the size of the gender gap in sport event attendance varies across European Union (EU) countries and how this variation relates to societal gender equality, as measured by the Gender Equality Index of the European Institute for Gender Equality. We find higher male than female attendance in all EU countries, but also conclude that higher levels of macro-level gender equality are associated with smaller gender gaps in sport event attendance.


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