Cost-Effectiveness of Digital Mental Health Versus Usual Care During Humanitarian Crises in Lebanon: Pragmatic Randomized Trial.

Background: There is evidence from meta-analyses and systematic reviews that digital mental health interventions for depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders tend to be cost-effective. However, no such evidence exists for guided digital mental health care in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) facing humanitarian crises, where the needs are highest. Step-by-Step (SbS), a digital mental health intervention for depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders, proved to be effective for Lebanese citizens and war-affected Syrians residing in Lebanon.

Feasibility and uptake of a digital mental health intervention for depression among Lebanese and Syrian displaced people in Lebanon: a qualitative study.

Introduction: Digital interventions are increasingly regarded as a potential solution for the inaccessibility of mental health treatment across low-and-middle-income settings, especially for common mental disorders. Step-by-Step (SbS) is a digital, guided self-help intervention for depression found effective in two Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) in Lebanon. For research implementation and further scale-up, this paper reports the results of a qualitative evaluation of SbS among the Lebanese and others and displaced Syrians in Lebanon.

Correction: Effects of a WHO-guided digital health intervention for depression in Syrian refugees in Lebanon: A randomized controlled trial.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.

Feasibility randomised controlled trial of the Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions psychological intervention with young adolescents in Lebanon.

Background: Globally, there is a vast mental health treatment gap, whereby the majority of adolescents living in low- and middle-income countries requiring mental health services, do not have access to adequate care. To improve access, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed a range of interventions, designed to be low-cost and delivered by non-specialists. We conducted a two-arm, individually randomised group treatment feasibility trial of a new WHO group intervention for young adolescents with emotional distress ('Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions'; EASE) in Lebanon.

Effects of a WHO-guided digital health intervention for depression in Syrian refugees in Lebanon: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Most displaced people with mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries do not receive effective care, and their access to care has deteriorated during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Digital mental health interventions are scalable when digital access is adequate, and they can be safely delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined whether a new WHO-guided digital mental health intervention, Step-by-Step, in which participants were supported by a nonspecialist helper, was effective in reducing depression among displaced people in Lebanon.

Guided digital health intervention for depression in Lebanon: randomised trial.

Background: Most people with mental disorders in communities exposed to adversity in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) do not receive effective care. Digital mental health interventions are scalable when digital access is adequate, and can be safely delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To examine the effects of a new WHO-guided digital mental health intervention, Step-by-Step, supported by a non-specialist helper in Lebanon, in the context of concurring economic, humanitarian and political crises, a large industrial disaster and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assessment of Industrially Produced Trans Fatty Acids in Traditional Dishes, Arabic Sweets, and Market Food Products and Its Risks on Non-communicable Diseases in Lebanon.

Industrially produced trans fatty acids (IP-TFAs) are a major dietary contributor to non-communicable diseases worldwide. To address the industrially produced trans fatty acids food sources in Lebanon, a mapping exercise was enrolled between January 2019 and April 2021 to establish a national database. The 2019 survey was a pooled data from five separate sources and had relatively 30 types of traditional dishes.

Non-Conjugated-Industrially-Produced-Trans Fatty in Lebanese Foods: The Case of Elaidic and Linolelaidic Acids.

To determine Industrially-Produced Trans fatty acids (IP-TFAs) distribution of Lebanese traditional foods, especially regarding Elaidic acid (EA; 9t18:1) and Linolelaidic acid (LEA; 9t12t18:2), a mapping exercise was enrolled between January 2019 and April 2021 in which 145 food samples of three categories (traditional dishes, Arabic sweets, and market food products) were analyzed using Gas chromatography methods. Results showed that about 93% of the products tested in Lebanon, between 2019 and 2021, met the World Health Organization recommendations, while about 7% exceeded the limit. The mean level of the IP-TFAs Elaidic and Linolelaidic acid in most Traditional dishes (0.

Fatty Acids Quality in Middle Eastern Traditional Dishes, Arabic Sweets and Market Foods Frequently Consumed in Lebanon.

The prevalence of diet-related non-communicable diseases is on the rise in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, including Lebanon. This study aimed to provide data on fatty acid profiles and ratios of Lebanese composite dishes, Arabic sweets, and market foods. Methods: Thirty types of traditional dishes, collected from five different Lebanese governorates, thirty-seven types of Arabic sweets and forty-six market food products were considered for analysis.

Step-by-step: Feasibility randomised controlled trial of a mobile-based intervention for depression among populations affected by adversity in Lebanon.

Background: E-mental health interventions may help to bridge the mental health treatment gap. Evidence on their effectiveness is compelling in high-income countries. Not enough evidence has been generated on their use with communities affected by adversity in low- and middle-income countries.

Development of a Lebanese food exchange system based on frequently consumed Eastern Mediterranean traditional dishes and Arabic sweets.

: The important role of Mediterranean diet was elucidated in various clinical and epidemiological studies underlying its impact on reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases in Mediterranean and non-Mediterranean populations. : The aim of this study was to convert the recipes of the Lebanese traditional dishes into meal planning exchange lists whose items are expressed in grams and adjusted to Lebanese household measures (cups and spoons) that could be used by healthcare professionals. : Thirty traditional Lebanese dishes were collected in which the carbohydrate, fat and protein were analyzed using Association of Official Analytical Chemists procedures then followed by a calculation of exchange lists of foods per serving using Wheeler method.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of an E-Mental Health Intervention for People Living in Lebanon: Protocol for Two Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background: The lack of availability of evidence-based services for people exposed to adversity globally has led to the development of psychological interventions with features that will likely make them more scalable. The evidence for the efficacy of e-mental health from high-income countries is compelling, and the use of these interventions could be a way to increase the coverage of evidence-based psychological interventions in low- and middle-income countries. Step-by-Step is a brief (5-session) intervention proposed by the World Health Organization as an innovative approach to reducing the suffering and disability associated with depression.

Nutritional value of the Middle Eastern diet: analysis of total sugar, salt, and iron in Lebanese traditional dishes.

The expanding burden of diet-related non-communicable diseases in the Eastern Mediterranean Countries requires urgent public health vigilance and actions. This study aimed at establishing a database analysis of total sugar, salt and iron content in Lebanese foods, focusing on traditional dishes. The collection of food samples was done using stratified sampling techniques.

Step-by-Step, an E-Mental Health Intervention for Depression: A Mixed Methods Pilot Study From Lebanon.

Background: E-mental health is an established mode of delivering treatment for common mental disorders in many high income countries. However, evidence of its effectiveness in lower income countries is lacking. This mixed methods study presents lessons learned and preliminary data on the feasibility of a minimally guided e-mental health intervention in Lebanon.