Comparative efficacy and acceptability of psychosocial interventions for PTSD, depression, and anxiety in asylum seekers, refugees, and other migrant populations: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled studies.

Background: Migrant populations are at increased risk of developing mental health problems. We aimed to compare the efficacy and acceptability of psychosocial interventions in this population.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA).

Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on psychiatric and psychological consultation-liaison contacts in a general hospital in North-East of Italy: a retrospective study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted significant changes in healthcare, particularly affecting psychiatric and psychological Consultation-Liaison (CL) services in general hospital settings.

Aim: To assess the effects of COVID-19-related restrictions on utilization of psychiatric and psychological CL services in Northeast Italy during 2020, and to compare it to the use of services in the previous year (2019).

Methods: The study collected data on psychiatric and psychological consultations in 2019 and 2020 from a hospital database.

How to distinguish promotion, prevention and treatment trials in public mental health? Study protocol for the development of the VErona-LUgano Tool (VELUT).

Introduction: Promoting mental health, preventing and treating mental disorders are critically important in public health, and many randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluate intervention strategies for these objectives. However, distinguishing promotion from prevention and from treatment RCTs is challenging. A tool to place studies along the promotion-to-treatment continuum in mental health research does not exist, leaving it to researchers and policymakers to decide on how to classify individual RCTs, which hinders evidence synthesis.

Relationship between Environmental Conditions and Utilisation of Community-Based Mental Health Care: A Comparative Study before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy.

(1) Background: Lower socioeconomic status increases psychiatric service use, exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic by environmental stressors like air pollution and limited green spaces. This study aims to assess the influence of sociodemographic and environmental factors on mental health service utilisation. (2) Methods: This retrospective study uses an administrative database focusing on community mental health services in Northeast Italy.

Psychological and social interventions for the promotion of mental health in people living in low- and middle-income countries affected by humanitarian crises.

Background: Because of wars, conflicts, persecutions, human rights violations, and humanitarian crises, about 84 million people are forcibly displaced around the world; the great majority of them live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). People living in humanitarian settings are affected by a constellation of stressors that threaten their mental health. Psychosocial interventions for people affected by humanitarian crises may be helpful to promote positive aspects of mental health, such as mental well-being, psychosocial functioning, coping, and quality of life.

Effectiveness of combining prevention psychological interventions with interventions that address the social determinants of mental health in low and middle-income countries: protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Common mental health conditions (CMHCs), including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are highly prevalent in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Preventive strategies combining psychological interventions with interventions addressing the social determinants of mental health may represent a key strategy for effectively preventing CMHCs. However, no systematic reviews have evaluated the effectiveness of these combined intervention strategies for preventing CMHCs.

Mapping the evidence on psychosocial interventions for migrant populations: Descriptive analysis of a living database of randomized studies.

Migrant mental health is a pressing public health issue with wide-ranging implications. Many randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been conducted in this population to assess the effects of psychosocial interventions. However, the available evidence is characterized by controversy and fragmentation, with studies focusing on different migrant populations, interventions, outcomes, delivery modalities and settings.

Implementation outcomes in psychosocial intervention studies for children and adolescents living in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review.

Psychosocial interventions play a key role in addressing mental health and substance use needs for children and adolescents living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While research efforts have primarily focused on their effectiveness, implementation outcomes also require examining. We conducted a systematic review of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies (PROSPERO: CRD42022335997) to synthesize the literature on implementation outcomes for psychosocial interventions for children and adolescents in LMICs.

Primary-level and community worker interventions for the prevention of mental disorders and the promotion of well-being in low- and middle-income countries.

Background: There is a significant research gap in the field of universal, selective, and indicated prevention interventions for mental health promotion and the prevention of mental disorders. Barriers to closing the research gap include scarcity of skilled human resources, large inequities in resource distribution and utilization, and stigma.

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of delivery by primary workers of interventions for the promotion of mental health and universal prevention, and for the selective and indicated prevention of mental disorders or symptoms of mental illness in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Umbrella Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Physical Activity as an Effective Therapeutic Strategy for Improving Psychosocial Outcomes in Children and Adolescents.

Objective: Physical activity (PA) interventions are part of many interdisciplinary programs for the management of children and adolescents with or without physical or psychological conditions or disabilities. Aiming to summarize the available evidence, we conducted an umbrella review of meta-analyses of PA interventions that included psychosocial outcomes in populations of children and adolescents.

Method: Literature searches were conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Central, Web of Science, Medline, SPORTDiscus, and PsychInfo from January 1, 2010, to May 6, 2022.

Task-sharing psychosocial interventions for the prevention of common mental disorders in the perinatal period in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim: to assess the efficacy of psychosocial interventions delivered through task-sharing approaches for preventing perinatal common mental disorders among women in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of randomized controlled trials following a prespecified protocol registered in the Open Science Framework (osf.io/qt4y3).

Risk factors for mental disorder development in asylum seekers and refugees resettled in Western Europe and Turkey: Participant-level analysis of two large prevention studies.

Background: In asylum seekers and refugees, the frequency of mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, is higher than the general population, but there is a lack of data on risk factors for the development of mental disorders in this population.

Aim: This study investigated the risk factors for mental disorder development in a large group of asylum seekers and refugees resettled in high- and middle-income settings.

Methods: Participant-level data from two randomized prevention studies involving asylum seekers and refugees resettled in Western European countries and in Turkey were pooled.

Trajectories of psychosocial symptoms and wellbeing in asylum seekers and refugees exposed to traumatic events and resettled in Western Europe, Turkey, and Uganda.

Longitudinal studies examining mental health trajectories in refugees and asylum seekers are scarce. To investigate trajectories of psychological symptoms and wellbeing in refugees and asylum seekers, and identify factors associated with these trajectories. 912 asylum seekers and refugees from the control arm of three trials in Europe ( = 229), Turkey ( = 320), and Uganda ( = 363) were included.

Barriers in care pathways and unmet mental health needs in LGBTIQ + communities.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer people and minority gender identities and sexualities (LGBTIQ+) are often stigmatized and experience discrimination in health care settings, leading to poorer mental health outcomes and unmet needs compared to heterosexual and cisgendered peers. It is thus imperative that mental health providers consider and address structural challenges in order to reduce mental health inequalities of this population. This narrative review assessed the barriers that may prevent access to care and the pathways for care in LGBTIQ + communities.

Megacities, migration and an evolutionary approach to bipolar disorder: a study of Sardinian immigrants in Latin America.

Objective: To determine whether people with a Sardinian genetic background who live in the megacities of South America have a higher frequency of hypomania than residents of Sardinia.

Methods: A community survey of Sardinian immigrants was carried out in four Brazilian metropoles (n=218) and Buenos Aires (n=306). The results were compared with those of a study involving a similar methodology (Mood Disorder Questionnaire [MDQ] as a screening tool) conducted in seven Italian regions, including a sub-sample from Sardinia.