Development of a non-specialist worker delivered psychological intervention to address alcohol use disorders and psychological distress among conflict-affected populations in Uganda and Ukraine.

Background: Despite the significant burden of alcohol use disorders (AUD), there is a large treatment gap, especially in settings and populations affected by armed conflict. A key barrier to care is the lack of contextually relevant interventions and adequately skilled human resources to deliver them. This paper describes the systematic development of the CHANGE intervention, a potentially scalable psychological intervention for people with co-existing AUD and psychological distress in conflict-affected populations, delivered by non-specialist workers (NSWs).

Mental health and psychosocial interventions in the context of climate change: a scoping review.

The evidence on the impacts of climate change on mental health and wellbeing is growing rapidly. The objective of this scoping review is to understand the extent and type of existing mental health and psychosocial interventions aimed at addressing the mental health and psychosocial impacts of climate change. A scoping review methodology was followed.

Mental healthcare access among resettled Syrian refugees in Leipzig, Germany.

Our aim was to examine mental health needs and access to mental healthcare services among Syrian refugees in the city of Leipzig, Germany. We conducted a cross-sectional survey with Syrian refugee adults in Leipzig, Germany in 2021/2022. Outcomes included PTSD (PCL-5), depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7) and somatic symptom (SSS-8).

Using theory of change to plan for the implementation of a psychological intervention addressing alcohol use disorder and psychological distress in Uganda.

In conflict-affected settings, prevalence of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) can be high. However, limited practical information exists on AUD management in low-income settings. Using a theory of change (ToC) approach, we aimed to identify pathways influencing the implementation and maintenance of a new transdiagnostic psychological intervention ("CHANGE"), targeting both psychological distress and AUDs in humanitarian settings.

Common strategies in empirically supported psychological interventions for alcohol use disorders: A meta-review.

Issues: Despite the large number of effective psychological interventions for alcohol use disorders (AUD), there is still a lack of clarity concerning the strategies that make these interventions effective.

Approach: The overall goal of this review was to identify, examine and synthesise the information about common strategies from evidence-based psychological interventions for AUDs by conducting a review of systematic reviews, that is, a meta-review. We isolated the relevant primary studies from eligible systematic reviews and extracted information about the interventions from these studies to understand the strategies used.

Quantitative methods for climate change and mental health research: current trends and future directions.

The quantitative literature on climate change and mental health is growing rapidly. However, the methodological quality of the evidence is heterogeneous, and there is scope for methodological improvement and innovation. The first section of this Personal View provides a snapshot of current methodological trends and issues in the quantitative literature on climate change and mental health, drawing on literature collected through a previous scoping review.

The impact of employment programs on common mental disorders: A systematic review.

Background: While employment programs were not created with the intent to improve common mental disorders (CMDs), they may have a positive impact on the prevalence, incidence, and severity of CMD by reducing poverty and increasing access to economic mobility.

Aim: To examine and synthesize the available quantitative evidence of the impact of employment programs on outcomes of CMD.

Methods: Embase, Econlit, Global Health, MEDLINE, APA PsychINFO, and Social Policy and Practice were searched for experimental and quasi-experimental studies which investigated the impact of employment programs on primary and secondary outcomes of a CMD.

Remembering the earthquake: intrusive memories of disaster in a rural Italian community.

Background: Disasters can have long-lasting impacts on mental health. Intrusive memories have been found to be common and persistent in the aftermath of earthquakes.

Objective: To explore, using diaries, intrusive memories' presence, content, characteristics, and relationship with probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a small rural community exposed to mass destruction and loss of life.

Process evaluations of mental health and psychosocial support interventions for populations affected by humanitarian crises.

Background: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have been increasingly used to test the effectiveness of mental health and psychosocial support(MHPSS) interventions for populations affected by humanitarian crises. Process evaluations are often integrated within RCTs of psychological interventions to investigate the implementation of the intervention, the impact of context, and possible mechanisms of action. We aimed to explore limitations and strengths of how process evaluations are currently conceptualised and implemented within MHPSS RCTs specifically.

Effectiveness and implementation outcomes for peer-delivered mental health interventions in low- and middle-income countries: a mixed-methods systematic review.

Purpose: This review aimed to evaluate interventions led by peer counselors (PCs) for adults with common mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) along indices of overall effectiveness and key implementation outcomes (acceptability, feasibility, cost, fidelity, sustainability).

Methods: This review followed a mixed-methods systematic review design. MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, and Global Health databases were searched for PC-led interventions for adults in LMICs targeting depressive and/or anxiety disorders or PTSD.

Climate change, trauma and mental health in Italy: a scoping review.

Background: Climate change is having significant impacts on health and mental health across Europe and globally. Such effects are likely to be more severe in climate change hotspots such as the Mediterranean region, including Italy.

Objective: To review existing literature on the relationship between climate change and mental health in Italy, with a particular focus on trauma and PTSD.

Local understandings of PTSD and complex PTSD among health professionals working with adolescents in violent neighbourhoods of São Paulo city, Brazil.

Background: Adolescents in low-resource urban settings in Brazil are often exposed to high levels of trauma that can result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, preliminary evidence indicates that PTSD tends to be under-reported in Brazilian health services, despite the high prevalence of trauma. Additionally, little is known about the perceived applicability among clinicians of the new ICD-11 diagnosis of complex PTSD (CPTSD), despite its potential relevance for contexts of chronic trauma.

"Nothing about us, without us"? A qualitative study of service user involvement in the development of lay-delivered psychological interventions in contexts affected by humanitarian crises.

Background: Service user involvement has become increasingly prioritised within health research, and more recently, within mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS). However, there is limited exploration of service user involvement in the development of lay-delivered MHPSS psychological interventions. The aim of this research was to investigate how service users have been involved in the development of lay-delivered psychological interventions for populations affected by humanitarian crises.

The association between uncertainty and mental health: a scoping review of the quantitative literature.

Background: The current moment is characterised by deep-rooted uncertainties, such as climate change and COVID-19. Uncertainty has been reported to be associated with negative mental health outcomes, such as stress and anxiety. However, no comprehensive review on the association between uncertainty and mental health exists.

Global priorities for climate change and mental health research.

Background: Compared with other health areas, the mental health impacts of climate change have received less research attention. The literature on climate change and mental health is growing rapidly but is characterised by several limitations and research gaps. In a field where the need for designing evidence-based adaptation strategies is urgent, and research gaps are vast, implementing a broad, all-encompassing research agenda will require some strategic focus.

Intrusive memories following disaster: Relationship with peritraumatic responses and later affect.

Cognitive theories of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suggest that intrusive memories result from disrupted information processing during traumatic memory encoding and are characterized by fear, helplessness, and horror at recall. Existing naturalistic studies are limited by the absence of direct comparisons between specific moments that do and do not correspond to intrusive memories. We tested predictions from cognitive theories of PTSD by comparing peritraumatic responses during moments experienced as intrusive memories versus distressing moments of the same traumatic event from the same individual not experienced as intrusive memories.

Climate Change and Mental Health: A Scoping Review.

Climate change is negatively impacting the mental health of populations. This scoping review aims to assess the available literature related to climate change and mental health across the World Health Organisation's (WHO) five global research priorities for protecting human health from climate change. We conducted a scoping review to identify original research studies related to mental health and climate change using online academic databases.

The structure of peritraumatic reactions and their relationship with PTSD among disaster survivors.

Peritraumatic reactions such as fear, psychic and somatoform dissociation, tonic immobility, data-driven processing, and mental defeat are important in the etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, current measures of such reactions overlap conceptually and do not clearly identify distinct peritraumatic processes. It is not known which processes are uniquely associated with PTSD.

Feelings, Thoughts, and Behaviors During Disaster.

Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors during traumatic events, that is, peritraumatic reactions, are key to post-trauma psychopathology development. Qualitative research is required to investigate whether existing quantitative methods capture the range and complexity of peritraumatic reactions as described by survivors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 104 earthquake survivors.

Earthquakes, attributions, and psychopathology: a study in a rural community.

: Attributions of both cause and blame form part of the diagnostic criteria for PTSD in DSM-5. Most work on attributions and psychopathology has focused on survivors of interpersonal violence and the two types of attribution have not been investigated together in natural disaster contexts. Previous work has identified that attributions to God's role may be associated with survivors' mental health following disasters.

Health impacts of parental migration on left-behind children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Globally, a growing number of children and adolescents are left behind when parents migrate. We investigated the effect of parental migration on the health of left behind-children and adolescents in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods: For this systematic review and meta-analysis we searched MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PsychINFO, Global Index Medicus, Scopus, and Popline from inception to April 27, 2017, without language restrictions, for observational studies investigating the effects of parental migration on nutrition, mental health, unintentional injuries, infectious disease, substance use, unprotected sex, early pregnancy, and abuse in left-behind children (aged 0-19 years) in LMICs.

Fukushima Triple Disaster and the Road to Recovery: a Qualitative Exploration of Resilience in Internally Displaced Residents.

Six years after the March 2011 Triple Disaster, over 35,000 Japanese individuals remain in temporary housing. Evacuated residents, many of who are elderly, face mental health challenges. This study evaluates the well being of individuals living in temporary housing within Fukushima.