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Introduction: The bidirectional relationship between disease activity and mental health in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has prompted investigations into the efficacy of psychotherapeutic interventions such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on biopsychosocial outcomes. We aimed to examine the efficacy of an ACT program (intervention) in comparison with a cognitive behavioral therapy-informed psychoeducation program (active control) for individuals with IBD and coexistent psychological distress. Both programs were delivered online through a hybrid format (i.e., therapist-led and participant-led sessions)., Methods: A total of 120 adults with IBD were randomized to either the intervention (N = 61) or active control groups (N = 59). Efficacy was determined using linear mixed models for group differences, in rate of changes in study outcomes, between baseline, postintervention, and 3-month follow-up., Results: The primary outcome health-related quality of life significantly improved in the intervention group when compared with the active control group, with a significantly different rate of change observed from baseline to postintervention ( t [190] = 2.15, P = 0.033) in favor of the intervention group with a medium effect size (β = 0.41, mean difference = 0.07, 95% confidence interval 0.01-0.12, P = 0.014). Similarly, the secondary outcome Crohn's disease activity significantly reduced in the intervention group when compared with the active control group, with a significantly different rate of change observed from baseline to 3-month follow-up ( t [90] = -2.40, P = 0.018) in favor of the intervention group with a large effect size (β = -0.77, mean difference = -9.43, 95% confidence interval -13.72 to -5.13, P < 0.001) ( P = 0.014). Furthermore, when observing the rate of change in outcomes over time for the groups separately, anxiety symptoms and pain significantly improved in the intervention group only, and conversely, ulcerative colitis activity and stress symptoms significantly improved in the active control group only. All other outcomes (N = 14) significantly improved over time in both groups including IBD activity, gastrointestinal unhelpful thinking patterns, visceral anxiety, fatigue interference, fatigue severity, fatigue frequency, psychological inflexibility, self-efficacy, resilience, current health status, depression symptoms, IBD control, and pain catastrophizing; however, these changes were not significantly different between the groups., Discussion: Both programs were of benefit to people with IBD and distress. However, ACT offers a significant added benefit for health-related quality of life and self-reported Crohn's disease activity and may be a useful adjuvant therapy in integrated IBD care., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of The American College of Gastroenterology.)

Background: The bidirectional relationship between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) flare-ups and depression/anxiety symptoms has prompted investigations into psychotherapy to improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL) by targeting depression and anxiety. Acceptance commitment therapy (ACT) is effective in improving symptoms of depression and anxiety in people with chronic diseases, yet minimal research has examined ACT's effectiveness for IBD. This study examines the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of the ACTforIBD program, an online program codesigned with consumers to deliver ACT to those with IBD., Methods: Adults with IBD and symptoms of mild-moderate distress were randomized to ACTforIBD or an active control (psychoeducation) condition. Participants completed 8 weekly, 1-hour sessions, 4 of which were therapist facilitated. Feasibility was based on recruitment and retention and acceptability was derived from postprogram satisfaction measures. Preliminary efficacy was determined by group differences in rate of change in study outcomes from baseline to postprogram., Results: Of 62 participants (89% women, 11% men; mean age  33 years), 55 completed the program (ACTforIBD: n = 26 [83.9%]; active control: n = 29 [93.5%]). Adherence and acceptability were high in the ACTforIBD group, with 80% of participants completing all self-directed modules and 78% of participants expressing satisfaction with the program. Significant and marginally significant group × time interactions were found for anxiety symptoms (b = -1.89; 95% confidence interval, -3.38 to -0.42) and psychological HRQoL (b = -0.04; 95% confidence interval, -0.07 to 0.01), showing decreased anxiety and increased psychological HRQoL in the intervention group., Conclusions: ACTforIBD is feasible, acceptable, and improved anxiety symptoms, and psychological HRQoL. This highlights the need for a full-scale randomized controlled trial to further examine the program's efficacy., (© 2023 Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.)

The current study explored perspectives of those with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and comorbid anxiety and/or depression on a hybrid acceptance and committment therapy (ACT) intervention, compared to an active control. This qualitative study was nested within a randomized controlled trial (RCT) where an experimental group received an 8-week blended delivery ACTforIBD intervention (four sessions telehealth, four sessions pre-recorded self-directed), while an active control group received a psychoeducation program of similar intensity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted post-intervention and at a 3-month follow-up. Themes were interpreted using reflexive thematic analysis. Twenty individuals participated; ten in each condition. Seven themes were constructed, including three shared themes between groups: I Am Worth Advocating For, Present Moment Is My Biggest Ally, and Ambivalence About Self-Directed Modules. Two themes were identified for the ACTforIBD group: Symptoms Are Going to Happen and Moving Toward Values while two themes identified from the ActiveControl group were: Reset and Refresh and It's Ok to Say No. Acceptance and values modules from ACTforIBD were perceived as useful in reducing psychological distress for those with IBD, while the ActiveControl group felt their program affirmed existing effective coping strategies. Access to external resources for self-directed modules and networking may increase engagement with content long term., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: The current study provides a proof of concept for an aspect of the trauma and attachment model outlined in Marshall and Frazier (2019), which argues that attachment insecurity is associated with PTSD symptoms via hyperactivating/deactivating coping strategies, especially in the context of high trauma severity., Method: 302 participants who had experienced a traumatic event(s) completed a survey., Results: The results showed significant indirect effects between attachment insecurity and PTSD symptoms via hyperactivating/deactivating coping strategies, especially in the context of high trauma severity. In low trauma severity, hyperactivating strategies were not as strongly associated with PTSD symptoms and deactivating strategies not associated with PTSD symptoms. Hyperactivating and deactivating strategies were the mediators for attachment anxiety models and deactivating strategies was the mediator for attachment avoidance models., Conclusions: This proof of concept for Marshall and Frazier (2019) provides a platform for future research to better understand PTSD symptoms from an attachment framework. Interventions are likely to benefit by assisting people high on attachment avoidance and anxiety to modify their deactivating tendencies following a trauma of high severity and also assisting people high on attachment anxiety to modify their hyperactivating tendencies posttrauma, especially following a high trauma severity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Background: Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is typically managed with anti-inflammatory analgesics and opioids; however, these do not adequately manage the pain or address the associated negative impact on quality of life. Hypnotherapy has been found to reduce pain associated with a range of disorders, including some with symptoms of chronic pain., Aim: The aim of this review is to systematically scope research investigating the use of hypnosis on chronic pelvic pain, quality of life, anxiety, depression and fatigue., Method: The scoping review was guided by the method described by Arksey and O'Mallee [1]. A systematic search was conducted in six databases. The Covidence Risk of Bias tool and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) quality assessment tool were used., Results: Nine studies (four RCT's and five case series) were suitable for inclusion. Meta-analysis of the RCT's found no significant difference in pain or quality of life for the intervention group compared to controls. Only one study reported a reduction in pain after hypnotherapy and did not outperform controls. These results are limited due to lack of a standardised intervention and heterogeneity of the included studies., Conclusion: There is a need for further research using well designed randomized controlled trials with validated measures of pain, quality of life, anxiety, depression and fatigue. Hypnotherapy interventions utilised in further research should be grounded in evidence-based best practice for dealing with pain., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Artificial intelligence (AI) and digital innovation are transforming healthcare. Technologies such as machine learning in image analysis, natural language processing in medical chatbots and electronic medical record extraction have the potential to improve screening, diagnostics and prognostication, leading to precision medicine and preventive health. However, it is crucial to ensure that AI research is conducted with scientific rigour to facilitate clinical implementation. Therefore, reporting guidelines have been developed to standardise and streamline the development and validation of AI technologies in health. This commentary proposes a structured approach to utilise these reporting guidelines for the translation of promising AI techniques from research and development into clinical translation, and eventual widespread implementation from bench to bedside., Competing Interests: Dr Daniel SW Ting holds a patent on a deep learning system for detection of retinal diseases, co-founded and holds equity of EyRIS Singapore. Dr Carolyn SP Lam holds a patent on a deep learning system for detection of cardiac disease, co-founded and holds equity in Us2.ai. Dr Dean Ho is scientific co-founder and shareholder of KYAN Therapeutics. He is also a co-inventor of pending patents pertaining to AI-based drug development and personalised medicine.

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) involves an abnormal immune response to healthy gut bacteria. When a person develops IBD, their susceptibility to anxiety and/or depression increases. The ACTforIBD programme, specifically designed for people with IBD and comorbid psychological distress, draws on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which promotes acceptance of situations that cannot be solved such as persistent physical symptoms. There are no ACT trials for IBD using an active control group or a telemedicine approach, which is important to improve accessibility, particularly in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The ACTforIBD programme is administered online with a 4-hour therapist involvement per participant only; if successful it can be widely implemented to improve the well-being of many individuals with IBD., Methods and Analysis: Our team have codesigned with consumers the ACTforIBD programme, an 8-week intervention of 1-hour sessions, with the first three sessions and the last session delivered one-to-one by a psychologist, and the other sessions self-directed online. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of ACTforIBD to reduce psychological distress in patients with IBD. Using a randomised controlled trial, 25 participants will be randomised to ACTforIBD, and 25 patients to an active control condition., Ethics and Dissemination: This protocol has been approved by Deakin University Research Ethics Committee in September 2021 (Ref. 2021-263) and the New Zealand Central Health and Disability Ethics Committee in December 2021 (Ref. 2021 EXP 11384). The results of this research will be published in peer-reviewed journals and shared with various stakeholders, including community members, policy-makers and researchers, through local and international conferences., Trial Registration Number: ACTRN12621001316897., Competing Interests: Competing interests: We do not have any conflicts of interest in relation to the present study, however, outside this work, SK has served as an educational speaker for Janssen, Ferring and Takeda. PG has served as a speaker, a consultant and an advisory board member for Allergan, Janssen, MSD, Pfizer, Anatara, Atmo Biosciences, Immunic Therapeutics, Novozymes and Takeda and Bristol-Meyers Squibb, and has received research funding from from MSD and Atmo Biosciences; and RG owns stocks and shares in Atmo Biosciences. LR served on the Roche International Patient Advisory Council and the Takeda IBD Patient Expert Council. RG has served on advisory boards for AbbVie New Zealand and Australia, Zespri New Zealand and Jannsen New Zealand and has received research funding from AbbVie. AM-W has served as an educational speaker for Janssen and Ferring., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Drawing on the Ideal Standards Model, the current study investigated whether the relationship events and experiences that occur on a given day in romantic relationships were associated with partner evaluations. Individuals in a current romantic relationship ( N = 104) completed daily measures of positive and negative relationship events and experiences and partner evaluations for seven consecutive days. As hypothesized, findings demonstrated that on a given day negative relationship events and experiences were associated with evaluating partners as falling short of mate ideals, while positive relationship events and experiences were associated with evaluating partners as more closely meeting ideals. The findings demonstrate the importance of the relational context in evaluations of a partner against ideal standards., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Chesterman, Karantzas and Marshall.)

The Rural Household Multiple Indicator Survey (RHoMIS) is a standardized farm household survey approach which collects information on 758 variables covering household demographics, farm area, crops grown and their production, livestock holdings and their production, agricultural product use and variables underlying standard socio-economic and food security indicators such as the Probability of Poverty Index, the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, and household dietary diversity. These variables are used to quantify more than 40 different indicators on farm and household characteristics, welfare, productivity, and economic performance. Between 2015 and the beginning of 2018, the survey instrument was applied in 21 countries in Central America, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The data presented here include the raw survey response data, the indicator calculation code, and the resulting indicator values. These data can be used to quantify on- and off-farm pathways to food security, diverse diets, and changes in poverty for rural smallholder farm households.

Despite progress in fighting undernutrition, Africa has the highest rates of undernutrition globally, exacerbated by drought and conflict. Mobile phones are emerging as a tool for rapid, cost effective data collection at scale in Africa, as mobile phone subscriptions and phone ownership increase at the highest rates globally. To assess the feasibility and biases of collecting nutrition data via computer assisted telephone interviews (CATI) to mobile phones, we measured Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) and Minimum Acceptable Diet for Infants and Young Children (MAD) using a one-week test-retest study on 1,821 households in Kenya. Accuracy and bias were assessed by comparing individual scores and population prevalence of undernutrition collected via CATI with data collected via traditional face-to-face (F2F) surveys. We were able to reach 75% (n = 1366) of study participants via CATI. Women's reported nutrition scores did not change with mode for MDD-W, but children's nutrition scores were significantly higher when measured via CATI for both the dietary diversity (mean increase of 0.45 food groups, 95% confidence interval 0.34-0.56) and meal frequency (mean increase of 0.75 meals per day, 95% confidence interval 0.53-0.96) components of MAD. This resulted in a 17% higher inferred prevalence of adequate diets for infants and young children via CATI. Women without mobile-phone access were younger and had fewer assets than women with access, but only marginally lower dietary diversity, resulting in a small non-coverage bias of 1-7% due to exclusion of participants without mobile phones. Thus, collecting nutrition data from rural women in Africa with mobile phones may result in 0% (no change) to as much as 25% higher nutrition estimates than collecting that information in face-to-face interviews., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

There is increasing interest in using systematic review to synthesize evidence on the social and environmental effects of and adaptations to climate change. Use of systematic review for evidence in this field is complicated by the heterogeneity of methods used and by uneven reporting. In order to facilitate synthesis of results and design of subsequent research a method, construct-centered methods aggregation, was designed to 1) provide a transparent, valid and reliable description of research methods, 2) support comparability of primary studies and 3) contribute to a shared empirical basis for improving research practice. Rather than taking research reports at face value, research designs are reviewed through inductive analysis. This involves bottom-up identification of constructs, definitions and operationalizations; assessment of concepts' commensurability through comparison of definitions; identification of theoretical frameworks through patterns of construct use; and integration of transparently reported and valid operationalizations into ideal-type research frameworks. Through the integration of reliable bottom-up inductive coding from operationalizations and top-down coding driven from stated theory with expert interpretation, construct-centered methods aggregation enabled both resolution of heterogeneity within identically named constructs and merging of differently labeled but identical constructs. These two processes allowed transparent, rigorous and contextually sensitive synthesis of the research presented in an uneven set of reports undertaken in a heterogenous field. If adopted more broadly, construct-centered methods aggregation may contribute to the emergence of a valid, empirically-grounded description of methods used in primary research. These descriptions may function as a set of expectations that improves the transparency of reporting and as an evolving comprehensive framework that supports both interpretation of existing and design of future research.

A parent's response to a young person's mental illness can influence their recovery and wellbeing. Many parents devote considerable time and energy to supporting a young person experiencing mental illness and engage in numerous different practices to do so. Yet little is known about why parents use particular practices. This article explores this question through qualitative analysis of parent perspectives. Interviews with 32 parents of young people living with mental illness were analysed using constant comparative analysis. Findings suggest that parents' choice of and ability to carry out particular practices are shaped by: their knowledge and beliefs; their personal resources and constraints; and their social and service networks. Further, parents took active measures to optimize these influences. By understanding the complexity of their own potential influence on both knowing what to do and being able to do it, health professionals can better enable parents to support young adults experiencing mental illness.