Remote crisis intervention and suicide risk management in COVID-19 frontline healthcare workers

IntroductionDespite the propagation of virtual mental health services for vulnerable groups during COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation and evaluation of remote evidence-based practices (EBP) to manage them in low- and middle-income countries remains scarce. In the current study, we describe and evaluate the implementation process and clinical impact of brief, remote, manualized EBP for crisis intervention and suicide risk management among healthcare workers attending patients with COVID-19 (COVID-19-HCWs) in Mexico.MethodsThe implementation process comprised community engagement of volunteer mental health specialists, creation of new clinical teams with different disciplines and skills, intervention systematization through manuals and education through 4-h remote training as main strategies. Mexican COVID-19-HCWs who had used a free 24-h helpline rated their pre- and post-intervention emotional distress. Therapists recorded patients’ pre-intervention diagnosis, severity, and suicide risk, the techniques used in each case, and their post-treatment perception of COVID-19-HCWs’ improvement at the end of the intervention.ResultsAll techniques included in the intervention manual were employed at least in one case (n = 51). At the beginning of the intervention, 65.9% of the COVID-19-HCWs were considered moderately ill or worse according to Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) scores, whereas at the end, 79.4% of them were perceived as much or very much improved according to CGI-Improvement scores (CGI-I), and their emotional distress had been significantly reduced (p < 0.001).DiscussionThis prospective study provides evidence that implementation of remote EBP is feasible and useful to reduce emotional distress and suicide risk among COVID-19-HCWs from a middle-income country. However, this study was limited by lack of a control group, improvement ratings provided by therapists and non-anonymous satisfaction ratings

Factores Psicológicos y Relacionales Asociados a Episodios de Embriaguez en Adolescentes Escolares de Guadalajara, México

El objetivo de este estudio fue asociar factores psicológicos y relacionales vinculados a episodios de embriaguez en 1134 adolescentes escolares de Guadalajara, México. Se evaluaron diez factores psicológicos y relacionales. La variable de desenlace fue episodios de embriaguez durante el último mes. Se encontró una prevalencia de embriaguez de 26.5% con mayor consumo en hombres. Después del análisis de regresión logística los factores asociados a embriaguez fueron tabaquismo, alta autoestima, alta impulsividad, bajo locus de control interno, la presencia de estrés cotidiano y relación distante con el padre. La investigación concluye que los factores psicológicos y relacionales asociados a episodios de embriaguez hicieron referencia a un perfil de omnipotencia ltamente influenciable, y al desapego emocional, por lo que el consumo excesivo de alcohol parece perfilarse como una estrategia de seguridad.The aim of this study was to identify psychological and related factors linked with drunkenness episodes in 1134 adoles-cent students in Guadalajara, Mexico. The study evaluated ten psychological and related factors. The outcome variable was the number of episodes of drunkenness in the last month. We found 26.5% more episodes of drunkenness in men. A logistic regression analysis indicated that factors associated with drunkenness were smoking, high self-esteem, high impulsiveness, low self-control, presence of daily stress and distant relationship with father. The study concluded that the psychological and related factors associated with drunkenness episodes were related to a highly impressionable omnipo-tence profile and emotional indifference, with excessive consumption of alcohol as a safety strategy.O objetivo deste estudo foi associar fatores psicológico e relações vinculados a episódios de embriaguez em 1134 adolescentes escolares de Guadalajara, México. Avaliaram-se dez fatores psicológicos e relacionais. A variável de desenlace foi episódios de embriaguez de 26.5% com maior consumo em homens. Depois da análise de regressão logística, os fatores associados à embriaguez foram tabaquismo, alta autoestima, alta impulsividade, baixo lócus de controle interno, presença de estresse cotidiano e relação distante com o pai. A pesquisa conclui que os fatores psicológicos e relacionais associados a episódios de embriaguez fizeram referência a um perfil de onipotência altamente influenciável e ao de-sapego emocional; nesse sentido, o consumo excessivo de álcool parece perfilar-se como uma estratégia de segurança