Effects of Actissist, a digital health intervention for early psychosis: A randomized clinical trial.

Schizophrenia affects 24 million people worldwide. Digital health interventions drawing on psychological principles have been developed, but their effectiveness remains unclear. This parallel, assessor-blinded, randomized clinical trial aimed to investigate whether a cognitive behaviour therapy-informed digital health intervention (Actissist app) confers added benefit on psychotic symptoms over and above remote symptom monitoring (ClinTouch app).

Measurement of Adverse Events in Studies of Digital Health Interventions for Psychosis: Guidance and Recommendations Based on a Literature Search and Framework Analysis of Standard Operating Procedures.

Background: Given the rapid expansion of research into digital health interventions (DHIs) for severe mental illness (SMI; eg, schizophrenia and other psychosis diagnoses), there is an emergent need for clear safety measures. Currently, measurement and reporting of adverse events (AEs) are inconsistent across studies. Therefore, an international network, iCharts, was assembled to systematically identify and refine a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for AE reporting in DHI studies for SMI.

Interprofessional socialization of first-year medical and midwifery students: effects of an ultra-brief anatomy training.

Background: Interprofessionalism is considered a key component in modern health profession education. Nevertheless, there remains ongoing debate about when and where to introduce interprofessional trainings in the curriculum. We identified anatomy, a subject commonly shared among health professionals, as a practical choice for initiating early intergroup-contact between first-year medical and midwifery students.

Adverse Events Reporting in Digital Interventions Evaluations for Psychosis: A Systematic Literature Search and Individual Level Content Analysis of Adverse Event Reports.

Background: Digital health interventions (DHIs) have significant potential to upscale treatment access to people experiencing psychosis but raise questions around patient safety. Adverse event (AE) monitoring is used to identify, record, and manage safety issues in clinical trials, but little is known about the specific content and context contained within extant AE reports. This study aimed to assess current AE reporting in DHIs.

Genomic surveillance reveals dynamic shifts in the connectivity of COVID-19 epidemics.

The maturation of genomic surveillance in the past decade has enabled tracking of the emergence and spread of epidemics at an unprecedented level. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, genomic data revealed that local epidemics varied considerably in the frequency of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lineage importation and persistence, likely due to a combination of COVID-19 restrictions and changing connectivity. Here, we show that local COVID-19 epidemics are driven by regional transmission, including across international boundaries, but can become increasingly connected to distant locations following the relaxation of public health interventions.

User engagement in a randomised controlled trial for a digital health intervention for early psychosis (Actissist 2.0 trial).

Digital Health Interventions (DHIs) can help support people with mental health problems. Achieving satisfactory levels of patient engagement is a crucial, yet often underexplored, pre-requisite for health improvement. Actissist is a co-produced DHI delivered via a smartphone app for people with early psychosis, based on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy principles.

An economic evaluation of universal and targeted case-finding strategies for identifying antenatal depression: a model-based analysis comparing common case-finding instruments.

Half of women with depression in the perinatal period are not identified in routine care, and missed cases reflect inequalities in other areas of maternity care. Case finding (screening) for depression in pregnant women may be a cost-effective strategy to improve identification, and targeted case finding directs finite resources towards the greatest need. We compared the cost-effectiveness of three case-finding strategies: no case finding, universal (all pregnant women), and targeted (only pregnant women with risk factors for antenatal depression, i.

Digital tools to support mental health: a survey study in psychosis.

Background: There is a notable a gap between promising research findings and implementation of digital health tools. Understanding and addressing barriers to use is key to widespread implementation.

Methods: A survey was administered to a self-selecting sample in-person (n = 157) or online (n = 58), with questions examining: i) ownership and usage rates of digital devices among people with psychosis; ii) interest in using technology to engage with mental health services; and iii) facilitators of and barriers to using digital tools in a mental healthcare context.

Methodological Characteristics and Feasibility of Ecological Momentary Assessment Studies in Psychosis: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) involves completing multiple surveys over time in daily life, capturing in-the-moment experiences in real-world contexts. EMA use in psychosis studies has surged over several decades. To critically examine EMA use in psychosis research and assist future researchers in designing new EMA studies, this systematic review aimed to summarize the methodological approaches used for positive symptoms in psychosis populations and evaluate feasibility with a focus on completion rates.

Sleep problems and referral intentions in mental health services: service user self-report and staff proxy report surveys.

Background: Sleep problems are common in mental health service users, but few non-pharmacological therapies are offered. Therapies are being developed and tested, but there may be barriers to these therapies reaching those who need them.

Methods: Light-Dark and Activity Rhythm Therapy (L-DART), is a new sleep therapy delivered by an occupational therapist, which has been feasibility tested in people with schizophrenia spectrum diagnoses.

An economic evaluation of targeted case-finding strategies for identifying postnatal depression: A model-based analysis comparing common case-finding instruments.

Background: Half of women with postnatal depression (PND) are not identified in routine care. We aimed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of PND case-finding in women with risk factors for PND.

Methods: A decision tree was developed to represent the one-year costs and health outcomes associated with case-finding and treatment for PND.

Generating EQ-5D-3L health utility scores from the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale: a perinatal mapping study.

Background: Perinatal depression (PND) describes depression experienced by parents during pregnancy or in the first year after a baby is born. The EQ-5D instrument (a generic measure of health status) is not often collected in perinatal research, however disease-specific measures, such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) are widely used. Mapping can be used to estimate generic health utility index values from disease-specific measures like the EPDS.

Exploring engagement with the CBT-informed Actissist smartphone application for early psychosis.

Background: Individuals with psychosis report favourable attitudes towards psychological interventions delivered via smartphone apps. Evidence for acceptability, safety, feasibility and efficacy is promising but in-depth reporting of app engagement in trials is sparse.

Aims: To examine how people with psychosis engaged with the cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)-informed Actissist app over a 12-week intervention period, and to examine factors associated with app engagement.

Development and validation of a tool for the assessment of benefit from treatment of allergic rhinitis in children and adolescents (PBI-AR-K).

Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is frequent in children and adolescents and can severely affect their lives. This article describes the development and validation of a questionnaire to assess treatment needs and benefits in children and adolescents, the PBI-AR-K, in a sample of patients receiving grass pollen sublingual immunotherapy.

Patients And Methods: The PBI-AR-K was developed based on an open survey including children and adolescents and expert consensus between methodologists, patients, and physicians.

Implementation of Practical Surface SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance in School Settings.

Surface sampling for SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection has shown considerable promise to detect exposure of built environments to infected individuals shedding virus who would not otherwise be detected. Here, we compare two popular sampling media (VTM and SDS) and two popular workflows (Thermo and PerkinElmer) for implementation of a surface sampling program suitable for environmental monitoring in public schools. We find that the SDS/Thermo pipeline shows superior sensitivity and specificity, but that the VTM/PerkinElmer pipeline is still sufficient to support surface surveillance in any indoor setting with stable cohorts of occupants (e.

Tailoring electron beams with high-frequency self-assembled magnetic charged particle micro optics.

Tunable electromagnets and corresponding devices, such as magnetic lenses or stigmators, are the backbone of high-energy charged particle optical instruments, such as electron microscopes, because they provide higher optical power, stability, and lower aberrations compared to their electric counterparts. However, electromagnets are typically macroscopic (super-)conducting coils, which cannot generate swiftly changing magnetic fields, require active cooling, and are structurally bulky, making them unsuitable for fast beam manipulation, multibeam instruments, and miniaturized applications. Here, we present an on-chip microsized magnetic charged particle optics realized via a self-assembling micro-origami process.

Pathologic Fracture as Presentation of Generalized Lymphangiomatosis in an Eight-Year-Old: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Pathologic fractures commonly occur secondary to abnormal skeletal physiology in the context of benign or malignant lesions. Rarely, pathologic fractures may occur in the context of a lymphatic abnormality, such as generalized lymphangiomatosis. This rare disorder is characterized by variable presentations in a broad age range of patients.

Wastewater sequencing uncovers early, cryptic SARS-CoV-2 variant transmission.

As SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread and evolve, detecting emerging variants early is critical for public health interventions. Inferring lineage prevalence by clinical testing is infeasible at scale, especially in areas with limited resources, participation, or testing/sequencing capacity, which can also introduce biases. SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration in wastewater successfully tracks regional infection dynamics and provides less biased abundance estimates than clinical testing.

Fear of relapse in schizophrenia: a mixed-methods systematic review.

Introduction: Fears of relapse in people diagnosed with schizophrenia have long been recognised as an impediment to recovery and wellbeing. However, the extent of the empirical basis for the fear of relapse concept is unclear. A systematic review is required to collate available evidence and define future research directions.