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.

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.

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).

Microaggression toward LGBTIQ people and implications for mental health: A systematic review.

Background: Research suggests that microaggressions detrimentally impact the mental health of members of marginalized social groups.

Aims: The aim of this systematic review was to assess the exposure to microaggressions and related implications on mental health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer (LGBTIQ) people.

Method: Medline, Scopus, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and EMBASE were searched until January 2023.

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).

Changes in emergency psychiatric consultations in time of COVID-19: a retrospective observational study in the Verona Academic Hospital over the two pandemic years 2020-2021.

Background: During the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, local health authorities in most Italian regions prescribed a reduction of ordinary outpatient and community mental health care. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to the emergency departments (ED) for psychiatric consultation in the pandemic years 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019.

Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted by using routinely collected administrative data of the two EDs of the Verona Academic Hospital Trust (Verona, Italy).

Mental health in transgender individuals: a systematic review.

Several lines of evidence indicate the prevalence of mental health disorders in Transgender (TG) individuals is higher than that of cisgender individuals or the general population. In this systematic review, we aim to propose a summary of some of the most significant research investigating mental health disorders' prevalence among this population. We performed a double-blind systematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses reporting (PRISMA) on PUBMED/MEDLINE and SCOPUS, specifically using peer-reviewed articles examining the mental health status of transgender (TG) individuals.

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.

Effectiveness of a Mindful Compassion Care Program in reducing burnout and psychological distress amongst frontline hospital nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Recent studies have shown that nurses have been more affected by the COVID-19 pandemic than any other group of hospital workers in terms of anxiety, depression, and burnout. Several clinical studies had previously demonstrated the effectiveness of mindfulness and compassion interventions in reducing burnout and emotional distress amongst healthcare professionals.

Methods And Analysis: A parallel-group randomized controlled trial will assess the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of a mindfulness and compassion-focused programme on frontline nurses who had been working during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Sustained Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Health Care Workers One Year after the Outbreak-A Repeated Cross-Sectional Survey in a Tertiary Hospital of North-East Italy.

This study aimed to evaluate the mental health outcomes of health care workers (HCWs) of the Verona academic hospital trust (Italy) one year after the outbreak of COVID-19 and to identify predicted risk factors. A web-based survey was conducted from mid-April to mid-May 2021 on hospital workers one year after the first evaluation performed during the lock-down phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Post-traumatic stress, general anxiety, depression, and burnout were assessed by using, respectively, the impact of event scale (IES-R), the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Maslach burnout inventory-general survey (MBI-GS).

The psychological impact of COVID-19 among primary care physicians in the province of Verona, Italy: a cross-sectional study during the first pandemic wave.

Background: Among healthcare professionals working with COVID-19 patients, general practitioners (GPs) are under considerable pressure and may develop adverse mental health outcomes.

Objectives: To assess mental health outcomes on GPs working during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore their associations with personal characteristics and features of GP practices.

Methods: Observational cross-sectional study conducted on a sample of GPs working in Verona province (Italy) during the first pandemic wave.

Causes of mortality in a large population-based cohort of psychiatric patients in Southern Europe.

The World Health Organization considers excess morbidity and mortality among people with mental disorders as a high public health priority. This study aims to estimate the mortality risk and causes of death among a large population-based cohort of psychiatric patients. All residents in Veneto (Northeastern Italy) aged between 18 and 84 years with a contact with Community Mental Health Centers in 2008 and a psychiatric diagnosis (n = 54,350) were followed-up for 10 years.

Levels of burn-out among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and their associated factors: a cross-sectional study in a tertiary hospital of a highly burdened area of north-east Italy.

Objective: To determine burn-out levels and associated factors among healthcare personnel working in a tertiary hospital of a highly burdened area of north-east Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design: Observational study conducted from 21 April to 6 May 2020 using a web-based questionnaire.

Setting: Research conducted in the Verona University Hospital (Veneto, Italy).

Safety of Psychotropic Medications in People With COVID-19: Evidence Review and Practical Recommendations.

(Reprinted with permission from the (2020) 18:215).

Correction to: Safety of psychotropic medications in people with COVID-19: evidence review and practical recommendations.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Tolerability and efficacy of vortioxetine versus SSRIs in elderly with major depression. Study protocol of the VESPA study: a pragmatic, multicentre, open-label, parallel-group, superiority, randomized trial.

Introduction: Depression is a highly prevalent condition in the elderly, with a vast impact on quality of life, life expectancy, and medical outcomes. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most commonly prescribed agents in this condition and, although generally safe, tolerability issues cannot be overlooked. Vortioxetine is an antidepressant with a novel mechanism of action.

Safety of psychotropic medications in people with COVID-19: evidence review and practical recommendations.

Background: The novel coronavirus pandemic calls for a rapid adaptation of conventional medical practices to meet the evolving needs of such vulnerable patients. People with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) may frequently require treatment with psychotropic medications, but are at the same time at higher risk for safety issues because of the complex underlying medical condition and the potential interaction with medical treatments.

Methods: In order to produce evidence-based practical recommendations on the optimal management of psychotropic medications in people with COVID-19, an international, multi-disciplinary working group was established.

Instruments to evaluate mental well-being in old age: a systematic review.

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify and appraise existing instruments to evaluate mental well-being in old age.

Method: Systematic literature searches in PubMed, PsycINFO, ProQuest Research Library, AgeLine and CINAHL databases were performed. The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) guideline was used to assess the measurement properties, reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement.

Predicting Patients' Readmission: Do Clinicians Outperform a Statistical Model? An Exploratory Study on Clinical Risk Judgment in Mental Health.

This study explores whether clinicians or a statistical model can better identify patients at risk of early readmission and investigates variables potentially associated with clinicians' risk judgment. We focus on a total of 142 patients discharged from acute psychiatric wards in the Verona Mental Health Department (Italy). Psychiatrists assessed patients' risk of readmission at 30 and 90 days postdischarge, predicted their postdischarge compliance, and assessed their Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score at admission and discharge.