Gender Differences in Depression Symptoms: Findings From a Population Survey in Kosovo – A Country in Transition

This paper focuses on gender differences in depression symptoms. It takes into consideration relevant contextual factors of a country in transition. This paper’s analyzed data was extracted from European Social Survey, Sixth Round (ESS-6). ESS uses strict probability samples of the resident national population, aged 15 or older, and living in private households. Females reported a significantly higher mean depression on average (M = 8.14; SD = 3.88) compared to males (M = 7.56; SD = 3.86) at t(1247) = 2.604, p ˂ .009. The average for depressive symptoms found in the Kosovar population was higher than the averages reported in other European countries, but corresponded with those in Eastern European countries

BUILDING ONLINE AND TELEPHONE PSYCHOLOGICAL FIRST AID SERVICES IN A LOW RESOURCE SETTING DURING COVID-19: THE CASE OF KOSOVO

The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures brought for prevention of infections are associated with considerable psychosocial and psychological morbidity in the general population. Providing continuous mental health services during the pandemics is a challenge worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This paper reports on the strategies and activities taken to protect public mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kosovo. This included establishing online and phone psychological first aid services and developing psychoeducational videos and webinars. The paper concludes with several lessons learned during the process of establishing and maintaining these interventions, such as: initial political endorsement is crucial to gain and maintain the momentum of services; continuous training of volunteers is crucial for both addressing the needs/problems, which arise during the process of work and maintain the motivation of volunteers; promotion of the services is crucial; academic curricula training mental health professionals should include digital mental health related courses and manualization on how to establish this kind of services in midst of crisis is crucial in order to ensure quick operationalization when needed again especially in LMIC settings. The interventions developed provide opportunity for further research especially by evaluating the impact of the services and exploring how online and provision of mental health and psychoeducation services online could help to cover services gap in times of isolation, limited movement and situations similar to pandemics in settings with limited mental health services and resources. The situation with pandemics with COVID 19 is still far from ending. Future waves of infections and restriction could again spike the mental health and psychosocial and psychological strain of the general population, therefore being prepared in provisions of psychological first aid and other mental health services online is crucial

Mental Health Information Reporting Assistant (MHIRA)—an open-source software facilitating evidence-based assessment for clinical services

Evidence-based assessment (EBA) in mental health is a critical aspect of improving patient outcomes and addressing the gaps in mental health care. EBA involves the use of psychometric instruments to gather data that can inform clinical decision-making, inform policymakers, and serve as a basis for research and quality management. Despite its potential, EBA is often hindered by barriers such as workload and cost, leading to its underutilization. Regarding low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), the implementation of EBA is recognized as a key strategy to address and close the prevalent mental health treatment gap.To simplify the application of EBA including in LMIC, an international team of researchers and practitioners from Tanzania, Kosovo, Chile, and Switzerland developed the Mental Health Information Reporting Assistant (MHIRA). MHIRA is an open-source electronic health record that streamlines EBA by digitising psychometric instruments and organising patient data in a user-friendly manner. It provides immediate and convenient reports to inform clinical decision-making.The current article provides a comprehensive overview of the features and technical details of MHIRA, as well as insights from four implementation scenarios. The experience gained during the implementations as well as the user-feedback suggests that MHIRA has the potential to be successfully implemented in a variety of clinical contexts and simplify the use of EBA. However, further research is necessary to establish its potential to sustainably transform healthcare services and impact patient outcomes.In conclusion, MHIRA represents an important step in promoting the widespread adoption of EBA in mental health. It offers a promising solution to the barriers that have limited the use of EBA in the past and holds the potential to improve patient outcomes and support the ongoing efforts to address gaps in mental health care

Prevalence of Perceived Stress, Anxiety, and Depression in HCW in Kosovo during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey

A pandemic may have a negative impact on healthcare workers’ (HCW) mental health. In this cross-sectional study, we assess the self-reported prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression and identify their predictive factors among HCW in Kosovo. The online questionnaire collected data on socio-demographics (sex, age, occupation, education, workplace) and the presence and severity of depression, anxiety, and stress through the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, t-test, and linear logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Of the 545 respondents, the majority were male (53.0%), under 60 years of age (94.7%), and married (81.7%). Most of them were physicians (78.2%), while the remaining were nurses, midwives, and other health professionals (22%). Prevalence rates for moderate to extremely high stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were 21.9%, 13.0%, and 13.9%, respectively. The nurses reported significantly higher mean scores for depression and anxiety than the physicians (p < 0.05). Being married, having poor health, not exercising, and reporting “burnout” from work significantly predicted higher levels of depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms among health workers (p < 0.05). Most HCWs (71.6%) reported a mild, moderate, or severe mental health burden, and certain factors predicted higher levels of such burden

Attentional Bias Among High and Low Ruminators: Eye Tracking Study in a Non-Clinical Population

Rumination, which can be studied through its associated attentional biases, and is a part of the RDoC Negative Valence Systems constructs of Loss, has been proposed as a key transdiagnostic feature in depression. The current study uses eye tracking measurements to explore how different levels of brooding and reflection rumination interact with attentional biases in a non-clinical sample of high and low ruminators. Methodology: 123 adults were administered questionnaires of rumination, depression and participated in passive viewing task in which they watched sets of angry, happy, sad and neutral faces, while their eye movements were tracked. Findings indicate greater sustained attention toward sad and angry faces and away from happy faces among non-clinical individuals with high levels of brooding rumination, even when controlling for depression scores. The study adds further evidence that brooding rumination and attentional biases to negative stimuli are associated with one another. Behavioral parameters such as attention bias to help us to distinguish high ruminators among non-clinical sample

Factor structure of the Albanian version of the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS): Associations with the Brief Symptoms Inventory (BSI)

Objectives: The measurement and assessment of the emergent symptoms in various psychotic disorders is essential to the delivery of efficacious, patient centred mental health care. Despite the existence of several instruments that can measure these factors, their applicability within a global context remains undetermined. This paper aims to provide evidence for a factor structure in Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS), tailored for use in the Albanian language. Methods: We recruited 106 patients with psychosis (68% male), who were aged 16 to 40 years old (M = 22, SD = 1.75), and treated in community services in Kosovo. We adapted, translated, and back-translated CAINS and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) before these measures were administered in interviews with the participants. According to Kaiser- Guttman’s criterion (i.e., eigen-value >1), four components were extracted from the original measure of CAINS. Results: Using Principal Component Analysis, CAINS was found to be a valid means of measurement of motivation and pleasure in various life domains (social, recreational, and work/school). Intercorrelation existed not only between the BSI scale and the CAINS scales, but within the CAINS scales themselves. Conclusions: In contrast to the previous studies that found Expression and Motivation and Pleasure as two major factors, our results revealed four components. Thus, it may be that the culture plays a substantial role in the factor structure of CAINS, and it might be related to different appraisal of emotional situations, which are influenced by different socio-cultural practices. These results have global implications for clinical practice and future research

Social networks and mental health in post-conflict Mitrovica, Kosova

BACKGROUND: To investigate the relation between social networks and mental health in the post-conflict municipality of Mitrovica, Kosovo. METHODS: Using a three-stage stratified sampling method, 1239 respondents aged 16 years or above were recruited in the Greater Mitrovica region. Social network depth was measured by the frequency of contacts with friends, relatives and strangers. Depression and anxiety were measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association between social network depth and mental health. RESULTS: The analytical sample consisted of 993 respondents. The prevalence of depression (54.3%) and anxiety (64.4%) were extremely high. In multiple regression analysis, a lower depth of social network (contact with friends) was associated with higher levels of both depression and anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: This study has shown that only one variety of social network – contact with friends – was important in terms of mental health outcomes in a population living in an area heavily affected by conflict. This suggests that the relation between social networks and mental health may be complex in that the effects of different forms of social network on mental health are not uniform and may depend on the way social networks are operationalised and the particular context in which the relationship is examined