scholarly journals Evaluation of a Brief Intervention for Promoting Mental Health among Employees in Social Enterprises: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Author(s):  
Benedicte Deforche ◽  
Jasmine Mommen ◽  
Anne Hublet ◽  
Winnie De Roover ◽  
Nele Huys ◽  
...  

Evidence on the effectiveness of workplace mental health promotion for people with disabilities is limited. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief mental health promotion intervention in social enterprises. It had a non-blinded cluster randomized controlled trial design with follow-up one and four months after the intervention. In total 196 employees agreed to participate (86 intervention and 110 control). Empowerment was the main outcome; secondary outcomes were resilience, palliative behavior, determinants of four coping strategies of mental health, quality of life, and life satisfaction. A brief participant satisfaction survey was conducted after the intervention. No significant intervention effect on empowerment was found. However, at one month follow-up, significant favorable effects were found on perceived social support for coping strategies for mental health and on palliative behavior. At four months follow-up, favorable intervention effects were found on quality of life, but unfavorable effects were found on unjustified worrying. In addition, the intervention was well received by the employees. This brief intervention might be a promising first step to improve mental health in people with disabilities working in social enterprises. Nevertheless, additional monitoring by professionals and managers working in the organizations might be needed to maintain these effects.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Covadonga M. Díaz-Caneja ◽  
Javier Martín-Babarro ◽  
Renzo Abregú-Crespo ◽  
Miguel Á. Huete-Diego ◽  
Marta Giménez-Dasí ◽  
...  

Introduction: Bullying is a major preventable risk factor for mental disorders. Available evidence suggests school-based interventions reduce bullying prevalence rates. This study aims to test the efficacy of a web-enabled, school-based, multicomponent anti-bullying intervention to prevent school bullying and to assess its effects on mental health and quality of life.Methods and analysis: Cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in 20 publicly funded primary and secondary schools in Madrid, Spain. Schools are randomly allocated to either the intervention arm (n = 10) or conventional practices arm (n = 10). The web-enabled intervention (LINKlusive) lasts ~12 weeks and consists of three main components: (i) an online training program for teachers and parents, (ii) a web-guided educational program for students, focusing on promoting respect for diversity, empathy, and social skill development, and (iii) a web-guided, teacher-delivered, targeted intervention program for bullying situations identified based on peer-support strategies and individual intervention for those involved (i.e., bullying victims and perpetrators). The primary objective is to compare differences between peer-reported bullying victimization in the intervention and control arms at the end of the intervention. Secondary outcome measures are additional measures of bullying victimization and perpetration, mental health symptoms, self-esteem, and quality of life. A follow-up assessment is conducted 1 year after the end of the intervention. Treatment effects will be tested using multilevel mixed models, adjusting for school-, classroom-, and student-related covariates. Considering the increased bullying rates in children with special educational needs, a specific subgroup analysis will test the efficacy of the intervention on bullying prevalence, mental health, and quality of life in this particularly vulnerable population.Ethics and Dissemination: The Deontology Commission of the School of Psychology, Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain reviewed the study protocol and granted ethical approval on 21st January 2019. The results of the trial will be disseminated in relevant peer-reviewed journals and at conferences in the field.Trial Registration Number: ISRCTN15719015.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Julie L. O’Sullivan ◽  
Sonia Lech ◽  
Paul Gellert ◽  
Ulrike Grittner ◽  
Jan-Niklas Voigt-Antons ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives: To investigate global and momentary effects of a tablet-based non-pharmacological intervention for nursing home residents living with dementia. Design: Cluster-randomized controlled trial. Setting: Ten nursing homes in Germany were randomly allocated to the tablet-based intervention (TBI, 5 units) or conventional activity sessions (CAS, 5 units). Participants: N = 162 residents with dementia. Intervention: Participants received regular TBI (n = 80) with stimulating activities developed to engage people with dementia or CAS (n = 82) for 8 weeks. Measurements: Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES-I, primary outcome), Quality of Life in Alzheimer’s Disease scale, QUALIDEM scale, Neuropsychiatric Inventory, Geriatric Depression Scale, and psychotropic medication (secondary outcomes). Momentary quality of life was assessed before and after each activity session. Participants and staff were blinded until the collection of baseline data was completed. Data were analyzed with linear mixed-effects models. Results: Levels of apathy decreased slightly in both groups (mean decrease in AES-I of .61 points, 95% CI −3.54, 2.33 for TBI and .36 points, 95% CI −3.27, 2.55 for CAS). Group difference in change of apathy was not statistically significant (β = .25; 95% CI 3.89, 4.38, p = .91). This corresponds to a standardized effect size (Cohen’s d) of .02. A reduction of psychotropic medication was found for TBI compared to CAS. Further analyses revealed a post-intervention improvement in QUALIDEM scores across both groups and short-term improvements of momentary quality of life in the CAS group. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that interventions involving tailored activities have a beneficial impact on global and momentary quality of life in nursing home residents with dementia. Although we found no clear advantage of TBI compared to CAS, tablet computers can support delivery of non-pharmacological interventions in nursing homes and facilitate regular assessments of fluctuating momentary states.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saratu Umar Aliyu ◽  
Shmaila M. Hanif ◽  
Isa Usman Lawal

Abstract Background Post-fistula-repair incontinence (PFRI) is a common complication of vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) surgeries. It entails continuous leakage of urine after successful VVF closure. Pelvic Floor Muscle Training (PFMT) plays a vital role in the management of PFRI, however, an evolving exercise approach is the Paula Exercise Method (PEM) which has shown a promising effect in stopping urinary incontinence, but there is no data on its effect on PFRI. This study therefore, proposes to primarily investigate the effect of PEM on urine leakage and secondarily, pelvic floor strength (PFS), quality of life (QoL), sexual function (SF), and mental health (MH) in women with PFRI. Methods This is a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. A total of 182 participants are expected to participate in the study after satisfying the inclusion criteria. The participants will be randomized into either PEM or PFMT study groups. The demographic data of all the participants will be recorded. Each participant will be assessed for urine leakage, PFS, QoL, SF, and MH at baseline and subsequently, at four, eight and 12 weeks of intervention. Demographic parameters will be summarized using descriptive statistics. Continuous data will be computed for differences using inferential statistic of Analysis of variance, t-test and Man Whitney U as appropriate. All analyses will be performed using SPSS version 22.0 with probability set at 0.05 alpha level. Discussion It is hoped that the outcome of this study will determine the effect of the Paula exercise method on urine leakage, pelvic floor strength, quality of life, sexual function, and mental health among women with post-fistula-repair incontinence and also provide evidence for the use of the Paula method in urinary incontinence. Trial registration: Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (www.pactr.org), identifier PACTR201906515532827.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110041
Author(s):  
Roos Ruijne ◽  
Cornelis Mulder ◽  
Milan Zarchev ◽  
Kylee Trevillion ◽  
Roel van Est ◽  
...  

Despite increased prevalence of domestic violence and abuse (DVA), victimization through DVA often remains undetected in mental health care. To estimate the effectiveness of a system provider level training intervention by comparing the detection and referral rates of DVA of intervention community mental health (CMH) teams with rates in control CMH teams. We also aimed to determine whether improvements in knowledge, skills and attitudes to DVA were greater in clinicians working in intervention CMH teams than those working in control teams. We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial in two urban areas of the Netherlands. Detection and referral rates were assessed at baseline and at 6 and 12 months after the start of the intervention. DVA knowledge, skills and attitudes were assessed using a survey at baseline and at 6 and 12 months after start of the intervention. Electronic patient files were used to identify detected and referred cases of DVA. Outcomes were compared between the intervention and control teams using a generalized linear mixed model. During the 12-month follow-up, detection and referral rates did not differ between the intervention and control teams. However, improvements in knowledge, skills and attitude during that follow-up period were greater in intervention teams than in control teams: β 3.21 (95% CI 1.18-4.60). Our trial showed that a training program on DVA knowledge and skills in CMH teams can increase knowledge and attitude towards DVA. However, our intervention does not appear to increase the detection or referral rates of DVA in patients with a severe mental illness. A low detection rate of DVA remains a major problem. Interventions with more obligatory elements and a focus on improving communication between CMH teams and DVA services are recommended.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 451-462
Author(s):  
Júlia Caetano Martins ◽  
Sylvie Nadeau ◽  
Larissa Tavares Aguiar ◽  
Aline Alvim Scianni ◽  
Luci Fuscaldi Teixeira-Salmela ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Impaired mobility is related to low physical activity (PA) levels observed after stroke. Therapeutic approaches, such as task-specific circuit training (TSCT), used to improve mobility in individuals with stroke, could also improve PA levels. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of TSCT, focused on both upper (UL) and lower (LL) limbs, in improving PA levels and mobility (primary outcomes), as well as muscle strength, exercise capacity, and quality of life (secondary outcomes) in subjects with stroke. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial with 36 subjects with chronic stroke was conducted. Experimental group: TSCT, involving both UL and LL. Control group: global stretching, memory exercises, and education sessions. Both groups received 60 minute sessions/week over 12 weeks. Outcomes were measured at baseline, post-intervention and 16 week follow-up. RESULTS: No changes were found for primary and secondary outcomes (0.11≤p≤0.99), except for quality of life, which improved in the experimental group post-intervention and 16 week follow-up (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: TSCT focused on both UL and LL was not effective on PA levels and mobility of individuals with chronic stroke, however, improvements in quality of life were observed. Since this is the first study to investigate this combined training aimed at improving PA levels, future studies are necessary to better understand the impact of this type of intervention.


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