Objectives: The study aims to examine the reliability and validity of the Personal Stigma Scale and the intrapersonal variables that affect the personal stigma level towards depression among ...university students in Singapore.
Methods: University students aged 18 to 24 years old who were literate in English were recruited using convenience sampling through online platforms. Participants' stigma towards depression was assessed using the Personal Stigma Scale. Each item of the scale was rated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree); higher scores indicate higher stigmatising attitudes. Internal consistency, divergent validity, construct validity, and test-retest reliability of the Personal Stigma Scale were evaluated, as were the intrapersonal variables that affect the personal stigma level towards depression.
Results: Personal stigma level was significantly lower in female participants, those from healthcare faculties, those with prior contact with healthcare professionals, those without mental health disorders, and those with loved ones with mental health disorders. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a threefactor structure. The Personal Stigma Scale was negatively correlated with the Depression Literacy Scale weakly and the Anxiety Literacy Scale moderately. Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency was 0.71 for the overall scale and 0.18 to 0.67 for subscales. Test-retest reliability coefficient was 0.74 at 2 weeks and 0.70 at 2 months.
Conclusion: The Personal Stigma Scale is valid and reliable to measure self-stigma towards depression among university students in Singapore. Nonetheless, further studies are required to examine its factor structure, especially among various cultures and populations.
Interventions adopting augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) modalities allow participants to explore and experience realistic scenarios, making them useful psycho-educational tools for mental ...illnesses. This scoping review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of AR/VR interventions in improving (1) knowledge, (2) attitudes, (3) empathy and (4) stigma regarding people with mental illnesses. Literature on published studies in English up till April 2022 was searched within several databases. Sixteen articles were included. The majority of studies were conducted in the West (93.8%), within undergraduates (68.8%) but also amongst high school students, patients, caregivers, public including online community, and covered conditions including psychotic illnesses, dementia, anxiety and depression. A preponderance of these included studies which employed AR/VR based interventions observed improvements in knowledge (66.7%), attitudes (62.5%), empathy (100%) and reduction of stigma (71.4%) pertaining to people with mental illnesses. In the context of relatively limited studies, extant AR/VR based interventions could potentially improve knowledge, attitudes, empathy and decrease stigma regarding people with mental illness. Further research needs to be conducted in larger and more diverse samples to investigate the relatively beneficial effects of different AR/VR modalities and the durability of observed improvements of relevant outcomes of interests over time for different mental conditions.
Aggression risk assessments are vital to prevent injuries and morbidities amongst patients and staff in psychiatric settings. More recent studies have harnessed artificial intelligence (AI) methods ...such as machine learning algorithms to determine factors associated with aggression in psychiatric treatment settings. In this review, using Cooper’s five-stage review framework, we aimed to evaluate the: (1) predictive accuracy, and (2) clinical variables associated with AI-based aggression risk prediction amongst psychiatric inpatients. Databases including PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, PsycINFO, CINAHL were searched for relevant articles until April 2022. The eight included studies were independently evaluated using critical appraisal tools for systematic review developed by Joanna Briggs Institute. Most of the studies (87.5%) examined health records in predicting aggression and reported acceptable to excellent accuracy with specific machine learning algorithms employed (area under curve range 0.75–0.87). No particular machine learning algorithm outperformed the others consistently across studies (area under curve range 0.61–0.87). Relevant factors identified with aggression related to demographic and social profile, past aggression, forensic history, other psychiatric history, psychopathology, challenging behaviors and management domains. The limited extant studies have highlighted a potential role for the use of AI methods to clarify factors associated with aggression in psychiatric inpatient treatment settings.
Despite the high prevalence of mental health disorders, professional help seeking was often unsought, worsening impairments in overall functioning among those who experienced them.
This study aimed ...to evaluate the online HOPE intervention on help-seeking attitudes and intentions among young adults 18 to 24 years old in a University in Singapore. The study also described the process evaluation of the online HOPE intervention.
The study adopted a parallel two arms RCT. Outcome measurements measured at baseline, post-test and two-month follow-up were (1) recognition of depression, (2) barriers of help-seeking, (3) help-seeking intentions (4) attitudes about interventions, help sources, medications and (5) participants' perceptions about the intervention.
At post-test, intervention group had significantly lower acknowledgement of depression as stress. At two months, control group was significantly more concerned about side effects of medications. There were no significant differences in all barriers of help-seeking between groups, pre and post intervention. The intervention group had greater acknowledgement of antidepressants, tranquilisers and antipsychotics. Thematic analysis revealed four main themes.
There was high baseline recognition of depression. Improvements in help–seeking intentions were partially attributed to decreased help-seeking barriers.
The online HOPE intervention could be promptly implemented for young adults to enhance the identification of mental health disorders, early help-seeking and recovery. Nurses played an important role in patient education, and online interventions are especially crucial during this Covid period which mandated social distancing. NCT04266119.
•There was extremely high recognition of depression among University students in Singapore.•The online HOPE intervention significantly reduced the perception of depression as ‘stress’ and significantly enhanced help-seeking intentions in the intervention group.•The online HOPE intervention also had significant improvements in the perceptions of usefulness of antidepressants, antipsychotics and tranquilizers.
Background
Worldwide, about 1 million died from suicide in 2000. People with mental health disorders are at greater risk of suicide, and they are especially susceptible during 1‐week period after ...discharge from the hospital.
Objective
This meta‐analysis paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of brief contact interventions in preventing (1) suicidal deaths, (2) suicidal attempts, and (3) suicidal ideations among mental health patients discharged from the hospital.
Methods
Search for published and unpublished articles were conducted using 10 databases: CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, Scopus, Pubmed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Randomised Control Trial Registry Website, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Proquest Dissertation and Theses Global, using the keywords “suicide” AND “discharged,” AND “patients.” All articles printed in English and published from the year 1995 to August 2019 were included.
Results
A total of 23 articles were included in the meta‐analysis. Contact interventions significantly reduced suicidal attempts within (1) 12–14 months and (2) suicide ideations within 12 months. There were no significant findings on suicidal deaths.
Discussion
A new finding of this meta‐analysis is that combining several brief contact interventions could potentially reduce suicidal attempts and ideations. This is important in preserving the lives of discharged patients.
This article aims to explore the psychometric properties of the 18-item RPWBS amongst youths in Singapore. Participants, who were recruited using convenience sampling, were split into two groups. ...Both groups (group 1: n = 78; group 2: n = 96) were students recruited from a university in Singapore, aged between 18 and 24 years old. Participants were also recruited from online platforms specific to the school. Internal consistency and construct validity were assessed among both groups of participants, totalling to 174 participants. Test re-test reliability was evaluated among the first group of 74 participants, at three different time-points. Second time-point was at 2 weeks after baseline, and the third time-point was 2 months after the second time-point. Males had significantly greater levels for environmental mastery subscale. Participants from different faculties/courses have significantly different scores for the personal growth subscale. Participants with families/friends with mental health issues scored greater on the autonomy subscale and the personal growth subscale as compared with participants without. There were no differences within the six subscales for (1) residential status, (2) ethnicity, (3) education level (Diploma versus A levels), (4) religion and (5) monthly household income. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a new five-factor structure. Conversely, confirmatory factor analysis found that the original six-factor structure had the best fit, as compared with the new five-factor and single factor structure. The internal consistencies and item total correlations for the subscales of the original six-factor scale were poor. The overall scale internal consistency and test–retest reliability was excellent.
Mental health literacy levels Tay, Jing Ling; Tay, Yi Fen; Klainin-Yobas, Piyanee
Archives of psychiatric nursing,
October 2018, 2018-10-00, 20181001, Volume:
32, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Globally, mental disorders affect 25% of the society. This discursive paper aims to illustrate the mental health literacy levels in the public. Mental health literacy (MHL) is the understanding of ...mental health conditions, which helps in their prevention, recognition and treatment. Unfortunately, the public has minimal understanding of mental disorders, leading to poor recognition and delay in treatment. There is a need to conduct good quality research to assess the MHL levels among public and tailor interventions to enhance MHL among the public. This will ensure early detection of mental disorders, leading to early recovery and greater quality of life among the society. Nurses have a great role to play in leading these public educations, and enhancing a healthy and happy nation.
•Mental health literacy levels are low•Nurses can enhance mental health literacy•Higher mental health literacy levels can reduce duration of untreated mental illness and enhance recovery
•Falls cause terrible consequences including disability and death.•Strategies that incorporate technology in preventing falls are vital.•These strategies are significant in reducing falls with ...serious injuries.
Worldwide, falls lead to possible complications such as prolonged hospitalization, prolonged bed rest, pressure injuries, fractures and mortality.
The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of novel fall prevention strategies that utilized technology in preventing falls.
The meta–analysis and systematic review was guided by the Cochrane guidelines for systematic reviews of interventions. The authors searched databases for specified keywords.
A total of 22 studies were included. Interventions included multi-modal fall prevention interventions, camera surveillance, motion sensors and bed/chair exit alarms. Video monitoring was equivocal in reducing fall rates. Exit alarms statistically significantly reduce falls between groups but not within groups. The interventions were not statistically significant in reducing falls with minor injuries but they were statistically significant in reducing falls with serious injuries including fractures.
A comprehensive fall prevention care plan, rather than one specific intervention, is necessary to prevent falls effectively.
Mental health literacy (MHL) promotes mental health among youths. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the newly developed HOPE intervention in improving depression literacy, anxiety literacy, ...psychological well-being, and reducing personal stigma and stress levels amongst young adults at a university in Singapore. After two pilot studies, we conducted a randomised controlled trial (RCT) and recruited 174 participants aged 18–24 years old through social media platforms. The HOPE intervention group received four online sessions over two weeks and the control group received online inspirational quotes. Study outcomes were measured with self-reported questionnaires and they were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and two-month follow-up (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04266119). Compared with the control arm, the intervention group was associated with increased depression and anxiety literacy levels at post-intervention and two-month follow-up. In addition, personal stigma for depression was reduced at the post-intervention juncture. However, there were no statistically significant changes in the ratings of psychological well-being and stress levels between the two groups. Longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes are warranted to replicate and extend the extant findings.
