Preventing postpartum insomnia: findings from a three-arm randomised controlled trial of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia, a responsive bassinet, and sleep hygiene.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Insomnia symptoms are common during the perinatal period and are linked to adverse outcomes. This single-blind 3-arm randomised controlled trial examined whether two interventions targeting different mechanisms prevent postpartum insomnia. METHODS: Participants were nulliparous females 26-32 weeks gestation with Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) scores≥8, recruited in Australia and randomised 1:1:1 to: (a) a responsive bassinet designed to support infant sleep and reduce maternal sleep disruption until 6 months postpartum (RB), (b) therapist-assisted cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) delivered during pregnancy and postpartum, or (c) a sleep hygiene booklet (control; CTRL). Outcomes were assessed at baseline (T1), 35-36 weeks gestation (T2), and 2, 6, and 12 months postpartum (T3-T5). The primary outcome was ISI scores averaged T3-T5. Primary analyses were regressions controlling for baseline outcomes. RESULTS: 127 participants (age M±SD=32.62±3.49) were randomised (RB=44, CBT-I=42, CTRL= 41). Both interventions were feasible and well-accepted, with few related adverse events reported. Compared to CTRL, the average ISI across T3-T5 was lower for CBT-I (p=.014, effect size [ES]=0.56, medium) but not RB (p=.270, ES=0.25, small). Exploratory findings on maternal insomnia diagnosis, sleep disturbance, sleep-related impairment, beliefs and attitudes about sleep, depression, anxiety, as well as infant sleep outcomes were also presented. CONCLUSIONS: CBT-I but not RB reduced prenatal insomnia (very large effect) and prevented postpartum insomnia (medium effect). Further research is needed to examine the effects of both CBT-I and RB on other outcomes such as sleep-related wellbeing, postpartum depression, and maternal postpartum sleep duration.

A longitudinal qualitative exploration of victorian healthcare workers' and organisations' evolving views and experiences during COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted individuals, society, and healthcare organisations worldwide. Recent international research suggests that concerns, needs, and experiences of healthcare workers (HCWs) have evolved throughout the pandemic. This longitudinal qualitative study explored the evolving views and experiences of Victorian healthcare workers (HCWs) and organisational key personnel during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: We recruited participants from the Coronavirus in Victorian Health and Aged care workers (COVIC-HA) study cohort. We conducted two rounds of semi-structured interviews with HCWs and organisational key personnel from three different healthcare settings (hospital, aged care and primary care) in Victoria, Australia, in May-July 2021 and May-July 2022. Data were analysed thematically using trajectory and recurrent cross-sectional approaches, guided by a temporal change framework. RESULTS: Twelve HCWs and five key personnel from various professional roles participated in interviews at both timepoints. Expected themes derived from mid-2021 interviews (navigating uncertainty, maintaining service delivery, and addressing staff needs) evolved over time. Concerns shifted from personal health and safety to workforce pressures, contributing to HCW burnout and fatigue and ongoing mental health support needs. New themes emerged from mid-2022 interviews, including managing ongoing COVID-19 impacts and supporting the healthcare workforce into the future. Clear and consistent communication, stable guidelines and forward-looking organisational responses were considered crucial. CONCLUSIONS: Our longitudinal qualitative study highlighted the evolving impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HCWs' perceptions, health and wellbeing and uncovered long-term sector vulnerabilities. Analysing HCW experiences and key personnel insights over time and across different pandemic phases provided crucial insights for policymakers to protect the healthcare workforce. Findings emphasise the need for proactive strategies that prioritise HCWs' wellbeing and workforce sustainability. Policy makers must invest in HCW health and wellbeing initiatives alongside healthcare system improvements to ensure resilience and capacity to meet future challenges. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was approved through the Victorian Streamlined Ethical Review Process (SERP: Project Number 68,086) and registered with ANZCTR (ACTRN12621000533897) on 6 May 2021.

Female genital cosmetic surgery in Indonesia: a qualitative analysis of medical advertising on Instagram.

Research on female genital cosmetic surgery usually comes from Anglophone countries. We investigated female genital cosmetic surgery in the predominantly Muslim South-East Asian country of Indonesia, aiming to identify the procedures offered by medical clinics on Instagram, how they are justified, and what they claim to achieve; and to understand what this means for women and their bodies. The 184 eligible posts from 19 clinics between 1 January to 31 March 2021 offered vaginoplasty, labiaplasty, hymenoplasty, and other procedures. Reflexive thematic analysis yielded three themes: Why you should have female genital cosmetic surgery, Indications for female genital cosmetic surgery, and What you will gain from female genital cosmetic surgery. Posts were similar to those identified in other countries, revealing implicit vulvar aesthetics, expectations that women choose to 'improve' their genitals, the need to please men, and that female genital cosmetic surgery is straightforward. Two differences from Anglophone advertising were the use of euphemisms to describe the vulva and an emphasis on physical 'virginity'. Across countries, female genital cosmetic surgery advertising appears to arise from patriarchal constructs of women's bodies and determination to control them. We contend that Indonesia shares with other countries the need for education-of medical practitioners and the general public-about sexuality and the vulva, and that the advertising of female genital cosmetic surgery should be regulated and rigorously monitored.

Mental and social wellbeing trajectory during the pandemic for vulnerable populations.

Objectives: We investigated changes over time in mental and social wellbeing indicators for vulnerable population subgroups during the pandemic. These groups were younger people, people with disabilities, low-income groups, unemployed, culturally, and linguistically diverse communities (CaLD), and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Methods: A series of four repeated population representative surveys were conducted in June 2020, September 2020, January 2022, and June 2022. Questions included items on psychological distress, financial hardship, social connection, and life satisfaction. Results: For most groups, social connection and life satisfaction improved in 2022 relative to 2020. Psychological distress and financial hardship showed the opposite pattern, with some groups having worse results in 2022 relative to 2020. People without any vulnerability had better mental health and social wellbeing outcomes at each time point relative to the vulnerable population subgroups. Conclusion: Pandemic-related policies had differential effects over time and for different population groups. Future policies and research need to closely monitor how they impact population subgroups, and the overall results clearly demonstrate the inequity in mental health and social wellbeing outcomes for vulnerable population cohorts.

Effect of a parenting and nutrition education programme on development and growth of children using a social safety-net platform in urban Bangladesh: a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: Although sustainable development goals mandate for quality early childhood development (ECD) interventions for children <8 years, little occurs for children <3 years, especially in urban settings in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). Our primary objective was to measure the effect of an ECD-focused parenting and nutrition education on children's development through home visits using a social safety net platform of urban Bangladesh. Methods: A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with mothers of children aged 6-16 months in 20 clusters across the Rangpur city, Bangladesh. The intervention group received fortnightly ECD-focused parenting and nutrition education at homes by local Community Health Workers (CHWs) for one year. Bayley-III was used to measure children's cognitive, language and motor development. Data were analyzed using intention to treat. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03753646. Findings: Out of 599 mother-child dyads, 56.6% mothers were aged ≤ 25 years old. After one year, the intervened children had higher cognitive [Effect size Cohen's d; 0.42 SD (95% CI: 0.58-0.25)], language (0.38 SD, 95% CI: 0.55-0.22) and motor (0.17 SD, 95% CI: 0.01-0.34) development. In the intervention group, mothers experienced less violence [Odds ratio; 0.6 (95% CI: 0.4-1.0)] and fathers engaged more (0.23 SD, CI: 0.39-0.06) in ECD activities with their children compared to the comparison group. Total home stimulation and mothers' knowledge on child care were also improved in the intervention. But the children's growth was not improved. Interpretation: This ECD programme improves the development of children of young mothers in urban settings using a social safety-net platform. The evidence may help in increasing ECD coverage in urban areas in LMICs. Funding: Grand Challenges Canada, Saving Brains Programme Grant Number: SB-1810-20176.

Psychometric properties of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) in silica-exposed workers from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

BACKGROUND: The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) has been used in a range of occupational cohorts, but only recently in stone benchtop workers undergoing screening for silicosis. The aim of this study was to compare psychometric properties of the PSS-10 in stone benchtop workers amongst those born overseas or who used an interpreter. METHODS: Stone benchtop workers in Melbourne, Australia completed the PSS-10 as part of their occupational screening for silicosis. Internal consistency was assessed with Cronbach's α for the total score and the positive and negative subscales. Validity was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Analysis was performed for the total group and for subgroups according to sex, interpreter use, overseas-born, and language spoken at home. RESULTS: The results of 682 workers with complete PSS-10 scores were included in analysis. Most participants were male (93%), with mean age 36.9 years (SD 11.4), with just over half (51.6%) born in Australia, 10.1% using an interpreter, and 17.5% using a language other than English at home. Cronbach's α for the overall group (α = 0.878) suggested good internal consistency. DISCUSSION: CFA analysis for validity testing suggested PSS-10 performance was good for both sexes, moderate for country of birth and language spoken at home categories, but poorer for those who used an interpreter. Whilst professional interpreters provide a range of benefits in the clinical setting, the use of translated and validated instruments are important, particularly in cohorts with large numbers of migrant workers. CONCLUSION: This study describes the psychometric properties of the PSS-10 in a population of stone benchtop workers, with good internal consistency, and mixed performance from validity testing across various subgroups.

'Something that helped the whole picture': Experiences of parents offered rapid prenatal exome sequencing in routine clinical care in the English National Health Service.

OBJECTIVES: In October 2020, rapid prenatal exome sequencing (pES) was introduced into routine National Health Service (NHS) care in England. This study aimed to explore parent experiences and their information and support needs from the perspective of parents offered pES and of health professionals involved in its delivery. METHODS: In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 women and 6 male partners and 63 fetal medicine and genetic health professionals. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Overall views about pES were positive and parents were grateful to be offered the test. Highlighted benefits of pES included the value of the additional information for pregnancy management and planning for future pregnancies. An anxious wait for results was common, often associated with the need to make decisions near to 24 weeks in pregnancy when there are legal restrictions for late termination. Descriptions of dealing with uncertainty were also common, even when results had been returned. Many parents described pES results as informing decision-making around whether or not to terminate pregnancy. Some professionals were concerned that a non-informative result could be overly reassuring and highlighted that careful counselling was needed to ensure parents have a good understanding of what the result means for their pregnancy. Emotional support from professionals was valued; however, some parents felt that post-test support was lacking. CONCLUSION: Parents and professionals welcomed the introduction of pES. Results inform parents' decision-making around the termination of pregnancy. When there are no diagnostic findings or uncertain findings from pES, personalised counselling that considers scans and other tests are crucial. Directing parents to reliable online sources of information and providing emotional support throughout could improve their experiences of care.

Symptoms of depression and risk of emergency department visits among people aged 70 years and over.

BACKGROUND: Older people experiencing depression and anxiety have higher rates of health service utilisation than others, but little is known about whether these influence their seeking of emergency care. The aim was to examine the associations between symptoms of depression and the use of emergency health care, in an Australian context, among a population of people aged 70 years and over initially free of cardiovascular disease, dementia or major physical disability. METHODS: We undertook secondary analyses of data from a large cohort of community-dwelling Australians aged [Formula: see text]70 years. Multivariable logistic regression was used to compare the association of symptoms of depression (measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale 10 question version, CESD at baseline) with subsequent episodes of emergency care, adjusting for physical and social factors of clinical interest. Marginal adjusted odds ratios were calculated from the logistic regression. RESULTS: Data were available for 10,837 Australian participants aged at least 70 years. In a follow-up assessment three years after the baseline assessment, 17.6% of people self-reported an episode of emergency care (attended an ED of called an emergency ambulance) in the last 12 months. Use of emergency healthcare was similar for men and women (17.8% vs. 17.4% p = 0.61). A score above the cut-off on the CESD at baseline was associated with greater use of emergency health care (OR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.11,1.64). When modelled separately, there was a greater association between a score above the cut-off on the CESD and emergency healthcare for women compared with men. CONCLUSIONS: This study is unique in demonstrating how depressive symptoms among healthy older persons are associated with subsequent increased use of emergency healthcare. Improved understanding and monitoring of mental health in primary care is essential to undertake effective healthcare planning including prevention of needing emergency care.

'If I'm not sick, I'm not going to see the doctor': Access to preventive sexual and reproductive health care for Karen women from refugee backgrounds living in Melbourne, Australia-A qualitative study.

ISSUE ADDRESSED: Women from refugee backgrounds have poorer health outcomes than host country populations. People from Myanmar, most of whom are from the Karen ethnic minority constitute one of the largest groups of humanitarian visa entrants to Australia since 2015. Barriers to and enablers of preventive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) for this group of women are poorly understood. The objective is to establish the preventive SRH care needs and experiences of Karen women from refugee backgrounds living in Australia. METHODS: A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted with a purposive sample of Karen women. A bi-cultural worker assisted in recruitment and interpreting during data collection. All interviews were conducted in Karen language with a bi-cultural worker interpreting into English during the interview. Audio recordings of English dialogue were transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used to analyse and report data. RESULTS: Thirteen women were interviewed. Five major themes were identified: (1) prevention awareness including lack of access to education and knowledge of services pre-arrival; appreciation of the new health system; limited vaccination knowledge, (2) perceived need for prevention including consequences of not screening; health care provider (HCP) attendance, (3) health information seeking including providing a comprehensive approach to information delivery; trusted sources of information, (4) barriers including missed opportunities; communication, language, illiteracy; lack of continuity of care and, (5) enablers including HCP' characteristics; peer support and individual responsibility. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study indicate that to improve access to preventive SRH services a multi-component strategy is needed. Provision of preventive SRH information using a multi-pronged approach; peer and community support interventions; and HCPs offering services and information opportunistically would benefit Karen women unfamiliar with preventive SRH care. SO WHAT?: Primary prevention services and education codesigned with community members may be effective in improving Karen women's access to SRH care.

Impact of a private sector residential early parenting program on clinically significant postnatal depressive symptoms experienced by women: Audit of routinely collected data.

INTRODUCTION: Early parenting services in Australia offer brief structured residential programs to address moderate to severe non-psychotic mental health problems among women and unsettled infant/toddler behaviours. The aims were to (1) estimate the immediate and medium-term impact of a five-night psychoeducational residential early parenting program on postpartum depressive symptoms and (2) identify the factors associated with improvement or worsening of postpartum depressive symptoms after completing the program and six weeks post-discharge. METHODS: Audit of routinely collected medical record data from pre-admission, pre-discharge and post-discharge assessments of a consecutive cohort of women admitted, with their infants/toddlers in a 15-month period to Masada Private Hospital Early Parenting Centre. Data included structured questions assessing: demographic characteristics, access to family and social support, past and current mental health problems, reproductive and obstetric health, chronic health conditions, breastfeeding problems, coincidental major life events, health risk behaviours and infant/toddler feeding, sleeping and crying behaviours. Standardised instruments included the Partner Interaction after Birth Scale (PIBS), the MacLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD), Modified Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS) and selected items from the Karitane Parenting Confidence Scale. The primary outcomes were Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores at pre-discharge and follow up assessments. Data were analysed using multinomial logistic regression models in which individual and psychosocial characteristics at pre-admission were included as predictors of the likelihood of the changes of the outcomes from pre-admission to pre-discharge and follow up. RESULTS: Complete data from 1220 of 1290 (95%) eligible women were available to assess pre-admission to pre-discharge and from 559 (45.8%) to assess pre-discharge to six-week follow-up changes. The mean pre-admission EPDS score was 11.7 (95% CI: 11.5; 12.0), pre-discharge it was 7.1 (95% CI: 6.9; 7.4) and at six-week follow up it was 5.7 (95% CI: 5.3; 6.1). We found that almost all women experienced a clinically meaningful and rapid improvement in depressive symptoms of at least this magnitude (reduction in mean EPDS scores of 4.6 points from pre-admission to pre-discharge (five nights) and a further reduction of 1.2 points pre-discharge to follow up) (six weeks) and we identified an interpretable set of risk factors for symptoms that did not improve or worsened. The adverse outcomes were associated with having symptoms of borderline personality disorder, a partner experienced as lacking kindness and care, coincidental adverse events and having a child younger than six months. CONCLUSION: Residential early parenting programs, which take a psycho-educational approach to strengthening caregiving skills, maximising agency, and reducing helplessness, have a rapid beneficial effect on women's postpartum depressive symptoms. These programs provide a valuable and effective component of comprehensive mental health services. Long-term dialectical behaviour therapy is indicated for women with borderline personality disorder traits for whom early parenting programs alone are insufficient to improve depressive symptoms.

Effects of a residential psychoeducational parenting program on maternal anxiety and fatigue symptoms.

AIMS: To evaluate the effects of a 5-day residential psychoeducational program on maternal anxiety and fatigue symptoms among women admitted with their unsettled infants and determine the psychological, social and demographic characteristics which are associated with the effect sizes. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of routinely collected data from mothers with children aged up to 24 months who were admitted to and completed the residential early parenting psychoeducational program at Masada Private Hospital Early Parenting Centre in Melbourne. Maternal anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale Three-item Anxiety subscale and maternal fatigue symptoms were the Modified Fatigue Assessment Scale at preadmission, predischarge and follow-up 6-weeks post discharge. RESULTS: Overall, 1220 admissions were included in analyses. Cohen's d for reductions in the anxiety symptoms during the program was 0.64 (95% CI 0.59 to 0.70) and from pre-discharge to post-discharge was 0.14 (95% CI 0.09 to 01.9), and for fatigue was 1.21 (95% CI 1.11 to 1.32). Higher borderline personality disorder symptoms and experiencing more stressful life events were associated with lower mean reductions in anxiety and fatigue symptoms. Women with a history of mental health problems had lower anxiety symptom reductions. Women who were older or had younger babies had lower fatigue score reductions. CONCLUSION: This study confirms the effectiveness of a 5-day residential early parenting psychoeducational program provided by a private sector facility in reducing postnatal anxiety and fatigue rapidly, with effects maintained to at least 6-weeks post-discharge.

Factors associated with children's cognitive, language, and motor development in deprived urban settings in Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Children's development is multifactorial. Although there have been several studies exploring the association of children's development with maternal, child, and environmental factors, we are unaware of any study that assessed those factors in children whose mothers were enrolled in a social safety net programme in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the factors associated with disadvantaged children's cognitive, language, and motor development at age 6-16 months in deprived settings of urban Bangladesh and to identify relative importance of these factors of children's development. We also explored if there were any gender differences in child development. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a deprived setting of urban Bangladesh. Bayley III was used for assessing children's cognitive, language, and motor development. Multivariable linear regression model was used to find the factors associated with children's development, and dominance analysis was used to explore the relative importance of the factors. RESULTS: Out of the total 599 mother-child dyads, 303 (50.58%) were girls. The factors associated with children's development were length-for-age Z-score (cognitive: B = 1.21 [95% CI = 0.31, 2.11], P = 0.008; language: 1.67 [0.79, 2.55] P < 0.001; motor: 2.15 [1.01, 3.29] P < 0.001) and home environment (cognitive: 0.58 [0.27, 0.89] P < 0.001; language: 0.59 [0.27, 0.92], P < 0.001; motor: 0.44 [0.09, 0.79] P = 0.013). Girls had higher cognitive (1.90 [0.17, 3.6], P = 0.031) and language (2.53 [0.55, 4.51], P = 0.013) development compared with boys. Families with a higher number of under five children within the households had lower language (-1.57 [-2.78, -0.36], P = 0.011) development. Violence against the mother and the families' food security status were not associated with the children's development. Children's length-for-age Z-score (27%) and home stimulation environment (23%) were the most important factors of cognitive development. CONCLUSION: Children's nutritional status and home environment are important factors for disadvantaged children's development in deprived urban settings of Bangladesh. Both early child development-focussed parenting and nutrition interventions should be considered when designing child development programmes in urban settings in low- and middle-income countries.

Online Intervention Targeting Postnatal Depression and Anxiety in Chilean First-Time Mothers: Feasibility Trial.

OBJECTIVE: Internet-based interventions may positively impact maternal symptoms of postnatal depression and anxiety. This study assessed the feasibility, acceptability, perceived usefulness, and preliminary effectiveness of an m-Health version of "What Were We Thinking?" (m-WWWT). METHODS: A mixed-methods with a 2-arm randomized parallel design was used. From a total of 477 women, 157 met the inclusion criteria. 128 first-time mothers of full-term infants, aged 4-10 weeks, who received health care at primary public health centers in Chile, were randomly assigned to the experimental (EG, n = 65) or control (CG, n = 63) groups; data of 104 of them (53 and 51, respectively) was analyzed. We used percentages and rates to measure feasibility outcomes and mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) and latent class analyses (LCA) to assess preliminary effectiveness. Participants completed questionnaires on mental health, social support, and maternal self-efficacy upon recruitment and 3 months after completing the intervention. For the qualitative component, 12 women from the EG were interviewed. RESULTS: Quantitative results show good feasibility outcomes, such as high recruitment (82%), low attrition (EG = 12% and CG = 17%), and high follow-up (EG = 97% and CG = 91%) rates. Qualitative results indicate high acceptability and perceived usefulness of m-WWWT. Mixed ANOVA did not show significant differences between the groups (all p >.05). However, multinomial regression analysis in LCA showed that women with low baseline symptoms of depression and anxiety benefit from the intervention (B = 0.43, 95% confidence interval 1.09-2.16). CONCLUSION: m-WWWT is feasible to be implemented in Chile; future studies are needed to assess the intervention's effectiveness.

Determinants of respectful maternity care at a tertiary care teaching institute in South India: A mixed-methods study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportion of women who experienced disrespect and abuse (D&A) and the type of D&A during labor and postpartum, and to determine the factors significantly associated with D&A. METHODS: A cross-sectional mixed-methods study undertaken in tertiary care teaching institute South India. After ethical approval, 380 postpartum women within 72 h of delivery were recruited for the study. The determinants of respectful maternity care (RMC) were assessed quantitatively and qualitatively. For quantitative assessment, they were interviewed using questionnaires adopted from the United States Agency for International Development- Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (USAID-MCHIP) protocol, which has verification criteria for RMC. As a second method for quantitative assessment, they were asked to rate the care from their perspective on a 10-point score. For the qualitative component, they were asked to identify the healthcare workers associated with D&A by their designation and to answer three open-ended questions. IBM SPSS Statistics 25 (IBM Corporation, Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 25) was used for analysis. D&A as per RMC standards I-VII and its severity were expressed as frequencies and percentages with 95% confidence interval. Univariate analysis was used to determine the associated factors, and severity was determined by χ2 test. RESULTS: The prevalence of D&A was high (85%) according to the RMC standards of the USAID-MCHIP questionnaire, whereas it was only 33% according to women's perspective. The most common type of D&A was non-dignified care. The factors significantly associated with D&A were women over 25 years, those admitted as an emergency referral, having a recommendation letter, and relatives working at the same healthcare facility. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of D&A was high as measured by the USAID-MCHIP questionnaire, and the most common type was non-dignified care followed by physical abuse.

The problem with resilience.

The term 'resilience' has become a fashionable buzzword infiltrating mental health services globally. This latest ad nauseam has become both an irritation and insult to service users and mental health professionals alike. We argue resilience is a flawed Western theory of suffering aligned with neoliberal ideology. It is a double-edged sword indiscriminately yielded at both service users and staff. This paper examines the origins and evolution of resilience, and how mental health services have morphed resilience into a meaningless slogan, causing iatrogenic harm. We call for mental health professionals to consider their use of language and the intended or unintentional meaning behind their choice of words.

National policies and programs for perinatal mental health in India: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: India is the most populous country in the world with millions of births annually. Perinatal mental disorders (PMDs) are prevalent worldwide including in India. This study was undertaken to evaluate how mental health is addressed in national maternity and mental health policies and programs in India. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of the national policies and programs in India related to maternity care and mental health. The identified policies and programs were analysed using health policy triangle framework. RESULTS: Our search yielded 11 relevant documents and no peer reviewed publications. No specific national policy or program on maternal mental health could be identified. Universal access to health and mental health including for women and children was clearly articulated in both national mental health and maternity policies, which emphasised that access to mental health care and treatment is a fundamental right. There were few details about how the programs and policies were developed and no accounts of consultations with community members or service providers in their formation. CONCLUSION: National maternity and mental health policies and programs in India appear not to consider perinatal mental health. There are promising state-based initiatives, but, given the disease burden of PMDs in India, the absence of a national policy leads to unrecognized and unmet needs of women in the states without these measures. These inequalities can be effectively minimized by well implemented national policies for perinatal mental health, accompanied by evidence-based locally tailored programs and interventions across the country.

School-based universal mental health promotion intervention for adolescents in Vietnam: Two-arm, parallel, controlled trial.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Happy House, a universal school-based programme, in reducing adolescents' depressive symptoms and improving their mental well-being, coping self-efficacy and school connectedness. This was a school-based, two-arm parallel controlled trial. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Data were collected at recruitment, and at 2 weeks and 6 months post-intervention. Mixed-effect models were conducted to estimate the effects of the intervention on the outcomes. A total of 1,084 students were recruited. At 2 weeks post-intervention, the effect size on depressive symptoms was 0.11 (p = 0.011) and the odds of having clinically significant depressive symptoms were lower in the intervention compared to the control (0.56, p = 0.027). Both of these were no longer significant at 6 months post-intervention. Psychological well-being mean scores in the intervention were significantly higher than in the control at 2 weeks post-intervention (effect size 0.13). Coping self-efficacy mean scores were significantly higher in the intervention group at both 2-week and 6-month post-intervention (effect sizes from 0.17 to 0.26). Data support the potential of Happy House to reduce the prevalence of adolescent mental health problems and to promote positive mental health in the school context in Vietnam.

Health professionals' and beauty therapists' perspectives on female genital cosmetic surgery: an interview study.

BACKGROUND: Female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS) changes the structure and appearance of healthy external genitalia. We aimed to identify discourses that help explain and rationalise FGCS and to derive from them possibilities for informing clinical education. METHODS: We interviewed 16 health professionals and 5 non-health professionals who deal with women's bodies using a study-specific semi-structured interview guide. We analysed transcripts using a three-step iterative process: identifying themes relevant to indications for FGCS, identifying the discourses within which they were positioned, and categorising and theorising discourses. RESULTS: We identified discourses that we categorised within four themes: Diversity and the Normal Vulva (diversity was both acknowledged and rejected); Indications for FGCS (Functional, Psychological, Appearance); Ethical Perspectives; and Reasons Women Seek FGCS (Pubic Depilation, Media Representation, Pornography, Advertising Regulations, Social Pressure, Genital Unfamiliarity). CONCLUSIONS: Vulvar aesthetics constitute a social construct to which medical practice and opinion contribute and by which they are influenced; education and reform need to occur on all fronts. Resources that not only establish genital diversity but also challenge limited vulvar aesthetics could be developed in consultation with women, healthcare practitioners, mental health specialists, and others with knowledge of social constructs of women's bodies.

A Challenge to Orthodoxy in Psychology: Thomas Sowell and Social Justice.

Psychologists address social-justice problems in their research and applied work, and their scholarly efforts have been influenced by assumptions, constructs, and hypotheses from the political left. Recently, some psychologists have called for increased intellectual and political diversity in psychology, particularly as such diversity may lead to improved problem-solving. As an attempt to increase intellectual diversity in psychology, we review here the scholarship of Thomas Sowell. His work represents a rich source of hypotheses for psychologists' future research. We focus on his views on the importance of freedom; the extent to which reforms can reduce freedom; the importance of free markets to human flourishing; the role of free markets in producing costs for discrimination; the way spontaneously ordered systems can contain knowledge that can be overlooked in reforms; and the importance of culture and cultural capital. We will also discuss Sowell's more thoroughgoing economic analyses of problems and solutions and his analyses of contingencies operating on politicians and reformers, as well as his views on conflicts in fundamental visions about human nature and the pivotal role of improvements in minority education.