Storm clouds and silver linings: how digital technologies have helped us weather the Covid pandemic

no abstract available</p

Interview questions.

BackgroundCrystal methamphetamine (‘ice’) use is a large and growing worldwide problem, yet few research studies have explored the impact of crystal methamphetamine use on affected friends and family members. We explored the experiences and narratives of family members and friends of people who use methamphetamine to inform the development of a Family and Friend Support Program.MethodsThis paper reports on a subset of findings from a mixed method study, which sought to better understand the experiences of family members and friends of people who use methamphetamine. Participants were recruited via Facebook advertising and asked to complete a survey outlining their experiences. At the end of the survey, participants were invited to be interviewed by a clinical psychologist on the research team, to discuss their experiences in greater depth; seventeen people agreed to be interviewed. This paper is based on a qualitative thematic analysis of these interviews using Braun and Clarke’s 6-stage approach to identify key areas of concern for friends and family members of people who use methamphetamine.ResultsThrough thematic analysis, five key themes were developed, namely: (1) loss, (2) stigma, (3) support (or lack thereof), (4) ways of coping, and (5) the value in sharing personal experiences. The results of this study revealed the profound sadness, frustration and loss friends and family members experienced when caring for a loved one who uses methamphetamine. This loss was further complicated by societal stigma surrounding the use of methamphetamine, which often extended to friends and family members themselves. Since experiences of grief and loss were interwoven across the three themes, concepts of ambiguous loss, disenfranchised grief, and narrative constructivist approaches to understanding loss, were applied to the discussion of results.ConclusionThis study provides a more complete picture of family and caregiver experiences when caring for a loved one using methamphetamine, which may further help inform the design of intervention programs. Implications for future research and practice with this population are considered.</div

Efficacy_of_Online_Lifestyle_Interventions_targeting_lifestyle_behaviour_change_in_Depressed_Populations_Young_2018_v1.0_Appendix_1 – Supplemental material for Efficacy of online lifestyle interventions targeting lifestyle behaviour change in depressed populations: A systematic review

<p>Supplemental material, Efficacy_of_Online_Lifestyle_Interventions_targeting_lifestyle_behaviour_change_in_Depressed_Populations_Young_2018_v1.0_Appendix_1 for Efficacy of online lifestyle interventions targeting lifestyle behaviour change in depressed populations: A systematic review by Claire L Young, Karen Trapani, Samantha Dawson, Adrienne O’Neil, Frances Kay-Lambkin, Michael Berk and Felice N Jacka in Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry</p

Efficacy_of_Online_Lifestyle_Interventions_targeting_lifestyle_behaviour_change_in_Depressed_Populations_Young_2018_v1.0_Appendix_2 – Supplemental material for Efficacy of online lifestyle interventions targeting lifestyle behaviour change in depressed populations: A systematic review

<p>Supplemental material, Efficacy_of_Online_Lifestyle_Interventions_targeting_lifestyle_behaviour_change_in_Depressed_Populations_Young_2018_v1.0_Appendix_2 for Efficacy of online lifestyle interventions targeting lifestyle behaviour change in depressed populations: A systematic review by Claire L Young, Karen Trapani, Samantha Dawson, Adrienne O’Neil, Frances Kay-Lambkin, Michael Berk and Felice N Jacka in Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry</p

Additional file 1: of Help-seeking for mental health problems by employees in the Australian Mining Industry

Survey. (DOC 377 kb

Additional file 2: Table S6. of Help-seeking for mental health problems by employees in the Australian Mining Industry

Workplace factors and attitudes associated with professional and non-professional help seeking (n = 1,319). (DOC 97 kb

Data_Sheet_1_A systematic review of the efficacy, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of workplace-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of problematic substance use.PDF

Employee alcohol and other drug use can negatively impact the workplace, resulting in absenteeism, reduced productivity, high turnover, and worksite safety issues. As the workplace can influence employee substance use through environmental and cultural factors, it also presents a key opportunity to deliver interventions, particularly to employees who may not otherwise seek help. This is a systematic review of workplace-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of problematic substance use. Five databases were searched for efficacy, effectiveness and/or cost-effectiveness studies and reviews published since 2010 that measured use of psychoactive substances (i.e., alcohol, cannabis, hallucinogens, inhalants, opioids, sedatives, hypnotics, anxiolytics, and stimulants) as a primary or secondary outcome, in employees aged over 18. Thirty-nine articles were identified, 28 describing primary research and 11 reviews, most of which focused solely on alcohol use. Heterogeneity between studies with respect to intervention and evaluation design limited the degree to which findings could be synthesized, however, there is some promising evidence for workplace-based universal health promotion interventions, targeted brief interventions, and universal substance use screening. The few studies that examined implementation in the workplace revealed specific barriers including lack of engagement with e-health interventions, heavy use and reluctance to seek help amongst male employees, and confidentiality concerns. Tailoring interventions to each workplace, and ease of implementation and employee engagement emerged as facilitators. Further high-quality research is needed to examine the effectiveness of workplace substance use testing, Employee Assistance Programs, and strategies targeting the use of substances other than alcohol in the workplace.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=227598, PROSPERO [CRD42021227598].</p

Additional file 1: of Study protocol for a systematic review of evidence for lifestyle interventions targeting smoking, sleep, alcohol/other drug use, physical activity, and healthy diet in people with bipolar disorder

Systematic review data extraction form. (PDF 75 kb

Measurement properties of smartphone approaches to assess key lifestyle behaviours: protocol of a systematic review

Background: Six core behavioural risk factors (poor diet, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, alcohol misuse, smoking and unhealthy sleep patterns) have been identified as strong determinants of chronic disease, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancers. Smartphones have the potential to provide a real-time, pervasive, unobtrusive and cost-effective way to measure health behaviours and deliver instant feedback to users. Despite this, validity of using smartphones to measure these six key behaviours is largely unknown. The proposed systematic review aims to address this gap by identifying existing smartphone-based approaches to measure these health behaviours and critically appraising, comparing and summarizing the quality of their measurement properties. Methods: A systematic search of the Ovid MEDLINE, Embase (Elsevier), Cochrane Library (Wiley), PsychINFO (EBSCOhost), CINAHL (EBSCOHost), Web of Science (Clarivate), SPORTDiscus (EBSCOhost) and IEEE Xplore Digital Library databases will be conducted from January 2007 to March 2020. Eligible studies will be those written in English that measure at least one of the six health behaviours of interest via a smartphone and report on at least one measurement property. The primary outcomes will be validity, reliability and/or responsiveness of these measurement approaches. A secondary outcome will be the feasibility (e.g. user burden, usability and cost) of identified approaches. No restrictions will be placed on the participant population or study design. Two reviewers will independently screen studies for eligibility, extract data and assess the risk of bias. The study methodological quality (or bias) will be appraised using an appropriate tool. Our results will be described in a narrative synthesis. If feasible, random effects meta-analysis will be conducted where appropriate.Discussion: The results from this review will provide important information about the types of smartphone-based approaches currently available to measure the core behavioural risk factors for chronic disease and the quality of their measurement properties. It will allow recommendations on the most suitable and effective measures of these lifestyle behaviours using smartphones. Valid and reliable measurement of these behaviours and risk factor opens the door to targeted and real-time delivery of health behaviour interventions, providing unprecedented opportunities to offset the trajectory toward chronic disease