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Objective: The aim of our study is to examine the relationship between the economic activity of small firms and the mental well-being of the population in five Latin American countries in the early stages of the pandemic., Methods: We utilize the search volume of certain keywords on Google Trends (GT), such as "boredom," "frustration," "loneliness," "sleep", "anxiety", and "depression", as an indicator of the well-being of the population. By examining the data from Facebook Business Activity Trends, we investigate how social attention reacts to the activity levels of different economic sectors., Results: Increased business activity is generally associated with reduced levels of boredom, loneliness, sleep problems and anxiety. The effect on depression varies by sector, with positive associations concentrated in onsite jobs. In addition, we observe that strict Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) tend to exacerbate feelings of boredom and loneliness, sleep issues, and anxiety., Conclusions: Our findings suggest a strong association between different indicators of psychological well-being and the level of activity in different sectors of the economy. Given the essential role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in generating employment, especially during crises like the pandemic, it is imperative that they remain resilient and adaptable to support economic recovery and job preservation. To accomplish this, policymakers need to focus on providing financial stability and support for SMEs, fostering social support networks within companies, and incorporating mental health services into workplace environments. This comprehensive strategy can alleviate mental health challenges and enhance public health resilience., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: The aim of this study was to contribute to the theoretical development within the field of labour market effects on mental health during life by integrating Bronfenbrenner's ecological model with mainly earlier theoretical work on life-course theory., Methods: An integrative review was performed of all 52 publications about labour market conditions in relation to mental health from the longitudinal Northern Swedish Cohort study. Inductive and deductive qualitative content analysis were performed in relation to Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework combined with life-course theories., Results: The following nine themes were identified: 1. Macroeconomic recession impairs mental health among young people. 2. The mental health effects on individuals of youth unemployment seem rather insensitive to recession. 3. Small but consistent negative effect of neighbourhood unemployment and other work-related disadvantaged on individuals' mental health over life. 4. Youth unemployment becomes embodied as scars of mental ill-health over life. 5. Weak labour market attachment impairs mental health over life. 6. Bidirectional relations between health and weak labour market attachment over life. 7. Macrolevel structures are of importance for how labour market position cause poor health. 8. Unequal gender relations at work impacts negatively on mental health. 9. The agency to improve health over life in dyadic relations. Unemployment in society permeates from the macrolevel into the exolevel, defined by Bronfenbrenner as for example the labour market of parents or partners or the neighbourhood into the settings closest to the individual (the micro- and mesolevel) and affects the relations between the work, family, and leisure spheres of the individual. Neighbourhood unemployment leads to poor health among those who live there, independent of their employment status. Individuals' exposure to unemployment and temporary employment leads to poorer mental health over the life-course. Temporal dimensions were identified and combined with Bronfenbrenner levels into a contextual life-course model CONCLUSION: Combining the ecosocial theory with life-course theories provides a framework for understanding the embodiment of work-related mental health over life. The labour market conditions surrounding the individual are of crucial importance for the embodiment of mental health over life, at the same time as individual agency can be health promoting. Mental health can be improved by societal efforts in regulations of the labour market., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: With the rapid aging of the domestic population, China has a strong incentive to increase the statutory retirement age. How retirement affects the health of the elderly is crucial to this policymaking. The health consequences of retirement have been debated greatly. This study aims to investigate the effects of retirement on physical and mental health among Chinese elderly people., Methods: The data we use in this study comes from four waves (2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018) of the Harmonized China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (Harmonized CHARLS), a prospective cohort. We use the nonparametric fuzzy regression discontinuity design to estimate the effects of retirement on physical and mental health. We test the robustness of our results with respect to different bandwidths, kernel functions, and polynomial orders. We also explore the heterogeneity across gender and education., Results: Results show that retirement has an insignificant effect on a series of physical and mental health outcomes, with and without adjusting several sociodemographic variables. Heterogeneity exists regarding gender and education. Although stratified analyses indicate that the transition from working to retirement leaves minimal effects on males and females, the effects go in the opposite direction. This finding holds for low-educated and high-educated groups for health outcomes including depression and cognitive function. Most of the results are stable with respect to different bandwidths, kernel functions, and polynomial orders., Conclusions: Our results suggest that it is possible to delay the statutory retirement age in China as retirement has insignificant effects on physical and mental health. However, further research is needed to assess the long-term effect of retirement on health., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The ability of the public to remain psychologically resilient in the face of public health emergencies and disasters (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) is a key factor in the effectiveness of a national response to such events. Community resilience and social capital are often perceived as beneficial and ensuring that a community is socially and psychologically resilient may aid emergency response and recovery. This review presents a synthesis of literature which answers the following research questions: How are community resilience and social capital quantified in research?; What is the impact of community resilience on mental wellbeing?; What is the impact of infectious disease outbreaks, disasters and emergencies on community resilience and social capital?; and, What types of interventions enhance community resilience and social capital? A scoping review procedure was followed. Searches were run across Medline, PsycInfo, and EMBASE, with search terms covering both community resilience and social capital, public health emergencies, and mental health. 26 papers met the inclusion criteria. The majority of retained papers originated in the USA, used a survey methodology to collect data, and involved a natural disaster. There was no common method for measuring community resilience or social capital. The association between community resilience and social capital with mental health was regarded as positive in most cases. However, we found that community resilience, and social capital, were initially negatively impacted by public health emergencies and enhanced by social group activities. Several key recommendations are proposed based on the outcomes from the review, which include: the need for a standardised and validated approach to measuring both community resilience and social capital; that there should be enhanced effort to improve preparedness to public health emergencies in communities by gauging current levels of community resilience and social capital; that community resilience and social capital should be bolstered if areas are at risk of disasters or public health emergencies; the need to ensure that suitable short-term support is provided to communities with high resilience in the immediate aftermath of a public health emergency or disaster; the importance of conducting robust evaluation of community resilience initiatives deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to slow the spread of COVID-19, on March 23, 2020, a strict lockdown was implemented in the UK. This was followed by alternating periods of less restrictive lockdowns until most public health restrictions were lifted in the summer of 2021. While these measures were necessary, they significantly affected people's daily activities, lifestyles, and mental well-being. This paper presents a longitudinal research study that focused on females aged 55 + in the UK, aiming to understand how COVID-19 and the subsequent 15-month period of lockdowns affected their lifestyles and emotions. The study collected data through online surveys, where respondents reported the frequency and mode of access to activities, and their positive and negative emotional experiences during distinct study phases that encompassed both lockdown and less strict periods. In contrast to previous studies highlighting vulnerabilities for females and the elderly during lockdowns, this research found that the studied group maintained an overall positive outlook throughout the study period and successfully adapted to the lockdowns by increasing their engagement in certain activities, in particular, activities like 'getting active'. In addition, our findings indicate rapid adaptive behaviour change towards many online activities, such as cultural activities. However, the study also revealed negative emotions and a decrease in some activities during the second lockdown in 2020 and the subsequent lockdowns in 2021, underscoring the challenges inherent in prolonged periods of confinement. In addition, the study found negative affect associated with some activities, including working and studying from home. The findings provide valuable insights into how females aged over 55 coped with stressful circumstances, which can inform the development of resilient and mental health-conscious public health policies and responses in preparation for future pandemics or other hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Access to fertility treatments is considered a reproductive right, but because of the quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic most infertility treatments were suspended, which might affect the psychological and emotional health of infertile patients. Therefore, this study was conducted to review the mental health of infertile patients facing treatment suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic., Methods: This study was conducted based on the Meta-analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guideline. The Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane library databases were searched by two independent researchers, without time limitation until 31 December 2022. All observational studies regarding the mental health of infertile patients facing treatment suspension including anxiety, depression, and stress were included in the study. Qualitative studies, editorials, brief communications, commentaries, conference papers, guidelines, and studies with no full text were excluded. Quality assessment was carried out using Newcastle-Ottawa Scale by two researchers, independently. The random effects model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of mental health problems. Meta-regression and subgroup analysis were used to confirm the sources of heterogeneity., Results: Out of 681 studies, 21 studies with 5901 infertile patients were systematically reviewed, from which 16 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The results of all pooled studies showed that the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and stress in female patients was 48.4% (95% CI 34.8-62.3), 42% (95% CI 26.7-59.4), and 55% (95% CI 45.4-65), respectively. Additionally, 64.4% (95% CI 50.7-76.1) of patients wished to resume their treatments despite the coronavirus pandemic., Conclusion: Treatment suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic negatively affected the mental health of infertile patients. It is important to maintain the continuity of fertility care, with special attention paid to mental health of infertile patients, through all the possible measures even during a public health crisis., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person social interactions and opportunities for accessing resources that sustain health and well-being have drastically reduced. We therefore designed the pan-Canadian prospective COVID-19: HEalth and Social Inequities across Neighbourhoods (COHESION) cohort to provide a deeper understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic context affects mental health and well-being, key determinants of health, and health inequities., Methods: This paper presents the design of the two-phase COHESION Study, and descriptive results from the first phase conducted between May 2020 and September 2021. During that period, the COHESION research platform collected monthly data linked to COVID-19 such as infection and vaccination status, perceptions and attitudes regarding pandemic-related measures, and information on participants' physical and mental health, well-being, sleep, loneliness, resilience, substances use, living conditions, social interactions, activities, and mobility., Results: The 1,268 people enrolled in the Phase 1 COHESION Study are for the most part from Ontario (47%) and Quebec (33%), aged 48 ± 16 years [mean ± standard deviation (SD)], and mainly women (78%), White (85%), with a university degree (63%), and living in large urban centers (70%). According to the 298 ± 68 (mean ± SD) prospective questionnaires completed each month on average, the first year of follow-up reveals significant temporal variations in standardized indexes of well-being, loneliness, anxiety, depression, and psychological distress., Conclusions: The COHESION Study will allow identifying trajectories of mental health and well-being while investigating their determinants and how these may vary by subgroup, over time, and across different provinces in Canada, in varying context including the pandemic recovery period. Our findings will contribute valuable insights to the urban health field and inform future public health interventions., (© 2023. Crown.)

Background: Holistic housing renovations combine physical housing improvements with social and socioeconomic interventions (e.g. referral to social services, debt counselling, involvement in decision-making, promoting social cohesion). In a deprived neighbourhood in Utrecht, the Netherlands, this paper examined residents' and professionals' experiences, ideas, and perceptions regarding holistic housing renovation, its health effects, and underlying mechanisms explaining those effects. Methods: Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 social housing residents exposed to holistic housing renovation, and 12 professionals involved in either the physical renovation or social interventions implemented. Residents were interviewed in various renovation stages (before, during, after renovation). Transcripts were deductively and inductively coded using qualitative software. Results: Residents experienced and professionals acknowledged renovation stress caused by nuisance from construction work (noise, dust), having to move stuff around, and temporary moving; lack of information and control; and perceived violation of privacy. Involvement in design choices was appreciated, and mental health improvement was expected on the long term due to improved housing quality and visual amenity benefits. Social contact between residents increased as the renovation became topic for small talk. Few comments were made regarding physical health effects. The interviews revealed a certain amount of distrust in and dissatisfaction with the housing corporation, construction company, and other authorities. Conclusions: Renovation stress, aggravated by lack of information and poor accessibility of housing corporation and construction company, negatively affects mental health and sense of control. Potential stress relievers are practical help with packing and moving furniture, and increased predictability by good and targeted communication. Social interventions can best be offered after renovation, when residents live in their renovated apartment and the nuisance and stress from the renovation is behind them. Social partners can use the period leading up to the renovation to show their faces, offer practical help to reduce renovation stress, and increase residents' trust in their organization and authorities in general. This might also contribute to residents' willingness to accept help with problems in the social domain after renovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loneliness, a widespread global public health concern, has far-reaching implications for mental and physical well-being, as well as economic productivity. It also increases the risk of life-threatening conditions. This study conducts a comparative analysis of loneliness in the USA and India using Twitter data, aiming to contribute to a global public health map on loneliness. Collecting 4.1 million tweets globally in October 2022 containing keywords like "lonely", "loneliness", and "alone", the analysis focuses on sentiment and psychosocial linguistic features. Utilizing the Valence Aware Dictionary for Sentiment Reasoning (VADER) for sentiment analysis, the study explores variations in loneliness dynamics across cities, revealing geographical distinctions in correlated topics. The tweets with negative sentiment were further analyzed for psychosocial linguistic features to find a meaningful correlation between loneliness and socioeconomic and emotional themes and factors. Results give detailed top correlated topics with loneliness for each city. The results showed that the dynamics of loneliness through the topics correlated vary across geographical locations. Social media data can be used to capture the dynamics of loneliness which can vary from one place to another depending on the socioeconomic and cultural norms and sociopolitical policies. Social media data to understand loneliness can also provide useful information and insight for public health and policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected those who face historical and ongoing marginalization. In centering pandemic experience of recent immigrant women in the accommodation and food services sector in Canada, we examine how their precarious work translated to experiences of work precarity and wellbeing. This paper illuminates how pre-existing and ongoing marginalization are reproduced during a health crisis for those at the intersection of gender, race, migration, and labour inequities. Using semi-structured interviews and systematic analysis using the Work Precarity Framework, we found that the pandemic exacerbated pre-existing socio-economic marginalization and resulted in unique experiences of work precarity. The latter was experienced as precarity of work (unpredictable work hours and job or employment insecurity), precarity from work (inadequate incomes), and precarity at work (physical, psychological, and relational unsafety). Work precarity stood out as a social determinant of health in relation to its outcome of degraded mental health and wellbeing. Recognizing the role of policies in producing, reproducing, and distributing precarity, we recommend policy directions to reduce social inequities in pandemic recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite global increase in burden of mental health conditions, longitudinal studies on factors related to development of mental health are scarce. Particularly integrated understanding of how factors at each level of ecological system interact to influence mental health of individuals during their life is missing. Both work and outside work (life beyond work) spheres are two important areas in human life which can have independent effects on mental health of individuals. In this integrative review, we aimed to synthesis findings about social determinants outside paid work that are related to development of mental health during life in a 27-year prospective Swedish Cohort study by using Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory.Methods: The material for this paper consists of all mental health related papers within Northern Swedish Cohort. Papers related to outside paid work exposures of life circumstances were selected. An integrative review was conducted on 27 papers and deductive qualitative content analysis in relation to Bronfenbrenner ecological framework was performed to identify the main themes.Results: The results of this review showed that class structures and gender order at macro-level permeated into all other levels and finally became embodied in the individuals as symptoms of mental health during life. At the "exo-level" neighbourhood disadvantage was related to mental ill-health of individuals. The importance of parental interaction with other settings, like school, for mental health of individuals was highlighted at "meso-level". At "micro-level" poor social relationships; social and material adversities and inequality in gender relations during adult life were related to mental ill-health.Conclusion: We found mental health of individuals to be related to both unique and common factors manifesting at different socio-ecological levels. Social structures at the macro-level namely class structures and gender order permeate all other levels and eventually become embodied in the individuals as symptoms of mental health during life. Interventions addressing gender and class related inequalities might be of importance for improving mental health of individuals during their life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Limited attention has been paid to how and why older adults choose to engage with technology-facilitated health care (e-health), and the factors that impact on this. This scoping review sought to address this gap.Methods: Databases were searched for papers reporting on the use of e-health services by older adults, defined as being aged 60 years or older, with specific reference to barriers and facilitators to e-health use.Result: 14 papers were included and synthesised into five thematic categories and related subthemes. Results are discussed with reference to the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology2. The most prevalent barriers to e-health engagement were a lack of self-efficacy, knowledge, support, functionality, and information provision about the benefits of e-health for older adults. Key facilitators were active engagement of the target end users in the design and delivery of e-health programs, support for overcoming concerns privacy and enhancing self-efficacy in the use of technology, and integration of e-health programs across health services to accommodate the multi-morbidity with which older adults typically present.Conclusion: E-health offers a potential solution to overcome the barriers faced by older adults to access timely, effective, and acceptable health care for physical and mental health. However, unless the barriers and facilitators identified in this review are addressed, this potential will not be realised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Each year, many help seekers in need contact health helplines for mental support. It is crucial that they receive support immediately, and that waiting times are minimal. In order to minimize delay, helplines must have adequate staffing levels, especially during peak hours. This has raised the need for means to predict the call and chat volumes ahead of time accurately. Motivated by this, in this paper, we analyze real-life data to develop models for accurately forecasting call volumes, for both phone and chat conversations for online mental health support., Methods: This research was conducted on real call and chat data (adequately anonymized) provided by 113 Suicide Prevention (Over ons | 113 Zelfmoordpreventie) (throughout referred to as '113'), the online helpline for suicide prevention in the Netherlands. Chat and phone call data were analyzed to better understand the important factors that influence the call arrival process. These factors were then used as input to several Machine Learning (ML) models to forecast the number of call and chat arrivals. Next to that, senior counselors of the helpline completed a web-based questionnaire after each shift to assess their perception of the workload., Results: This study has led to several remarkable and key insights. First, the most important factors that determine the call volumes for the helpline are the trend, and weekly and daily cyclic patterns (cycles), while monthly and yearly cycles were found to be non-significant predictors for the number of phone and chat conversations. Second, media events that were included in this study only have limited-and only short-term-impact on the call volumes. Third, so-called (S)ARIMA models are shown to lead to the most accurate prediction in the case of short-term forecasting, while simple linear models work best for long-term forecasting. Fourth, questionnaires filled in by senior counselors show that the experienced workload is mainly correlated to the number of chat conversations compared to phone calls., Conclusion: (S)ARIMA models can best be used to forecast the number of daily chats and phone calls with a MAPE of less than 10 in short-term forecasting. These models perform better than other models showing that the number of arrivals depends on historical data. These forecasts can be used as support for planning the number of counselors needed. Furthermore, the questionnaire data show that the workload experienced by senior counselors is more dependent on the number of chat arrivals and less on the number of available agents, showing the value of insight into the arrival process of conversations., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

BackgroundIn a setting such as Nepal with malnutrition and persistent poor maternal and infant health outcomes, developing interventions to improve the nutrition of preconception and pregnant women is essential.ObjectiveThe objectives of this paper are to describe the full design process of an intervention for newly married women, their husbands, and mothers-in-law to improve maternal nutrition and gender norms, and findings from the feasibility and acceptability pilot.MethodsIn this paper we describe the three phases of the design of an intervention in rural Nepal. We first conducted a mixed methods formative phase which included in depth interviews with newly married women, their husbands and mothers-in-law (N=60) and a longitudinal study for 18 months with 200 newly married women. We then designed of a household level, group, intervention, in close partnership with community members. Finally, we conducted a pilot intervention with 90 participants and collected both pre/post survey data and in-depth qualitative interviews with a subset (N= 30). All participants from all phases of the study lived in Nawalparasi district of Nepal. Qualitative data was analyzed using a thematic analysis, with inductive and deductive themes and quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.ResultsOur formative work highlighted lack of awareness about nutrition, and how women eating last, limited mobility, household and community inequitable gender norms and poor household-level communication contributed to low quality diets. Thus we designed Sumadhur, an intervention that brought groups of households (newly married wife, husband, and mother-in-law) together weekly for four months to strengthen relationships and gain knowledge through interactive content. We found Sumadhur to be highly feasible and acceptable by all respondents, with most (83%) attending 80% of sessions or more and 99% reporting that they would like it to continue. Pre/post surveys showed a decrease in the proportion of women eating last and increase in knowledge about nutrition in preconception and pregnancy. Qualitative interviews suggested that respondents felt it made large impacts on their lives, in terms of strengthening relationships and trust, understanding each other, and changing behaviors.ConclusionsWe show how a designing an intervention in close partnership with the target recipients and local stakeholders can lead to an intervention that is able to target complicated and culturally held practices and beliefs, positively benefit health and wellbeing, and that is very well received.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04383847 , registered 05/12/2020.

Background: Universities are increasingly recognised as institutions where health and wellbeing can be promoted to maximise academic outcomes, career transitions, and lifelong positive health behaviours. There is concern about the mental health of university students and other factors which affect academic outcomes particularly for subgroups such as international students. There are few cohort studies of the breadth of issues that can impact on mental health and academic outcomes for both local and international students. We conducted a baseline prevalence survey of students at a large Australian university covering health, academic, and social determinants of wellbeing. The purpose was to inform the university's new student health and wellbeing framework with a view to follow-up to determine predictors of mental ill-health and academic outcomes in the subsequent year. In this paper we present the baseline prevalence data and report on selected mental health and health care access issues for local and international students. Methods: The entire university population as of April 2019 of over 56,375 students aged 18 or above were invited to complete the online survey. Questions explored eight domains: demographic characteristics, general health and wellbeing, mental health, risk taking behaviours, psychosocial stressors, learning and academic factors, social and cultural environment, and awareness of and access to health and wellbeing services. Records of academic results were also accessed and matched with survey data for a large subset of students providing consent. Results: Fourteen thousand eight hundred eighty (26.4%) students commenced our survey and were representative of the entire student population on demographic characteristics. Three quarters were aged between 18 to 25 years and one third were international students. Eighty-five percent consented to access of their academic records. Similar proportions of local and international students experienced symptoms of a depression or anxiety disorder, however international students were less aware of and less likely to access available health services both inside and external to the university. We also reported on the prevalence of: general lifestyle factors (diet, exercise, amount of daily sleep); risk-taking behaviours (including alcohol, tobacco and other drug use; unprotected sexual activity); psychosocial stressors (financial, intimate partner violence, discrimination, academic stressors, acculturative stress); subjects failed; resilience; social supports; social media use; and health services accessed online. Conclusions: This rigorous and comprehensive examination of the health status of local and international students in an Australian university student population establishes the prevalence of mental health issues and other psychosocial determinants of health and wellbeing, along with academic performance. This study will inform a university-wide student wellbeing framework to guide health and wellbeing promotion and is a baseline for a 12-month follow-up of the cohort in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The ability of the public to remain psychologically resilient in the face of public health emergencies and disasters (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) is a key factor in the effectiveness of a national response to such events. Community resilience and social capital are often perceived as beneficial and ensuring that a community is socially and psychologically resilient may aid emergency response and recovery. This review presents a synthesis of literature which answers the following research questions: How are community resilience and social capital quantified in research?; What is the impact of community resilience on mental wellbeing?; What is the impact of infectious disease outbreaks, disasters and emergencies on community resilience and social capital?; and, What types of interventions enhance community resilience and social capital? A scoping review procedure was followed. Searches were run across Medline, PsycInfo, and EMBASE, with search terms covering both community resilience and social capital, public health emergencies, and mental health. 26 papers met the inclusion criteria. The majority of retained papers originated in the USA, used a survey methodology to collect data, and involved a natural disaster. There was no common method for measuring community resilience or social capital. The association between community resilience and social capital with mental health was regarded as positive in most cases. However, we found that community resilience, and social capital, were initially negatively impacted by public health emergencies and enhanced by social group activities. Several key recommendations are proposed based on the outcomes from the review, which include: the need for a standardised and validated approach to measuring both community resilience and social capital; that there should be enhanced effort to improve preparedness to public health emergencies in communities by gauging current levels of community resilience and social capital; that community resilience and social capital should be bolstered if areas are at risk of disasters or public health emergencies; the need to ensure that suitable short-term support is provided to communities with high resilience in the immediate aftermath of a public health emergency or disaster; the importance of conducting robust evaluation of community resilience initiatives deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mental health (MH) difficulties are on the increase among children and young people (CYP). Evidence has shown that educational settings contain both risk and protective factors for MH. This review investigated which structural and cultural factors and interventions within educational settings promote positive MH and prevent poor MH in 4-18 year olds. Searches were conducted in PsychINFO, Embase, ERIC, ASSIA and British Education Index, and reference lists from key studies and relevant systematic reviews were hand-searched. Intervention, cohort, and qualitative studies were included. Of the 62 included papers, 36 examined cultural factors (30 social/relational and six value-related) while 12 studies examined structural factors (eight organisational and four physical) and 14 studies examined multiple factors. There was strong evidence for the impact of positive classroom management techniques, access to physical activity, and peer mentoring on student MH. Studies examining the impact of positive school culture, teacher training in MH and parent involvement in school MH activities also found predominantly positive results for student MH, albeit the evidence was of lower quality or from a low number of studies. Few studies explicitly examined the impact of interventions on MH inequalities; those that did indicated limited if any reduction to inequalities. A very small number of studies suggested that interventions targeting those at risk of poor MH due to socioeconomic factors could successfully improve wellbeing and reduce depression, anxiety and behavioural problems. Studies exploring the effect of management and leadership strategies within schools, policies, and aspects of the physical environment other than green space were scarce or absent in the literature. This review highlights the need to consider the ways in which educational settings are organised, the culture that is created and the physical space in order to improve the MH of CYP., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Female sex workers (FSWs) in Kenya are at an increased risk of violence, poverty, police arrest, and problematic alcohol and other substance use, all of which are linked to poor mental health and suicidal ideation. Despite the psychological stressors experienced by FSWs, there is no published qualitative methods research investigating their mental health experiences in Kenya. In this paper, we draw on data from in-depth interviews to examine FSWs' lifetime mental health experiences and perceived risk factors.Methods: We used baseline in-depth interviews of the Maisha Fiti longitudinal study of FSWs in Nairobi. We randomly selected 40 FSWs from 1003 FSWs who attended a baseline behavioural-biological interview as part of the Maisha Fiti study. The interview guide was semi-structured, and participants were asked to detail their life stories, including narrating specific events such as entry into sex work, experiences of violence, mental health experiences, and use of alcohol and other substances. Interviews were recorded in Kiswahili/ English and transcribed in English. Data were coded and thematically analysed in Nvivo (v.12).Results: Results indicated that the majority of participants understood 'mental health' as 'insanity', 'stress', 'depression', and 'suicide'; nevertheless, a number described mental health symptomatically, while a few believed that mental health problems were caused by witchcraft. Interestingly, poverty, low levels of education, poor job opportunities, a lack of family support, harmful gender norms, intimate partner violence and subsequent relationship breakdowns, and family bereavement all contributed to poor mental health and subsequent entry into sex work. In addition, the consequences of sex work such as sexual risks, and ongoing violence from police and clients, further exacerbated poor mental health.Conclusions: There is a need for both micro- and macro interventions to address poverty and violence against FSWs in Kenya, thereby reducing mental health problems. Addressing violence against women and girls may also reduce entry into sex work. Improving mental health literacy and providing mental health intervention services for 'at-risk' populations such as FSWs should enhance coping strategies and help-seeking efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mental health outcomes vary widely among high-income countries, although mental health problems represent an increasing proportion of the burden of disease for all countries. This has led to increased demand for healthcare services, but mental health outcomes may also be particularly sensitive to the availability of social services. This paper examines the variation in the absolute and relative amounts that high-income countries spend on healthcare and social services to determine whether increased expenditure on social services relative to healthcare expenditure might be associated with better mental health outcomes.Methods: This paper estimates the association between patterns of government spending and population mental health, as measured by the death rate resulting from mental and behavioural disorders, across member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). We use country-level repeated measures multivariable modelling for the period from 1995 to 2016 with region and time effects, adjusted for total spending and demographic and economic characteristics. Healthcare spending includes all curative services, long-term care, ancillary services, medical goods, preventative care and administration whilst social spending consists of all transfer payments made to individuals and families as part of the welfare state.Results: We find that a higher ratio of social to healthcare expenditure is associated with significantly better mental health outcomes for OECD populations, as measured by the death rate resulting from mental and behavioural disorders. We also find that there is no statistically significant association between healthcare spending and population mental health when we do not control for social spending.Conclusion: This study suggests that OECD countries can have a significant impact on population mental health by investing a greater proportion of total expenditure in social services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over recent years there have been several major terror attacks in cities across Europe. These attacks result in deaths, physical injuries, and pose long-term threats to mental health and wellbeing of large populations. Although psychologists have completed important work on mental health responses to disaster exposure including terrorist attacks, the mental health impacts of such attacks have been comparatively less examined in academic literature than the acute health response to physical injuries. This paper reflects on Southwark Council's pioneering public mental health response to the June 2017 terror attack at London Bridge and Borough Market. It aims to explore perceptions of the mental health impact of the incident by those living and working in the borough., Methods: A rapid qualitative evaluation informed by the logic underpinning Southwark Council's response was conducted. Seven formative interviews were undertaken with individuals involved in the response planning and/or delivery, enabling the evaluation team to establish the response's theoretical basis. Subsequently, nineteen semi-structured interviews with consenting Council employees, residents, business owners, and workers from the Borough were conducted to understand perceived mental health impacts of the attack and the success of the Council response. Thematic analysis of transcribed interviews was undertaken to evaluate the extent to which the response was implemented successfully., Results: Participants reported feeling the attack had a wide-reaching negative impact on the mental health of residents, those working in the borough and visitors who witnessed the attack. Delivering the response was a challenge and response visibility within the community was limited. Participants suggested a comprehensive systematic approach to health needs assessment informed by knowledge and relationships of key Council workers and community stakeholders is imperative when responding to terrorist incidents. Improved communication and working relationships between statutory organisations and community stakeholders would ensure community groups are better supported. Prioritising mental health needs of terror attack responders to mitigate persisting negative impacts was highlighted., Conclusions: This article highlights a potential public health approach and need for developing robust practical guidance in the aftermath of terror attacks. This approach has already influenced the response to the Christchurch mosque shooting in 2019., (© 2021. The Author(s).)