METHOD: Through an online survey, we used Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) to measure the level of anxiety associated with the COVID-19 crisis and Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE) to assess the coping responses adopted to handle stressful life events. Coping strategies were classified as adaptive and maladaptive, for which the aggregate sores were calculated. Multiple linear regression was used to determine the predictors of anxiety adjusted for potentially confounding variables. Results from 434 participants were available for analysis.
RESULTS: The mean score (SD) of the CAS was 1.1 (1.8). The mean scores of adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies were 35.69 and 19.28, respectively. Multiple linear regression revealed that maladaptive coping [Adjusted B coefficient = 4.106, p-value < 0.001] and presence of comorbidities [Adjusted B coefficient = 1.376, p-value = 0.025] significantly predicted anxiety.
CONCLUSION: Maladaptive coping and presence of comorbidities were the predictors of coronavirus anxiety. The apparent lack of anxiety in relation to COVID-19 and movement restriction is reflective of the reported high level of satisfaction with the support and services provided during the COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia. Adaptive coping strategies were adopted more frequently than maladaptive. Nevertheless, public education on positive coping strategies and anxiety management may be still be relevant to provide mental health support to address the needs of the general population.
OBJECTIVE: The study aims to examine the effectiveness of a marital self-disclosure intervention for improving the level of fear of cancer recurrence and the dyadic coping ability among gastric cancer survivors and their spouses.
METHODS: This is a quasiexperimental study with a nonequivalent (pretest-posttest) control group design. The study will be conducted at 2 tertiary hospitals in Taizhou City, Jiangsu Province, China. A total of 42 patients with gastric cancer undergoing chemotherapy and their spouses will be recruited from each hospital. Participants from Jingjiang People's Hospital will be assigned to an experimental group, while participants from Taizhou People's Hospital will be assigned to a control group. The participants in the experimental group will be involved in 4 phases of the marital self-disclosure (different topics, face-to-face) intervention. Patients will be evaluated at baseline after a diagnosis of gastric cancer and reassessed 2 to 4 months after baseline. The primary outcome is the score of the Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form (FoP-Q-SF) for patients. The secondary outcomes are the scores of the FoP-Q-SF for partners and the Dyadic Coping Inventory.
RESULTS: Research activities began in October 2022. Participant enrollment and data collection began in February 2023 and are expected to be completed in 12 months. The primary results of this study are anticipated to be announced in June 2024.
CONCLUSIONS: This study aims to assess a marital self-disclosure intervention for improving the fear of cancer recurrence in Chinese patients with gastric cancer and their spouses. The study is likely to yield desirable positive outcomes as marital self-disclosure is formulated based on evidence and inputs obtained through stakeholder interviews and expert consultation. The study process will be carried out by nurses who have received psychological training, and the quality of the intervention will be strictly controlled.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05606549; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05606549.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/55102.
METHODS: Following PRISMA guidelines, we conducted search over six databases, including Scopus, PubMed, etc., between November 4, 2021 and November 11, 2021 for studies that investigated how SEC indicators predict emotional health risks during Covid-19, after obtaining approval from PROSPERO (ID: CRD42021288508). Using Covidence as the platform, 362 articles (324 cross-sectional/repeated cross-sectional and 38 longitudinal) were included in this review according to the eligibility criteria. We categorized SEC indicators into 'actual versus perceived' and 'static versus fluid' classes to explore their differential effects on emotional health.
RESULTS: Out of the 1479 SEC indicators used in these 362 studies, our results showed that 43.68% of the SEC indicators showed 'expected' results (i.e., higher SEC predicting better emotional health outcomes); 51.86% reported non-significant results and 4.46% reported the reverse. Economic concerns (67.16% expected results) and financial strains (64.16%) emerged as the best predictors while education (26.85%) and living conditions (30.14%) were the worst.
CONCLUSIONS: This review summarizes how different SEC indicators influenced emotional health risks across 98 countries, with a total of 5,677,007 participants, ranging from high to low-income countries. Our findings showed that not all SEC indicators were strongly predictive of emotional health risks. In fact, over half of the SEC indicators studied showed a null effect. We found that perceived and fluid SEC indicators, particularly economic concerns and financial strain could best predict depressive and anxiety symptoms. These findings have implications for policymakers to further understand how different SEC classes affect mental health during a pandemic in order to tackle associated social issues effectively.
METHODS: Twelve women participated in in-depth interviews. They were recruited using a snowballing approach. The interviews were supported by a topic guide which was developed based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and previous literature. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis.
RESULTS: Women in this study described a range of birthing experiences and personal beliefs as to why they chose unassisted home birth. Four themes emerged from the interviews; i) preferred birthing experience, ii) birth is a natural process, iii) expressing autonomy and iv) faith. Such decision to birth at home unassisted was firm and steadfast despite the possible risks and complications that can occur. Giving birth is perceived to occur naturally regardless of assistance, and unassisted home birth provides the preferred environment which health facilities in Malaysia may lack. They believed that they were in control of the birth processes apart from fulfilling the spiritual beliefs.
CONCLUSIONS: Women may choose unassisted home birth to express their personal views and values, at the expense of the health risks. Apart from increasing mothers' awareness of the possible complications arising from unassisted home births, urgent efforts are needed to provide better birth experiences in healthcare facilities that resonate with the mothers' beliefs and values.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study recruited adult PWH during routine follow-up at five HIV clinical sites in the Asia-Pacific region. Participants were screened for depression using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and SU using Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST). Quality of life (QoL) was assessed with WHOQOL-HIV BREF and functional ability with World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0). Factors associated with mean QoL and disability scores were analysed using linear regression.
RESULTS: Of 864 PWH enrolled, 753 screened positive for depression or SU. The median (interquartile range, IQR) age was 38 (31-47) years and 97% were on ART. Overall mean WHOQOL-HIV BREF and WHODAS scores indicated greater impairment with increasing depressive symptom severity and SU risk. In multivariate analysis, PWH reporting previous trauma/stress (difference = 2.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5-3.9, P
METHODS: We searched six databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, EMBASE, and ProQuest) using appropriate search terms to identify the relevant literature published on the factors determining QoL following TKA. Two reviewers independently performed the study screening and study selection. A third reviewer was consulted in case of any disagreement. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Modified Downs and Black Index checklist. This review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022352887) and reported according to the PRISMA checklist.
RESULTS: We identified a total of 8517 studies, 29 of which were included. Advanced age; female sex; increased body mass index (BMI); the presence of comorbidities such as diabetes; contralateral knee pain; poor preoperative status; psychological and pain-related factors such as the presence of pain catastrophizing; central sensitization; kinesiophobia; anxiety; depression; chronic pain; psychological distress; low level of optimism; and reduced patient satisfaction were used to determine post-TKA QoL scores. High BMI and depression were the most common factors evaluated in these studies. Overall, the methodological quality of the included studies varied from high to low.
CONCLUSION: After TKA, the overall QoL score improved. However, there are a few physical, behavioral, and psychological factors that influence QoL. Identifying these factors could aid clinicians and health professionals in treating and rehabilitating patients by helping them improve patient prognosis after TKA.
METHOD: We assessed mental health and suicidal behavior of 102 self-identified homosexual males from a community-based organization that works with the sexual minority population.
RESULTS: One-third of the participants (32.4%) had experienced attempted suicide, and almost half (47.1%) had a history of suicidal ideation and self-harm (40.2%). Compared to a heterosexual sample, homosexual males had poorer mental health as they scored higher on Beck Hopelessness Scale (Cohen's d = 0.29) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) (Cohen's d = 0.57). The results revealed positive correlations between self-harm, suicidal ideation and suicide attempt scores. Participants with history of suicide attempt, suicide ideation and self-harm reported worse general health, more social dysfunction, and severe depression than those without such history.
CONCLUSION: Suicidality and mental health conditions among homosexual males in Bangladesh have appeared to be alarming. Given the concerns, we offer some recommendations for practitioners and social workers who are serving this population in Bangladesh.
METHODS: A total of 755 older adults aged ≥60 years were recruited. Their cognitive performance was determined using the Clinical Dementia Rating. Fried's criteria was applied to identify physical frailty, and the Beck Depression Inventory assessed their mental states.
RESULTS: A total of 39.2% (n = 304) of the participants were classified as cognitive frail. In this cognitive frail subpopulation, 8.6% (n = 26) had clinical depressive symptoms, which were mostly somatic such as disturbance in sleep pattern, work difficulty, fatigue, and lack of appetite. Older adults with cognitive frailty also showed significantly higher depression levels as compared with the noncognitive frail participants (t (622.06) = -3.38; P = 0.001). There are significant associations between depression among older adults with cognitive frailty and multimorbidity (P = 0.009), polypharmacy (P = 0.009), vision problems (P = 0.046), and hearing problems (P = 0.047). The likelihood of older adults with cognitive frailty who experience impairments to their vision and hearing, polypharmacy, and multimorbidity to be depressed also increased by 2, 3, 5, and 7-fold.
CONCLUSIONS: The majority of the Malaysian community-dwelling older adults were in a good mental state. However, older adults with cognitive frailty are more susceptible to depression due to impairments to their hearing and vision, multimorbidity, and polypharmacy. As common clinical depressive symptoms among older adults with cognitive frailty are mostly somatic, it is crucial for health professionals to recognize these and not to disregard them as only physical illness. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 225-233.