scholarly journals Designing a Digital Roleplaying Game to Foster Awareness of Hidden Disabilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-63
Author(s):  
Rafael Leonardo Da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Design Phase ◽  
User Profiles ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Hidden Disabilities ◽  
Design Case ◽  
Prototype Design

On Fighting Shadows (OFS) is a two-dimensional roleplaying game that tells the story of Marvin, a young adult that experiences hidden disabilities, focusing on hydrocephalus and its possible mental health implications, such as anxiety and depression. Developed with the goal of being both informational and engaging, OFS aims to increase awareness and foster discussions not only about hidden disabilities as medical conditions, but also as phenomena that are experienced in society. The objective of this design case is to describe the development process, including the design dilemmas, of the prototype of OFS, as well as to discuss future directions of this project. Both in the prototype design phase and in usability testing, the tension between learning and entertainment was observed, aligning with reflections from previous studies (Prestopnik, 2016). Playing OFS was also observed to engage users in experiencing symptoms of hydrocephalus and understanding the character’s feelings. Possible directions to improve the experience for different user profiles involve adaptation of game conditions for players that would like to prioritize educational information over fun, and vice-versa.

Mental health care for rural veterans: A systematic literature review, descriptive analysis, and future directions.

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 222-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Bumgarner ◽  
Elizabeth J. Polinsky ◽  
Katharine G. Herman ◽  
Joanne M. Fordiani ◽  
Carmen P. Lewis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Future Directions

Anxiety Depression and Burden among the Caregivers of Persons with Neurological Illness

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Anil Kumar Roy ◽  
Nilesh Maruti Gujar ◽  
Arif Ali ◽  
Utpal Borah
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Hospital Anxiety ◽  
Care Burden ◽  
Neurological Illness ◽  
Rehabilitation Sciences ◽  
Anxiety Depression

Background: Studies have shown that caregivers of the persons with the neurological illness have high levels of psychological distress, depression and caregiver’s burden. The aim of the study was to find out anxiety, depression and caregiver’s burden among the caregivers of persons with neurological illness (PWNI). Method: Thirty caregivers of PWNI attending the Centre of Rehabilitation Sciences, LGB Regional Institute of Mental Health, Tezpur, Assam were selected using purposive sampling technique for the present study. Socio-demographic and clinical data sheet, Zarit Burden Interview Scale and The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were used. Results: The results shown that in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, 26.6% of the caregivers' scores were in the abnormal range in the domain of depression. While in the domain of anxiety, 16.6% scored in the abnormal range. In Zarit Burden of Scale, 13.3% of the caregivers were having little or no burden, 26.6% of the caregivers were having mild to moderate level of burden, 20% were having moderate to severe burden and 30% were having a severe burden of care. Care burden has significant positive correlation with depression (r= .124, p≤ 0.01 and anxiety (r= .124, p≤ 0.05). Conclusion: Caregivers of PWNI have been found to be at higher risk of mental health problems and care burden. The importance of addressing the burden of caregivers involved in the care of PWNI need to be taken into consideration while providing treatment and rehabilitation of PWNI.     Keywords: Anxiety, depression, burden, neurological illness

Comparative characteristics of educational stress and mental health of senior medicine students at different universities (results of an interregional study)

2020 ◽  
pp. 34-46
Author(s):  
Victoria Ruzhenkova ◽  
Irina Sheremet’eva ◽  
Viktor Ruzhenkov
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
The State ◽  
Panic Attacks ◽  
Stress Factors ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
State University ◽  
The Future ◽  
Training Stress ◽  
Medical University

Stress negatively affects the mental health of students, causes anxiety and depression, leads to poor academic performance, lowers level of professional training and success in the future. The purpose of the research is to study the state of mental health of medical students to develop recommendations for the prevention of maladaptation. Materials and methods. 252 5-year students aged 20–29 (22 ± 1,1) years, 168 (66,7 %) females and 84 (33,3 %) males (137 students of Belgorod State University and 115 of Altay State Medical University (ASMU)) were examined by medico-sociological and psychometric methods. Results. It was established that every fifth student of the Belgorod State University and every third of the ASMU did not enter the medical university on their own initiative. Less than half (43 %) of Belgorod State University students and 30.4 % of the ASMU ones are convinced that the choice of profession was correct, 35 and 37.4 % are, consequently, completely disappointed with it. Students of Belgorod State University dealt with training stress factors poorer and, as a result, have more pronounced mental symptoms of training stress, difficulties in organizing the daily regimen, irregular nutrition, and fear of the future. Regardless of the region of studying, the number of students not committed to the medical profession, after 5 years of study, is more than 3 times higher among those who enter the university not on their own initiative. Students of the ASMU hit substances, skipped classes, played computer games and took sedative drugs more often to overcome academic stress. The degree of anxiety before the exams in students of Belgorod State University was higher (9 points) than in their peers from the State Medical University (7 points). An extremely high (8–10 points) level of anxiety before exams was characteristic of 75,9 and 44,3 % of students, respectively. The former were more likely to experience clinically significant panic attacks: 27,7 and 6,1 %. Conclusion. Given the high incidence of social phobia (19,1–24,1 %), depression (22,6–32,2 %) and anxiety (21,9– 27,8 %) among medical students, the development and implementation of psycho-correctional programs aimed at the formation of adaptive ways to overcome stress, reduce anxiety and depression is required. This will prevent the development of psychosomatic disorders and addictions.

App review of anxiety and depression chatbots and their self-care features (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arfan Ahmed ◽  
Nashva ALi ◽  
Sarah Aziz ◽  
Alaa A Abd-Alrazaq ◽  
Asmaa Hassan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
On Demand ◽  
User Ratings ◽  
Google Play

BACKGROUND Anxiety and depression rates are at an all-time high along with other mental health disorders. Smartphone-based mental health chatbots or conversational agents can aid psychiatrists and replace some of the costly human based interaction and represent a unique opportunity to expand the availability and quality of mental health services and treatment. Regular up-to-date reviews will allow medics and individuals to recommend or use anxiety and depression related smartphone based chatbots with greater confidence. OBJECTIVE Assess the quality and characteristics of chatbots for anxiety and depression available on Android and iOS systems. METHODS A search was performed in the App Store and Google Play Store following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) protocol to identify existing chatbots for anxiety and depression. Eligibility of the chatbots was assessed by two individuals based on predefined eligibility criteria. Meta-data of the included chatbots and their characteristics were extracted from their description and upon installation by 2 reviewers. Finally, chatbots quality information was assessed by following the mHONcode principles. RESULTS Although around 1000 anxiety and depression related chatbots exist, only a few (n=11) contained actual chatbots that could provide the user a real substitute for a human-human based interaction, even with today's Artificial Intelligence advancements, only one of these chatbots had voice as an input/output modality. Of the selected apps that contained chatbots all were clearly built with a therapeutic human substitute goal in mind. The majority had high user ratings and downloads highlighting the popularity of such chatbots and their promising future within the realm of anxiety and depression. CONCLUSIONS Anxiety and depression chatbot apps have the potential to increase the capacity of mental health self-care providing much needed assistance to professionals. In the current covid-19 pandemic, chatbots can also serve as a conversational companion with the potential of combating loneliness, especially in lockdowns where there is a lack of social interaction. Due to the ubiquitous nature of chatbots users can access them on-demand at the touch of a screen on ones’ smartphone. Self-care interventions are known to be effective and exist in various forms and some can be made available as chatbot features, such as assessment, mood tracking, medicine tracking, or simply providing conversation in times of loneliness.

Perinatal Depression as an Early Stress

2018 ◽  
pp. 286-312
Author(s):  
Sherryl H. Goodman ◽  
Meeka S. Halperin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Developmental Psychopathology ◽  
Perinatal Depression ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Causal Relations ◽  
Early Stress ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Per Se

This chapter provides a review of research and a description of the central issues regarding the stressor of depression in mothers during pregnancy and the postpartum periods in relation to risk for the development of psychopathology in offspring. Where evidence allows, causal relations are emphasized; otherwise, limitations are noted, especially those regarding being able to draw causal conclusions from the correlational approaches typically taken in this area of study. Evidence for mechanisms in the transmission of risk is also described, given the potential for understanding causal relations. With the developmental psychopathology perspective of depression as a stressor for offspring, the focus is on vulnerabilities to and early signs of disorder as well as mental health outcomes per se. The chapter concludes with suggested critical issues in the field and recommendations for future directions for research.

scholarly journals Future Directions for Early Childhood Prevention of Mental Disorders: A Road Map to Mental Health, Earlier

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 539-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren S. Wakschlag ◽  
Megan Y. Roberts ◽  
Rachel M. Flynn ◽  
Justin D. Smith ◽  
Sheila Krogh-Jespersen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Road Map ◽  
Early Childhood Prevention

scholarly journals Hybrid cardiac rehabilitation program as a potential enhancer of adherence to cardiac rehabilitation in smoking patients with coronary heart disease - a retrospective single-centre analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Cabral ◽  
R Santos ◽  
F Januario ◽  
A Antunes ◽  
R Fonseca-Pinto
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cardiac Rehabilitation ◽  
Smoking Status ◽  
Rehabilitation Program ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Cardiac Rehabilitation Program ◽  
Phase 2 ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Group 2 ◽  
Group 1

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has well known beneficial effects on physical capacity, health-related quality of life, morbidity and mortality following an acute cardiac event. It is also known that smoking status is a powerful predictor of recurrent cardiovascular disease events. However, it has been noted that smoker patients may be less likely to access or complete CR. The aim of this study was to determine the levels of anxiety and depression and its improvement, depending on the smoking status of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) on phase 2 of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program (CRP). Additionally, we intend to investigate the mental health impact on smoker patients" group in conventional CR versus telemonitored CR. A retrospective study was conducted and patients in CRP between 2017 and 2020 were included. Patient selection and information collection were obtained through medical records. The outcomes of anxiety and depression were evaluated through the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Patients were divided into two groups: group 1 for non-smokers or ex-smokers and group 2 for smokers. For group 2 patients, a sub-analysis was performed for patients following the conventional CR versus the telemonitored CR, with the use of MOVIDA mobile application. Variables were analysed in the beginning (T0) and in the end (T1) of phase 2, around 3 months after. Group comparisons tests and statistical analysis were performed using SPSS software v25.0. A p-value less than 0.05 is statistically significant.  We analysed 107 patients, which 93 of these were assiduous and 69 concluded the phase 2 of CRP: 39 patients in group 1 and 30 patients in group 2. Two groups have similar baseline characteristics, except for the higher presence of diabetes (p = 0.02) in group 1. It was noted an improvement in both anxiety and depression items for group 1 (p < 0.01 for both), but only for anxiety item for group 2 (p = 0.03). In subgroup analysis, we observed no improvement for smoking patients following the conventional CR for both anxiety and depression items (p = 0.60 and p = 0.71, respectably) versus a significant difference in telemonitored CR patients (p = 0.02 and p = 0.04). We hypothesise that, when compared to conventional CR, cardiac telemonitored exercise using modern communication methods may result in an improved mental health state among smoking patients, which can lead to a better adherence for CRP. Further studies including more patients and phase 3 of CRP are needed to confirm these results.

Childhood Material Hardship and Adolescent Mental Health

2021 ◽  
pp. 0044118X2110018
Author(s):  
Chrisse Edmunds ◽  
Melissa Alcaraz
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Adolescent Depression ◽  
Adolescent Mental Health ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Fragile Families ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Material Hardship ◽  
Critical Age ◽  
The Relationship

Adolescent mental health has implications for current and future wellbeing. While a link exists between poverty and mental health, little is known about how experiencing material hardship, such as insecurity of food, housing, utilities, and medical care, throughout early childhood affects adolescent mental health. We examine the relationship between material hardship in childhood and adolescent mental health. We use Poisson regression to examine the effect of material hardship experienced at different stages of childhood on adolescent depression and anxiety outcomes at age 15. We use longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study ( N = 3,222). We find that recently experiencing material hardship during childhood is positively and significantly associated with anxiety and depression symptoms at age 15, even when controlling for material hardship at age 15. Additionally, we find that insecurity during mid-childhood and the stress of lacking basic needs during a critical age may influence mental health in adolescence.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document