Living with chronic kidney disease, or experiencing acute kidney injury, is associated with potentially serious psychological and psychiatric harm. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Social support is also important for health, especially when recovering from an illness. A dog provides companionship and may be a way of getting to know other dog owners in the neighbourhood.
However, the studies do not prove that dog ownership has a direct effect on health, only that it seems to be linked to longer life. While people who enjoy the company of dogs may benefit from exercise and companionship, the study does not show that people who are happily social and active without dogs should get one.
Ultimately this research cannot prove cause and effect. Both optimism and lifespan may be influenced by many hereditary, health, lifestyle and personal factors. People with a good overall standard of health and wellbeing are probably more likely to be optimistic about their future. While researchers attempted to adjust their analysis for these sort of factors, it's hard to remove their influence fully.
It's also questionable how applicable the results of these optimism assessments, taken 15 to 30 years ago from very specific groups of older US nurses and war veterans, are to the general UK population.
Nevertheless the research highlights the importance that mental health and wellbeing can have on physical health.
Although many home nations fans might find sitting through this year’s rugby world cup matches a little too nerve-racking at times, the NHS says watching the sport can actually be good for your mental health and wellbeing.
Despite the growing prevalence of depression in the Chinese elderly, there is conflicting evidence of life course socioeconomic position (SEP) and depression onset in China, and whether this association is akin to that observed in Western societies. We compared incident risk of mid–late life depression by childhood and adulthood SEP in China and England, a country where mental health inequality is firmly established. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
This study found that almost half of health care workers reported experiencing a mental illness, which could have significant implications for service delivery. Some health care workers held causal explanations of mental illness that were not evidence based. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the current application of gamification to apps and technologies for improving mental health and well-being does not align with the trend of positive reinforcement critiqued in the greater health and well-being literature. We also observed overlap between the most commonly used gamification techniques and existing behavior change frameworks.
Social workers are among the largest group of professionals in the mental health workforce and play a key role in the assessment of mental health, addictions and suicide. Most social workers provide services to individuals with mental health concerns, yet there are gaps in research on social work education and training programmes. The objective of this scoping review is to examine literature on social work education and training in mental health, addictions and suicide. Open Access Article
There is good evidence that job stressors are prospectively related to mental health problems, particularly depressive symptoms. This review aimed to examine whether job stressors were also related to use of psychotropic medications. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Older Men at the Margins was a two-year study to understand how men aged 65 and over from different social backgrounds and circumstances experienced loneliness and social isolation. It also explored the formal and informal ways they sought to stay connected with others and feel less lonely.
Adults who are sleeping rough and living with mental illness and substance misuse will benefit from £1.9 million funding to improve their access to vital healthcare.
Improving the way people travel and their experience at rail stations, airports and on roads, could play a significant role in improving their mental wellbeing, a new study commissioned by London City Airport reveals. The report also provides new estimates of the cost of poor mental health in different parts of England.
Globalised and 24/7 business operations have fuelled demands for people to work long hours and weekends. Research on the mental health effects of these intensive temporal work patterns is sparse, contradictory or has not considered gender differences. Our objective was to examine the relationship between these work patterns and depressive symptoms in a large nationally representative sample of working men and women in the UK. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Residents of disadvantaged neighbourhoods report higher levels of depressive symptoms; however, few studies have employed prospective designs during adolescence, when depression tends to emerge. We examined associations of neighbourhood social fragmentation, income inequality and median household income with depressive symptoms in a nationally representative survey of adolescents. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Globalised and 24/7 business operations have fuelled demands for people to work long hours and weekends. Research on the mental health effects of these intensive temporal work patterns is sparse, contradictory or has not considered gender differences. Our objective was to examine the relationship between these work patterns and depressive symptoms in a large nationally representative sample of working men and women in the UK. Free Access
Conclusions: The results of this RCT suggest that mindfulness-based resilience training delivered in an internet format can create improvements in adaptive resilience and related resources among high-risk workers, such as first responders. Despite a number of limitations, the results of this study suggest that the RAW Mindfulness Program is an effective, scalable, and practical means of delivering online resilience training in high-risk workplace settings. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a mindfulness-based RTP delivered entirely via the internet has been tested in the workplace.
Conclusions: Older adults are motivated to use digital technologies to improve their mental health, but barriers remain that developers need to address for this population to access them.
When leaders seek to create a healthy working environment for their employees, often the focus will be on improving physical wellbeing, such as using office furniture that supports the body effectively or encouraging the use of laptop/screen stands to prevent neck pain. However, it is crucial that leaders seek to create a working environment that also takes care of the mental health of employees. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Existing research on the relationship between economic recessions and suicides has almost completely concentrated on the most recent global financial crisis (2008). We provide the most comprehensive explanation to date of how different types of economic/financial crises since 1970 have affected suicides in developed countries. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
This release focuses on findings about loneliness collected through the survey. It provides additional demographic breakdowns and looks at estimated levels of loneliness against other key survey measures.
Emergency workers dedicate their lives to promoting public health and safety, yet suffer higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression (MD) compared with the general population. They also suffer an associated increased risk for physical health problems, which may be linked to specific immunological and endocrine markers or changes in relevant markers. Poor physical and mental health is costly to organisations, the National Health Service and society. Existing interventions aimed at reducing risk of mental ill health in this population are not very successful. More effective preventative interventions are urgently needed. We first conducted a large-scale prospective study of newly recruited student paramedics, identifying two cognitive factors (rumination and resilience appraisals) that predicted episodes of PTSD and MD over a 2-year period. We then developed internet-delivered cognitive training for resilience (iCT-R), a supported online intervention, to modify cognitive predictors. This protocol is for a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of the resilience intervention. Open Access Article
New and expectant fathers will be offered mental health checks and treatment under radical action to support families, NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens announced today (2 December 2018).
A new report focusing on men's mental health in the workplace has been published.
The report from The Work Foundation looks into the changes over the past decade that have influenced men’s role in the workplace and the impact of this on men's mental health.
The threat of major incidents has increased anxiety among young people and emergency care health professionals. In this blog, we discuss the impact of major incidents on mental health and outline how health professionals can make sure they are prepared.
The C&I Wellbeing team have been providing mental health awareness training, as well as practical advice and toolkits to help managers proactively enhance their own mental wellbeing, as well as that of other staff. C&I psychologists recently held a workshop for the cast and production team of the National Theatre’s production of ‘Nine Night’. They have also provided a range of one to two hour talks on topics including ‘Coping with Anxiety’, ‘Alcohol & Substance Misuse’, ‘Improving Sleep’, and ‘Grief and Bereavement’.
We all experience loneliness in different ways, and it can affect us at different stages and transition points in life. Tackling loneliness is a ‘review of reviews’ that is based on a sift of 364 evidence reviews from across the world, and within the UK. It’s a first step towards understanding what we know about what works to reduce loneliness.
The national Mental Health at Work 2018 Report was conducted by You Gov, Business in the Community and Mercer for the third year running. The report is to encourage employers to raise awareness and take action in supporting good mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.
This strategy sets out the approach to tackling loneliness in England. It marks a shift in the way we see and act on loneliness, both within government and in society more broadly.
It builds on the work of many organisations and individuals over the years, and is government’s first major contribution to the national conversation on loneliness and the importance of social connections. This strategy is an important first step, government is also committed to long-lasting action to tackle the problem of loneliness.
Conclusions: This preliminary research provides evidence for the capabilities of e-learning modules to effectively promote workplace resilience and a working model of team resilience.
"Although we should be cautious about the study findings, they represent another potential reason to adopt a Mediterranean diet. We already know the diet is good for our hearts – adopting a healthy diet and lifestyle may well be good for our mood, too."
The suggestion that children should have limited screen time, enough sleep and plenty of physical activity isn't particularly controversial.
This study adds to evidence that these might be sensible lifestyle adaptations for children.
But this type of study can't prove that any one of these is directly responsible for children's mental abilities.
This pilot study of the Resilience@Work program suggests that a mindfulness-based resilience program delivered via the Internet is feasible in a high-risk workplace setting
Understanding the circumstances associated with feeling lonely and explaining what we know works in supporting people to tackle feelings of persistent loneliness.
Mental Health at Work has launched a new tool to help organisations have better conversations around mental health in the workplace.
The tool is a gateway to documents, guides and information from organisations across the UK, all aimed at helping to make a significant contribution to combating discrimination against mental health and providing employers with the tools they needs.
dentifying frail older people, and in particular, people who are psychologically frail in a community setting is difficult. This article investigates predictors of psychological frailty and constructs a short and effective pre-detection tool for highly psychologically frail older people. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Carer burden and carer stress are well-documented concepts, and can lead to depression and a risk of suicide in some individuals. It is important that this risk is considered when supporting informal carers of people living with dementia. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details. SSOTP (legacy account) - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Depression often goes hand in hand with a diabetes diagnosis, but mental health support is sorely lacking. More than six out of ten people with diabetes sometimes or often feel down due to the long-term condition, according to Diabetes UK. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details. SSOTP (legacy account) - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Local government makes a vital contribution to promoting good mental health in individuals and communities. The main ways this happens are through:
system-wide leadership through health and wellbeing boards (HWBs)
public health responsibilities to promote mental wellbeing and prevent poor mental health throughout the life course
statutory duties and powers related to mental health for children and young people and for adults
the overview and scrutiny of mental health provision.
Body mass index (BMI) is correlated negatively with subjective well-being and positively with depressive symptoms. Whether these associations reflect causal effects is unclear.
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In the first of our case study mini series, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust share how they reduced sickness absence and presenteeism at work.
The trust placed staff health and wellbeing at the centre of their strategy by implementing core services and additional interventions staff can call upon.
a senior doctor has claimed that watching football can be good for mental wellbeing.
The NHS director has said that for older people in particular there are clear benefits from watching classic football matches like England’s 1966 world cup final victory, including keeping the brain active and stimulating memories. Several members of the nation’s golden generation of 1966 have experienced dementia, with winners Nobby Stiles and Martin Peters currently living with the condition.
The Government’s Loneliness Strategy will be its first step in tackling the long-term challenge of loneliness. Loneliness is a complex issue that affects many different groups of people, and its evidence base is still developing.
Our approach is to focus the Strategy where we have the clearest opportunity for government action and further learning. Alongside this we will also be working with partners to explore how we can improve the evidence base, to inform future government policy.
This study adds to the evidence that good sleep at night and activity during the day is linked to better mental health.
The big question is exactly how this link works and what "direction" it's travelling in: does poor sleep and sluggish activity during the day affect people's mental health, increasing their chances of mood disorders, or do mood disorders affect people's ability to sleep well and be active during the day?
Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust is supporting this year’s initiative and its focus on ‘stress and how we cope with it’ by delivering the hour-long ‘Stress-less’ sessions to 15 and 16-year-olds about to take GCSEs.
The Trust, one of the biggest mental health providers in Hull and East Riding, is also offering advice to the candidates on how to keep their exam nerves at bay.
Because of the nature of the research, we can't say that exercise alone was the reason people were less likely to get depressed. Other associated factors, such as long-term illnesses, might also be involved. There are other limitations to the study, which may make the results less accurate. For example, many of the pooled studies relied on people self-reporting the amount of exercise they did, which can be prone to error.
Nevertheless, this comprehensive study adds to previous evidence suggesting exercise is not just good for reducing symptoms of depression, but may also prevent it.
The survey report, UK working lives: in search of job quality considers seven key dimensions of job quality and focuses on policy and practice actions that aim to improve working lives. It acknowledges the importance of promoting good mental health and improving the health and wellbeing of the workforce.
The King’s Fund has been working with Kaleidoscope Health and Care and the Centre for Mental Health to deliver a series of learning events across England, as part of the Prevention concordat for better mental health programme led by Public Health England. Here, Chris Naylor shares key lessons from a recent event in Liverpool.
While risk of premature death is most pronounced among persons with severe mental illness, also milder conditions are associated with increased all-cause mortality. We examined non-psychotic mental (NPM) disorders and specific causes of natural death in a cohort of late adolescent men followed for up to 46 years.
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The psychological effect of major incidents on those involved, witnesses, and local communities is often substantial. Many people develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma spectrum psychological disorders, and the prevalence of other common mental health problems also rises. PTSD and other mental health sequelae impair social and occupational functioning, affecting not only the individual but potentially the wider community.
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Engaging in sport has been suggested to be mitigate against psychological distress. Using a prospective-longitudinal design, we examine whether sport participation is associated with reduced psychological difficulties in adolescents and whether associations differ by sport and personal characteristics.
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Socioeconomic inequalities in recovery from poor physical health were explained to a considerable extent by health behaviours, adiposity, SBP and serum cholesterol. These risk factors explained only part of the gradient in recovery for poor mental health.
Open Access Article
Previous research has found that area-level income inequality and individual-level relative deprivation both contribute to disordered gambling in adults. However, the socioeconomic factors that contribute to disordered gambling in youths and protective factors in their social environment have not been fully explored. This study examined the association between relative deprivation and youth disordered gambling and the potential moderating role of social support in this association.
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Community life, social connections and having a voice in local decisions are all factors that have a vital contribution to make to health and wellbeing.
The position statement concludes that:
the evidence base in this area is very limited;
there is no evidence that specific nutrients or food supplements affect the risk of cognitive impairment or dementia;
there is some observational evidence that greater adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern may be associated with reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia
Adults born very prematurely experience higher rates of psychiatric symptoms than those who are born at full term.
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Singing in groups could help improve individuals’ mental health, according to research by the University of East Anglia.
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Depression is an important contributor to the global burden of disease. Besides several known individual-level factors that contribute to depression, there is a growing recognition that neighbourhood environment can also profoundly affect mental health. This study assessed associations between three neighbourhood constructs—socioeconomic deprivation, residential instability and income inequality—and depression among adult twin pairs. The twin design is used to examine the association between neighbourhood constructs and depression, controlling for selection factors (ie, genetic and shared environmental factors) that have confounded purported associations.
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People who have experienced abuse, neglect and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as living with domestic violence during their childhood are at much greater risk of mental illness throughout life.
Journal Scan. Rates of psychosis can be almost eight times higher in some areas than others.
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South Staffordshire Network for Mental Health has developed a Toolbox that has helped a number of people to build their own plan dealing with emotions and preventing mental illness.
What is Toolbox?
Toolbox is a self-empowering, emotional wellbeing signposting service whose aims are to encourage better self-awareness and help identify emotional support networks. For more information about toolbox visit https://ssnmentalhealth.co.uk/toolbox/
There is a high prevalence of inactive adults in the UK, and many suffer from conditions such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) or poor mental health. These coexist more frequently in areas of higher socioeconomic deprivation. There is a need to test the effectiveness, acceptability and sustainability of physical activity programmes. Active Herts uses novel evidence-based behaviour change techniques to target physical inactivity.
Open Access Article
Northwick Park Hospital occupational therapy staff are running a sleep intervention programme to help patients better understand the relationship between sleep and mental health.
Sleep is a major factor in maintaining good mental health. Sadly, for those of us experiencing mental or physical health issues sleepless nights can become the norm and a good night’s sleep can seem like a pipe dream. This is why occupational therapists Di Hurley and Tallis Murphy have been looking at ways to improve the level of support that occupational therapists offer patients in mental health services, putting a particular focus on highlighting the relationship between sleep and mental health.
Objective: This trial investigated the effectiveness of SPARX-R, a gamified online cognitive behavior therapy intervention for the prevention of depression relative to an attention-matched control intervention delivered to students prior to facing a significant stressor—final secondary school exams.
Healthcare staff who regularly share the emotional, social or ethical challenges they face in the workplace experience less psychological distress, improved teamwork and increased empathy and compassion for patients and colleagues, an NIHR-funded study reveals.
In the first in-depth study in the UK, researchers from the University of Surrey, Kings College London, the University of Sheffield and The King’s Fund examined the impact of Schwartz Center Rounds® (Rounds), on both clinical and non-clinical staff. Rounds are monthly forums that offer a safe space for staff to share experiences with colleagues and to discuss the challenges they face in their work and its impact on them.
There is a strong correlation between long term physical conditions and mental health conditions, notably anxiety and depression, but a general practice nurse with good communication skills can do much to identify and support affected patients.
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Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s (CWP) Wirral Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) is collaborating with schools from across the region to deliver the Peer Educator project, which trains young people to deliver mental health education to fellow students.
The Health Foundation has now commissioned Wirral CAMHS to co-design an online toolkit, which will be used as a national blueprint to enable schools in other areas to set up their own Peer Educator projects. The toolkit launch will take place at Wallasey Town Hall on World Mental Health Day (10 October), with professionals from CWP demonstrating the success of a three-year pilot project.
Additional support to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds at preschool and in early primary school may help narrow inequalities. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds started school with a higher prevalence of mental health difficulties, compared with their more advantaged peers, and this disparity widened markedly over the first 3 years of school.
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Hosted by GP surgery but including other MH/community groups such as local Carers' Centre, Fire Service, local MH Trust, police, Recovery College and Rethink for Carers.
This European Social Fund and National Lottery funded project is a partnership between the Lancashire WildlifeTrust and Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, which is pioneering nature as a holistic therapy.
Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that there is substantial interest among expectant and new fathers for using Internet-delivered strategies to prepare for the transition to parenthood and support their mental health. Specific user and website features were identified to optimize the use of father-focused websites.
Psychologists at Nottingham Trent University and the University of Dundee found that the more social groups 13-17 year olds positively identified with at the start of their study, the better their mental health was a year later.
They also identified a reciprocal relationship, where those with better mental health at the start of the study would have the greatest number of strong social groups by the end.
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Sleep and mental health go hand-in-hand, with many, if not all, mental health problems being associated with problems sleeping. Although sleep has been traditionally conceptualised as a secondary consequence of mental health problems, contemporary views prescribe a more influential, causal role of sleep in the formation and maintenance of mental health problems. One way to evaluate this assertion is to examine the extent to which interventions that improve sleep also improve mental health.
Open Access Article
Dynamic new resources for teachers will help build crucial life-skills for young people to boost their resilience and improve their mental health and wellbeing, as part of a new evidence-based programme for schools unveiled by Public Health England (PHE).
Improving sleep with online digital cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is associated with significant reductions in paranoia and hallucinations, a randomised trial in UK university students with insomnia has found.
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We examined prescription records for drugs used in the management of common mental disorder among primary care practices located in the vicinity of recent large flood events in England, 2011–2014. A controlled interrupted time series analysis was conducted of the number of prescribing items for antidepressant drugs in the year before and after the flood onset. Pre–post changes were compared by distance of the practice from the inundated boundaries among 930 practices located within 10 km of a flood.
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Levels of mental illness, mental distress and low wellbeing among students in higher education in the UK are increasing, and are high relative to other sections of the population.