Towards an Ideology-Free, Truly Mechanistic Health Psychology

Efficient transfer of concepts and mechanistic insights from the cognitive to the health sciences and back requires a clear, objective description of the problem that this transfer ought to solve. Unfortunately, however, the actual descriptions are commonly penetrated with, and sometimes even motivated by, cultural norms and preferences, a problem that has colored scientific theorizing about behavioral control—the key concept for many psychological health interventions. We argue that ideologies have clouded our scientific thinking about mental health in two ways: by considering the societal utility of individuals and their behavior a key criterion for distinguishing between healthy and unhealthy people, and by dividing what actually seem to be continuous functions relating psychological and neurocognitive underpinnings to human behavior into binary, discrete categories that are then taken to define clinical phenomena. We suggest letting both traditions go and establish a health psychology that restrains from imposing societal values onto individuals, and then taking the fit between behavior and values to conceptualize unhealthiness. Instead, we promote a health psychology that reconstructs behavior that is considered to be problematic from well-understood mechanistic underpinnings of human behavior.

Exploring the Relationship between Socioemotional Skills and Decision-Making Styles in Health Students

Higher education in health study programs is particularly focused on the development of technical skills, despite there being a consensus on the importance of training students regarding socioemotional and life skills. The aim of this study was to characterize and explore correlations between socioemotional skills and decision-making styles in undergraduate health students. Undergraduate students (18–25 years old) were recruited at a School of Health Sciences in Portugal. Participants were characterized in terms of sociodemographic data, socioemotional skills (Study on Social and Emotional Skills questionnaire) and decision-making styles (Melbourne Decision Making questionnaire). Descriptive statistics and correlations between questionnaires´ subscales were calculated. Students presented higher scores in tolerance (34.8±3.4), cooperation (34.7±2.4), empathy (31.1±3.2), vigilance (16.0±1.9), and procrastination (9.9±2.1). Assertiveness presented negative correlations with buck-passing (rho=-0.43, p<0.01) and procrastination (rho=-0.38, p<0.01) and positive correlation with vigilance (rho=0.22, p=0.03). Students demonstrated higher values in empathy, cooperation, and tolerance skills, meaning they tend to be kind and care for others’ well-being. Vigilance style is related to assertiveness characterizing hard working leaders able to pay attention to others’ needs. Training that involves socioemotional skills might be crucial for the style of decision-making in future health professionals.

Prevalence of methylphenidate use by Master of Medicine students at a South African university

BackgroundMethylphenidate is mainly used for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactive-disorder (ADHD). Its effect of increased attentiveness leads to the potential of off-label use by students for academic enhancement—previously demonstrated in undergraduate students. No publication exists on postgraduate student use of methylphenidate.ObjectivesTo provide a summary of the self-reported prevalence and correlates of methylphenidate use in Masters of Medicine (MMed) students registered at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences of a South African university.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted. Data were collected via a self-administered anonymous online questionnaire distributed by email to 505 registered MMed students.ResultsOf the 253 responses (response rate 50.1%) received 71 (28.1%) have used methylphenidate. Only 2.4% have been diagnosed with ADHD. The majority (73.2%) obtained it without a formal medical consultation. Self-prescription (26.8%) and prescription by a colleague without consultation (23.9%) contributed significantly. Academic performance enhancement was the primary motivation for use in 71.8% and 42.3% of users started using methylphenidate while registered as an MMed student. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of gender (p=0.151), age (p=0.288) or year of study (p=0.149).ConclusionsOff-label use of methylphenidate is prevalent in MMed students registered at this South African university. The prevalence is significantly higher than in undergraduate medical students. The non-conventional means of access is of great concern. Efforts should be made to discourage self-prescription, educate students on the dangers of methylphenidate use, promote better access regulation and enhance psychological support.

Influence of Chronic Exposure to Exercise on Heart Rate Variability in Children and Adolescents Affected by Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Sedentary lifestyles are increasingly common amongst children, and insufficient physical activity is a global epidemic estimated to contribute to future incapacities and potential deaths. Objective: We aimed to increase the amount of evidence concerning the effect of chronic exposure to exercise on heart rate variability in children and adolescents affected by obesity. Methods: A systematic review commenced following the PRISMA guidelines developed by Web of Science, Virtual Health Library, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Ovid, Medline Complete, and Scopus using keywords obtained from the Descriptors in Health Sciences and Medical Subject Headlines (MeSH) terms. We considered (1) Population: Pediatric individuals affected by obesity; (2) Intervention: Exercise; (3) Control: Pre-intervention and sedentary; (4) Outcomes: Clearly presented primary parameters; and (5) Studies: Clinical trials, case controls, case reports, and case series. Results: 11 articles were involved and predominantly included procedures observed during approximately 12 weeks with a distribution of three sessions per week, each session being 30–60 min of aerobic exercise; additionally, the exercise grades were typically completed at a percentage of subjects’ maximum heart rates. The meta-analyses displayed a significant effect on the domains of time (R-R interval, SDNN, rMSSD), frequency (HF ms2, HF (n.u.), LF/HF), and the non-linear index (SD1). Conclusion: Chronic exposure to exercise influences heart rate variability in children and adolescents affected by obesity by elevating the variability and parasympathetic activity and improving the sympathetic-vagal balance. Exercises should be recommended for the improvement of cardiac autonomic modulation to prevent the likelihood of further chronic diseases.

Children with congenital heart disease in COVID-19 pandemic times: an integrative review

ABSTRACT Objective: to identify the scientific production in health about children with congenital heart disease in COVID-19 pandemic times. Method: this is an integrative review, carried out in June 2020 in the information resources Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS), National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health (PubMed), Scientific Electronic Library Online Journal Portal (SciELO) and Brazilian Institute of Information Science and Technology (Oasis Ibict). Results: 14 studies composed this review. Most studies pointed to tests, interventional procedures and surgery for children with heart disease in pandemic times; others discussed possible complications of COVID-19 among children with congenital heart disease. Conclusion: the incipient production of studies and the weak level of evidence denote an important knowledge gap so far, highlighting the need for studies with strong scientific evidence for the formulation of care guidelines aimed at children with heart disease.

Feature definition and comprehensive analysis on the robust identification of intraretinal cystoid regions using optical coherence tomography images

Currently, optical coherence tomography is one of the most used medical imaging modalities, offering cross-sectional representations of the studied tissues. This image modality is specially relevant for the analysis of the retina, since it is the internal part of the human body that allows an almost direct examination without invasive techniques. One of the most representative cases of use of this medical imaging modality is for the identification and characterization of intraretinal fluid accumulations, critical for the diagnosis of one of the main causes of blindness in developed countries: the Diabetic Macular Edema. The study of these fluid accumulations is particularly interesting, both from the point of view of pattern recognition and from the different branches of health sciences. As these fluid accumulations are intermingled with retinal tissues, they present numerous variants according to their severity, and change their appearance depending on the configuration of the device; they are a perfect subject for an in-depth research, as they are considered to be a problem without a strict solution. In this work, we propose a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the patterns that characterize them. We employed a pool of 11 different texture and intensity feature families (giving a total of 510 markers) which we have analyzed using three different feature selection strategies and seven complementary classification algorithms. By doing so, we have been able to narrow down and explain the factors affecting this kind of accumulations and tissue lesions by means of machine learning techniques with a pipeline specially designed for this purpose.

A systematic review of smartphone-based human activity recognition methods for health research

Smartphones are now nearly ubiquitous; their numerous built-in sensors enable continuous measurement of activities of daily living, making them especially well-suited for health research. Researchers have proposed various human activity recognition (HAR) systems aimed at translating measurements from smartphones into various types of physical activity. In this review, we summarized the existing approaches to smartphone-based HAR. For this purpose, we systematically searched Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science for peer-reviewed articles published up to December 2020 on the use of smartphones for HAR. We extracted information on smartphone body location, sensors, and physical activity types studied and the data transformation techniques and classification schemes used for activity recognition. Consequently, we identified 108 articles and described the various approaches used for data acquisition, data preprocessing, feature extraction, and activity classification, identifying the most common practices, and their alternatives. We conclude that smartphones are well-suited for HAR research in the health sciences. For population-level impact, future studies should focus on improving the quality of collected data, address missing data, incorporate more diverse participants and activities, relax requirements about phone placement, provide more complete documentation on study participants, and share the source code of the implemented methods and algorithms.

Impact of bariatric surgery on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: an integrative review

The present study aims to demonstrate the results of the impact of bariatric surgery on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease through secondary sources available in the literature. A literature review was carried out with the descriptors "Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease" OR "NAFLD" AND "Bariatric Surgery"; “Doença Hepática Gordurosa não Alcoólica” OR “DHGNA” AND “Cirurgia Bariátrica” in the databases: Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, through the Virtual Health Library, and Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (Medline), through PubMed. Cohort-type studies addressing the effects of bariatric surgery on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease published in the last 5 years were included in the review. Thirty-one studies were identified, of which 10 were excluded for not performing postoperative evaluation and 8 were excluded for not containing the methodological criteria, totaling 13 studies. The current literature presents data suggestive of the association between bariatric surgery and the regression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, however, the studies observed present wide variations in methodological applications and samples with heterogeneous profiles, which makes it difficult to generalize the results. More studies are needed so that it is possible to document with greater evidence and reproducibility the action of different types of bariatric surgery on the rate of this liver disease regression.

A study of Microorganisms causing wound infections after Elective laparotomy

Any purulent discharge from a closed surgical incision, after surgery, together with signs of inflammation of the surrounding tissue should be considered as Post operative (post-op) wound infection. There are two types of wounds in elective laparotomy: clean and contaminated wound Objective: To find out most causative microorganism involved in post-op wound infection in elective laparotomy cases at the Children Hospital and The Institute of Child Health Sciences, Lahore Pakistan. Methods: It was a prospective observational study conducted on patients who developed wound infection after elective laparotomy. This study was conducted in the surgical Units I and II of Children Hospital Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan. The duration of the study was 11 months from January 2019 to November 2019. 150 patients were included in this study. Data was collected by convenient sampling technique. It was a hospital-based study in which patients from both genders were included. Data was obtained by a questionnaire. Patients were asked for wound condition and surgery details were taken to find out the reasons of wound infection. The data selected was analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. Results: Out of total 150 patients who underwent elective laparotomy, 40% patients were identified with Escherichia Coli, 13.3% patients identified with Pseudomonas species, 13.3% patients had klebsiella, 6.7% patients had Pseudomonas Florescence, 6.7% people had Acinetobacter, 6.7% had Staphylococcus aureus, 13.3% did not show any growth. Conclusions: It was concluded that most abundant microorganism isolated from patients who underwent elective laparotomy was Escherichia coli. The most common reasons for wound infection were increase in number of surgeons and increase in duration of illness.

The prevalence and factors associated with depression among preclinical and clinical medical students at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah

Objectives - To assess the prevalence of major depression among medical students. - To assess the risk factors of major depression among medical students. Background: Depression, a common mental disorder which has been considered a serious problem worldwide. Depression has a great negative impact on different aspects of a person’s life such as school performance, work productivity, relationships with family and friends, and ability to participate and become an active member in the community Design: cross sectional study. Review Methods and Data Sources: A survey has been conduct seeking respondents’ level of agreement rating scale with a series of statements of two questionnaire sections: Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS21), and Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ). Data gathered through an online questionnaire that designed through method mentioned above and distributed to preclinical and clinical medical students at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah. The study will be conducted at King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences- Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Results: The prevalence of depression anxiety stress for study participants 11.6%. The prevalence of medical student stressor scale rich about 6.1%. There is significant different depression anxiety stress scale according to gender of participants. Top 10 Statements out of 21 of depression anxiety stress scale according to respondents’ opinions are: 1. I felt that I was using a lot of nervous energy. 2. I found it difficult to work up the initiative to do things. 3. I found it hard to wind down. 4. I found it difficult to relax. 5. I found myself getting agitated. 6. I was worried about situations in which I might panic and make a fool of myself. 7. I felt downhearted and blue. 8. I experienced trembling (eg, in the hands). 9. I was unable to become enthusiastic about anything. 10. I was aware of dryness of my mouth. Conclusion: This study was prompted by the rise in depression anxiety disorder is considered the leading cause of disability worldwide. The results and discussion sections presented high prevalence of depression anxiety stress rich 11.6% within the study sample of the preclinical and clinical medical students at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah. Since the prevalence of medical student stressor rich 6.1% for same sample size.