Video-Feedback Approach Improves Parental Compliance to Early Behavioral Interventions in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Investigation.

In the field of autism intervention, a large amount of evidence has demonstrated that parent-mediated interventions are effective in promoting a child's learning and parent caring skills. Furthermore, remote delivery treatments are feasible and can represent a promising opportunity to reach families at distance with positive results. Recently, the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 dramatically disrupted intervention services for autism and forced an immediate reorganization of the territory services toward tele-assisted intervention programs, according to professional and local resources. Our study aimed to conduct a retrospective pilot exploratory investigation on parental compliance, participation, and satisfaction in relation to three different telehealth intervention modalities, such as video feedback, live streaming, and psychoeducation, implemented in the context of a public community setting delivering early autism intervention during the COVID-19 emergency. We found that parents who attended video feedback expressed the highest rate of compliance and participation, while parental psychoeducation showed significantly lower compliance and the highest drop-out rate. Regardless of the tele-assistance modality, all the participants expressed satisfaction with the telehealth experience, finding it useful and effective. Potential benefits and advantages of different remote modalities with reference to parent involvement and effectiveness are important aspects to be taken into account and should be further investigated in future studies.

Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Physical and Psychological Wellbeing in Cardiovascular Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Recently, there has been an increased interest in the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) for people with cardiovascular diseases (CVD), although the exact beneficial effects remain unclear. METHODS: This review aims to establish the role of MBI in the management of wellbeing for patients with CVD. Seventeen articles have been included in this systematic synthesis of the literature and eleven in the meta-analysis. RESULTS: Considering physical (i.e., heart rate, blood pressure) and psychological outcomes (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress, styles of coping), the vast majority of studies confirmed that MBI has a positive influence on coping with psychological risk factors, also improving physiological fitness. Random-effects meta-analysis models suggested a moderate-to-large effect size in reducing anxiety, depression, stress, and systolic blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: Although a high heterogeneity was observed in the methodological approaches, scientific literature confirmed that MBI can now be translated into a first-line intervention tool for improving physical and psychological wellbeing in CVD patients.