scholarly journals Development of NLP-Integrated Intelligent Web System for E-Mental Health

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Abid Hassan ◽  
M. D. Iftekhar Ali ◽  
Rifat Ahammed ◽  
Sami Bourouis ◽  
Mohammad Monirujjaman Khan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Computer Vision ◽  
Care Facility ◽  
Emotion Detection ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Support ◽  
Health Support ◽  
Video Calling ◽  
Web Platform

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the need for a better health care facility is highlighted more than ever. Besides physical health, mental health conditions have become a significant concern. Unfortunately, there are few opportunities for people to receive mental health care. There are inadequate facilities for seeking mental health support even in big cities, let alone remote areas. This paper presents the structure and implementation procedures for a mental health support system combining technology and professionals. The system is a web platform where mental health seekers can register and use functionalities like NLP-based chatbot for personality assessment, chatting with like-minded people, and one-to-one video conferencing with a mental health professional. The video calling feature of the system has emotion detection capabilities using computer vision. The system also includes downloadable prescription facilities and a payment gateway for secure transactions. From a technological aspect, the conversational NLP-based chatbot and computer vision-powered video calling are the system’s most important features. The system has a documentation facility to analyze the mental health condition over time. The web platform is built using React.js for the frontend and Express.js for the backend. MongoDB is used as the database of the platform. The NLP chatbot is built on a three-layered deep neural network model that is programmed in the Python language and uses the NLTK, TensorFlow, and Keras sequential API. Video conference is one of the most important features of the platform. To create the video calling feature, Express.js, Socket.io, and Socket.io-client have been used. The emotion detection feature is implemented on video conferences using computer vision, Haar Cascade, and TensorFlow. All the implemented features are tested and work fine. The targeted users for the platform are teenagers, youth, and the middle-aged population. Mental health-seeking is still considered taboo in some societies today. Apart from basic established facilities, this social dilemma of undergoing treatment for mental health is causing severe damage to individuals. A solution to this problem can be a remote platform for mental health support. With this goal in mind, this system is designed to provide mental health support to people remotely from anywhere worldwide.

The men’s wellbeing project: promoting the well-being and mental health of men

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-189
Author(s):  
Gabriel Abotsie ◽  
Roger Kingerlee ◽  
Andrew Fisk ◽  
Sam Watts ◽  
Rachel Cooke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Needs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Events ◽  
Mental Health Support ◽  
Health Support

Purpose Comparatively, men have poorer physical and mental health outcomes than women, with a significantly higher suicide rate. Contributory factors are thought to be social and biological, leading to reduced access to health-care services. The study aims to develop and implement community-based support to increase awareness of and access to men’s mental health support networks and groups. Design/methodology/approach The project involved three key work-packages discussed in this paper: raising awareness of men’s mental health needs in health care, educational and community settings; collaboration between National Health Services (NHS) and non-NHS health-care support organisations to build multi-sector partnership working; and developing a supported sports-based community intervention aimed at men living with mental health conditions. The acceptability and feasibility of these work-packages were pragmatically evaluated through mixed-methods surveys and qualitative content analysis. Findings Overall, both community events and sports groups successfully engaged men living with mental health problems. Organisations interested in men’s mental health are continuing to engage in a partnership initiative. Community events were well-attended and received positive feedback, particularly regarding the educative and real-life experiences approach promoted in the events. The sports intervention is feasible and well-accepted by participants, who described feeling supported with their physical and mental health needs, with increased mental well-being reported. Research limitations/implications The main limitations of this project are that the authors only evaluated a football group rather than all work areas. The project collected outcomes relating to participants’ demographics and qualitative reflections of participating in the football group along with a retrospective survey of perceived benefits, but the project did not undertake a pre- and post-comparison of well-being outcomes owing to low completion of these measures. Future work could focus on collecting more pre- and post-measures related to well-being, recovery and inclusion and compare these with men not involved in the football groups or public events. Practical implications This paper discusses the development and feasibility of setting up community-based men’s mental health support networks, involving public events, partnership working and targeted-sports interventions. All initiatives were well-received and successfully attended by men living with mental health conditions. Evaluation of the programme revealed the value placed on education about mental health and the role that community sports interventions may play in men’s mental health care. Social implications This project has demonstrated three different ways of supporting men’s mental health needs in the community. Community public events were held to raise awareness of men’s mental health needs and issues were well-attended and highlighted the need for health promotion and education in this area across all the communities. The men’s football group demonstrated the feasibility of moving mental health support out into a non-clinical and more community arena in a way that men engaged effectively. Finally, the creation of MensNet has bought together disparate multi-sector organisations successfully to lead public health mechanisms to support men’s mental health needs. Originality/value This paper describes a new multi-disciplined approach to supporting health-seeking challenges among men, in particular, how partnership working across NHS and non-NHS sectors can successfully support an identified public health need pragmatically using existing services and organisations.

scholarly journals Episodes of violence suffered by migrants transiting Libya, Italy and France

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Reques ◽  
C Rolland ◽  
E Aranda ◽  
A Grippon ◽  
N Fallet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
Women Health ◽  
Care Access ◽  
Direct Violence ◽  
Mental Health Support ◽  
Health Support

Abstract Background The Central Mediterranean is one of the most dangerous migration routes from Africa. Violence perpetrated to migrants in Libya and host countries has been documented but not rigorously quantified. The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of violence suffered in Libya, Italy and France by migrants consulting Médecins du Monde programs. Methods Monocentric cross-sectional study. Inclusion criteria: migrants over 18 years old, transiting through Libya, arrived in Europe from 2017 and consulting in Saint Denis Health Center. Exclusion criteria: psycotraumatic manifestations. A sample size of 72 individuals was calculated. An ad-hoc questionnaire was created through Kobo Collect. Proportion and frequency of physical, privation and sexual violence, as well as health care and shelter access were measured in each country. Results 95 individuals were recruited and 72 were interviewed (16 refused 7 were excluded) from February to April 2019. 76.3% were men, mean age was 31.6 years, 76.4% had low educational level, 66.7% were from Ivory Coast and 58.3% left their country for security reasons. In Libya, length of stay was 180 days, global proportion of individuals suffering from violence (GPISV) was 98.1% for men and 88.2% for women. Prevalence of physical, privation and sexual violence was 94.1%, 84.3% and 17.6% for men, and 85.7%, 93.3% and 60.0% for women. Health care access in Libya was inexistent. In Italy, GPISV was 31.8% for men and 28.5% for women. Health care access was 41.4%. In France, GPISV was 20.0% for men and 12.5% for women and shelter access was 44.3%. 60.3% of the participants reported need of psychological support. Conclusions The vast majority of migrants testify suffering from direct violence during migration, specially dramatic in Libya. Women have a particular risk of sexual violence. In Europe, the main problems are the lack of health care access in Italy and precarious living conditions in France. Mental health support is urgent. Key messages The vast majority of migrants testify suffering from direct violence during migration, specially dramatic in Libya. In Europe, the main problems are related to lack of health care access in Italy and the precarious living conditions in France. Mental health support is urgent.

scholarly journals 'The experiences, perspectives, and needs of young people who access support for mental health in primary care: a systematic review'

2021 ◽  
pp. BJGP.2021.0335
Author(s):  
Rebecca Appleton ◽  
Julia Gauly ◽  
Faraz Mughal ◽  
Swaran Singh ◽  
Helena Tuomainen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
General Practice ◽  
Young People ◽  
Narrative Synthesis ◽  
Internet Searching ◽  
Mental Health Support ◽  
Health Support

Background: There is an increasing demand for mental health support in primary care, especially for young people. To improve mental health support for young people in general practice (GP), the needs of young people must be considered. Aim: To explore the experiences of young people (aged 12-25) on receiving mental health care in general practice and identify the needs of young people who present for mental health concerns. Design and Setting: A systematic review and narrative synthesis. Method: Six databases were searched for literature relating to young people’s experiences of receiving mental health care in general practice. Additional handsearching and manual internet searching were conducted. Narrative synthesis was employed. Results: Five studies and a further two reports from manual internet searching were included for synthesis. The synthesis generated four themes: the centrality of a trusting relationship; showing empathy and taking concerns seriously; providing time to talk; and reducing barriers to accessing primary care mental health support. Conclusion: To enable high-quality and effective mental health consultations with young people and the development of trust, GPs require unhurried consultations, and the ability to maintain continuity of care.

scholarly journals The Hidden Crisis: Mental Health on Times of Covid-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christof Heyns, ◽  
Rachel Jewkes, ◽  
Sandra Liebenberg, ◽  
Christopher Mbazira,
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Mental Health Support ◽  
Health Support ◽  
Financial Losses

[This Report links with the video "The policy & practice of drug, alcohol & tobacco use during Covid-19" http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/171 ]. The COVID-19 pandemic is most notably a physical health crisis, but it strongly affects mental health as well. Social isolation, job and financial losses, uncertainty about the real impact of the crisis, and fear for physical well-being affect the mental health of many people worldwide. These stressors can increase emotional distress and lead to depression and anxiety disorders. At the same time, there are enormous challenges on the health care side. People in need of mental health support have been increasingly confronted with limitations and interruptions of mental health services in many countries. In May 2020, the United Nations already warned that the COVID-19 pandemic has the seeds of a major mental health crisis if action is not taken. The panel discussed and analysed mental health in times of the COVID-19 pandemic with reference to South Africa, Nigeria, Germany and Spain.

scholarly journals Long-term mental health support systems in the aftermath of disasters in Japan – Statistical data of the Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naru Fukuchi ◽  
Shusaku Chiba
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Care Center ◽  
Disaster Mental Health ◽  
Health Care Center ◽  
Miyagi Prefecture ◽  
Mental Health Support ◽  
Health Support

Abstract Background A long-term mental health support system for the community is sometimes needed following massive natural disasters. Although the Disaster Mental Health Care Center (DMHCC) was established as a long-term mental health care center in Japan, its exact role and functioning are unclear. The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (GEJE) of 2011 affected thousands of residents. The Miyagi DMHCC was established in Miyagi prefecture in response to the GEJE and supported residents and communities as a long-term mental health care center. Methods The main purpose of this study was to clarify which population is psychologically at high risk and which methods are useful for residents’ mental health in each phase. The study used data collected by the Miyagi DMHCC that included personal information of residents who were supported by the center from 2013 to 2018. Chi-square tests of independence were conducted on the annual number of individuals supported by the center, sex, and the number of support methods used by the center according to years. A one-way analysis of variance was conducted on the annual mean age, followed by a post-hoc comparison of the functioning of the center. Results The number of residents who needed mental health support dramatically increased in Miyagi prefecture after the 2011 disaster. The Miyagi DMHCC supported 6,850 individuals who sought mental health services, which accounted for 22.9% of all cases reported to the health services between 2012 and 2017. Based on the results, in the first few years, the elderly residents who lived alone were declared as high-risk individuals by the health survey and supported through home visits. Several years later, as younger people started to seek mental health support by themselves, they underwent counseling at the Miyagi DMHCC. Conclusion Residents who need mental health support might change depending on recovery phases. Long-term mental health care centers should observe community recovery and provide appropriate support. We discuss the implications of this result and future research directions.

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