Trajectories of affective and cognitive well-being at times of COVID-19 containment policies in Italy.

This paper draws on a subsample (N=851) of respondents to ITA.LI - Italian Lives - a recently established panel study on a probability sample of individuals aged 16+ living in Italy - to track changes in the affective (positive and negative emotions such as energy and sadness) and cognitive (life satisfaction) components of well-being during different COVID-19 policy phases, classified according to the severity of key government responses. An event-study design is employed, which uses mixed-effects ordered logistic models to investigate the change in SWB scores. Given the nested nature of the data, multilevel modelling is chosen as the most appropriate method of analysis. The results reveal the levels of affective and cognitive well-being were significantly lower during the lockdown period than before the pandemic outbreak potentially reflecting both the direct effects of the confinement and other potential sources of distress, such as trends in infection rates and related media alarm. Once the lockdown was lifted, there was no evidence of an immediate and general improvement in well-being. In the following policy phase, with the lifting of most containment measures, there were significant signs of full recovery concerning energy, but the scores for the other well-being components remained relatively lower than those observed before the onset of COVID-19.

The prevalence of insomnia in different COVID-19 policy phases: Longitudinal evidence from ITA.LI - Italian Lives.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated changes in the prevalence of insomnia in Italy during COVID-19, starting from the first lockdown period (8 March 2020). We hypothesized that lockdown precipitated increased prevalence of insomnia symptoms relative to the pre-pandemic period; b) the gradual relaxation of containment measures - post-lockdown period (Phase 2 and Phase 3) - reduced insomnia severity, leading to a relative recovery of pre-pandemic levels; and c) we tested age-related heterogeneity in sleep responses, with an expected higher increase in insomnia in younger and middle-age groups. METHODS: Analyses drew on a subsample (N = 883) of respondents to ITA.LI - Italian Lives, a recently established panel study on a probability sample of individuals aged 16 + living in Italy. To estimate patterns of change in insomnia, we first fitted a random-effects ordered logistic model on the whole sample. We then added an interaction term between policy phases and the respondent age to test whether the relationship between insomnia and policy phases differed across age groups. Analyses accounted for survey non-response weights. RESULTS: The fraction of respondents reporting moderate ("somewhat" + 0.159, S.E. 0.017) or severe ("very much" + 0.142, S.E. 0.030) sleep disturbances significantly increased during Phase 1. The prevalence of insomnia followed an inverted U-shaped curve across policy phases, with further increases from baseline levels ("somewhat" + 0.168, S.E. 0.015; "very much" + 0.187, S.E. 0.030) during Phase 2, followed by a relative reduction in Phase 3, although it remained significantly higher than in the pre-pandemic period ("somewhat", + 0.084, S.E. 0.016; "very much", + 0.045, S.E. 0.010). There were significant age-related differences in insomnia patterns, as the discrete change from pre-pandemic levels in the probability of not suffering from insomnia was negative and significant for the younger age group (- 0.269, S.E. 0.060) and for respondents aged 35-54 (- 0.163, S.E. 0.039). CONCLUSION: There is reason to believe that the emergency policy response to the COVID-19 crisis may have had unintended and possibly scarring effects in terms of increased prevalence of insomnia. The hardest hit were young adults and, to a lesser extent, the middle-aged; however, older respondents (55 +) remained resilient, and their insomnia trajectory bounced back to pre-pandemic levels.

Effectiveness of crisis resolution home treatment for the management of acute psychiatric crises in Southern Switzerland: a natural experiment based on geography.

BACKGROUND: Crisis Resolution Home Treatment (CRHT) is an alternative to inpatient treatment for acute psychiatric crises management. However, evidence on CRHT effectiveness is still limited. In the Canton of Ticino (Southern Switzerland), in 2016 the regional public psychiatric hospital replaced one acute ward with a CRHT. The current study was designed within this evaluation setting to assess the effectiveness of CRHT compared to standard inpatient treatment. METHODS: CRHT was offered to patients aged 18 to 65 with an acute psychiatric crisis that would have required hospitalization. We used a natural experiment based on geography, where intervention and control groups were formed according to the place of residence. Primary endpoints were reduction of psychiatric symptoms at discharge measured using the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales, treatment duration in days, and rate and length of readmissions during a two-year follow-up period after discharge. Safety during the treatment period was measured with the number of serious adverse events (suicide/suicide attempts, major self-harm episodes, acute alcohol/drug intoxications, aggressions to caregivers or family members). We used linear, log-linear and logistic regression models with propensity scores for the main analysis. RESULTS: We enrolled 321 patients; 67 were excluded because the treatment period was too short and 17 because they were transferred before the end of the treatment. Two hundred thirty-seven patients were available for data analysis, 93 in the intervention group and 144 in the control group. No serious adverse event was observed during the treatment period in both groups. Reduction of psychiatric symptoms at discharge (p-value = 0.359), readmission rates (p-value = 0.563) and length of readmissions (p-value = 0.770) during the two-year follow-up period did not differ significantly between the two groups. Treatment duration was significantly higher in the treatment group (+ 29.6% on average, p-value = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: CRHT was comparable to standard hospitalization in terms of psychiatric symptoms reduction, readmission rates and length of readmissions, but it was also characterized by a longer first treatment period. However, observational evidence following the study indicated that CRHT duration constantly lowered over time since its introduction in 2016 and became comparable to hospitalization, showing therefore to be an effective alternative also in terms of treatment length. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN38472626 (17/11/2020, retrospectively registered).

Differential effects of COVID-19 and containment measures on mental health: Evidence from ITA.LI-Italian Lives, the Italian household panel.

This study used a subsample of a household panel study in Italy to track changes in mental health before the onset of COVID-19 and into the first lockdown period, from late April to early September 2020. The results of the random-effects regression analyses fitted on a sample of respondents aged 16 years and older (N = 897) proved that there was a substantial and statistically significant short-term deterioration in mental health (from 78,5 to 67,9; ß = -10.5, p < .001; Cohen's d -.445), as measured by a composite index derived from the mental component of the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12). The findings also showed heterogeneity in the COVID-related effects. On the one hand, evidence has emerged that the pandemic acted as a great leveller of pre-existing differences in mental health across people of different ages: the decrease was most pronounced among those aged 16-34 (from 84,2 to 66,5; ß = -17.7, p < .001; Cohen's d -.744); however, the magnitude of change reduced as age increased and turned to be non-significant among individuals aged 70 and over. On the other hand, the COVID-19 emergency widened the mental health gender gap and created new inequalities, based on the age of the youngest child being taken care of within the household.

Home Treatment for Acute Mental Health Care: Protocol for the Financial Outputs, Risks, Efficacy, Satisfaction Index and Gatekeeping of Home Treatment (FORESIGHT) Study.

BACKGROUND: Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment (CRHT) teams represent a community-based mental health service offering a valid alternative to hospitalization. CRHT teams have been widely implemented in various mental health systems worldwide, and their goal is to provide care for people with severe acute mental disorders who would be considered for admission to acute psychiatric wards. The evaluation of several home-treatment experiences shows promising results; however, it remains unclear which specific elements and characteristics of CRHT are more effective and acceptable. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the acceptability, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of a new CRHT intervention in Ticino, Southern Switzerland. METHODS: This study includes an interventional, nonrandomized, quasi-experimental study combined with a qualitative study and an economic evaluation to be conducted over a 48-month period. The quasi-experimental evaluation involves two groups: patients in the northern area of the region who were offered the CRHT service (ie, intervention group) and patients in the southern area of the region who received care as usual (ie, control group). Individual interviews will be conducted with patients receiving the home treatment intervention and their family members. CRHT members will also be asked to participate in a focus group. The economic evaluation will include a cost-effectiveness analysis. RESULTS: The project is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation as part of the National Research Program NRP74 for a period of 48 months starting from January 2017. As of October 2021, data for the nonrandomized, quasi-experimental study and the qualitative study have been collected, and the results are expected to be published by the end of the year. Data are currently being collected for the economic evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to other Swiss CRHT experiences, the CRHT intervention in Ticino represents a unique case, as the introduction of the service is backed by the closing of one of its acute wards. The proposed study will address several areas where there are evidence gaps or contradictory findings relating to the home treatment of acute mental crisis. Findings from this study will allow local services to improve their effectiveness in a challenging domain of public health and contribute to improving access to more effective care for people with severe mental disorders. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN registry ISRCTN38472626; https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN38472626. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/28191.

An Integrated Look at Well-Being: Topological Clustering of Combinations and Correlates of Hedonia and Eudaimonia.

Subjective measures of well-being are increasingly seen by scholars and policy makers as valuable tools to assess quality of life. Hedonic accounts focus on people's experience of life in positive ways while eudaimonic accounts are concerned with realization of personal potential. However, to what extent do an "enjoyable" and a "flourishing" life overlap? Using an innovative clustering-and-projection technique (Self-Organized Map), the joint distributional patterns of multiple hedonic and eudaimonic well-being indicators were examined in a nationally representative longitudinal study of US adults (MIDUS). Results show that the two accounts largely converged with about 70% of the sample observations registering high/low scores in both well-being dimensions. However, the remaining 30% of respondents experienced divergent well-being levels. Association between these combined profiles and a series of socio-demographic characteristics and social stratification factors were investigated. Findings showed that chances of uniformly high well-being increase with age, while higher income, educational level, marriage, and being a female are linked to lesser probabilities of experiencing joint low well-being patterns. Experiencing a combination of high hedonic / low eudaimonic well-being was more frequent for less educated individuals, and men. Finally, the persistence over time of these combined well-being profiles was more frequent in case of convergent hedonic/eudaimonic levels. For divergent patterns we revealed substantial changes over a 10-year period with respondents registering low hedonic / high eudaimonic well-being at time t having greater chances of upward movement toward improved well-being compared to individuals who experienced high hedonic / low eudaimonic levels in the first time period.