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Ischaemic heart disease (IHD) is a global health issue, with people of Indian origin facing earlier onset and more severe cases, leading to higher mortality at younger ages compared to Western countries. Indian migrants maintain similar risks post-migration. Managing modifiable risk factors and improving risk knowledge and health-seeking behaviours are essential, but research on IHD risk perceptions among Indian migrants is limited.
Aim:
This study explores how first-generation Indian migrants perceive their IHD risk and the factors influencing these perceptions.
Methods:
As a component of a mixed- method study, a qualitative descriptive study design was employed to examine study participants perception of their IHD risk and the influencing factors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Indian migrants residing in metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria using multiple Indian languages and English. Data were analysed in the original language, with findings reported in English. NVivo software was used for data management and analysis. A qualitative content analysis was conducted using a hybrid coding approach where the main categories were developed deductively and subcategories were developed inductively from the data.
Results:
Twenty interviews were conducted with participants aged 32 to 70, 55% of whom were female, with an average stay in Australia of 11.2 years. The main themes included: perceptions shaped by personal experiences, especially family history, with most underestimating their risk; migration, cultural norms, and time constraints hindering behaviour change; family support, religious beliefs, and longevity aspirations motivating healthier behaviours; and limited primary healthcare engagement and culturally appropriate health resources. These results are discussed within the context of Capability, Opportunity and Motivation model of behaviour change (COM-B).
Conclusion:
The study highlights key factors influencing IHD risk perceptions among Indian migrants. By understanding these specific risk perceptions and cultural nuances, healthcare professionals can develop and implement more effective, culturally sensitive health promotion and disease prevention strategies. This tailored approach can lead to better patient outcomes and a more equitable healthcare system.
The aim of this review was to identify, review, and synthesize primary qualitative literature to answer the question “what are the roles and experiences of informal caregivers providing care to a person with non-malignant respiratory disease at end of life from the perspectives of the caregiver and recipient of care?”
Methods
This qualitative systematic review was undertaken using thematic synthesis. Electronic databases (British Nursing Database, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature Plus, Medline, PsycInfo, ProQuest Sociology, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database [AMED]) covering nursing, medicine, and social sciences were systematically searched from inception to October 2024. Studies were included if they reported data on the experiences and roles of caregivers in non-malignant respiratory disease at end of life, from the perspective of the caregiver or the person with non-malignant respiratory disease. Twenty-two papers met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Quality assessment was undertaken using the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research.
Results
Thematic synthesis of the data generated five analytical themes: Caregivers experience shifting identity and new roles; Adaptation is necessary to cope with loss and change; Caregivers need more information and coordinated care services; Emotional effects of caregiving; and Future uncertainty and facing death. The findings illustrated the complexity of the caregiving role and highlight unmet needs during the end of life stage.
Significance of results
This evidence synthesis highlights the significant contribution caregivers make in the lives and deaths of those with non-malignant respiratory disease. Challenges of caregiving in this context increase the stress of caregivers, including unpredictable disease progression and difficult symptoms such as breathlessness. There are persistent inequalities between malignant and non-malignant care pathways. Caregivers would welcome more recognition and information from healthcare professionals to support their role.
Mental health literacy (MHL) strategies are crucial for mental health promotion and prevention. This study aimed to determine the acceptability, feasibility, appropriateness and initial efficacy of an adapted MHL program in a community sample of adults in Kenya. This was a quasi-experimental pre-post study conducted from July 2023 through July 2024. The MHL program contained nine modules delivered over 3 days. Participants were assessed at baseline and immediately after the program. The primary outcomes were mental health knowledge and participants’ attitudes on mental health/illness. Secondary outcomes included depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, self-perceived social support, self-perceived wellbeing, MHL program acceptability, feasibility and appropriateness. Relative to baseline, we observed statistically significant improvement in mental health knowledge and attitude on mental health/illness postintervention. We also observed significant improvements in all secondary outcomes. The MHL program also emerged as contextually appropriate, acceptable and feasible. The adapted MHL program is acceptable and appropriate and can feasibly be delivered by trained non-specialist facilitators. Also, the MHL program has the potential to increase participants’ MHL and attitudes and reduce symptoms of common mental disorders and promote self-perceived wellbeing. Future research should explore how improvements can be sustained over the long term.
Prenatally diagnosed cardiac mass in a newborn caused cardiac tamponade. Cardiac MRI and histopathology confirmed a rare right ventricular mesenchymal hamartoma, previously reported only in the left ventricle.
A clinic to assess and treat mental health (MH) within a community substance use disorder (SUD) service has been implemented with the aim to facilitate engagement, progress, and completion of substance use treatment.
Methods:
This study was completed to assess the effectiveness of such an integrated service. The records of individuals seen within the clinic during 2022 and 2023 were assessed for the reason for referral, diagnosis, and treatment offered, and outcome of MH and SUD.
Results:
A total of 118 individuals were assessed. The majority (58%) were referred due to a lack of progress in treatment. The most frequent MH diagnosis was bipolar disorder (57%), followed by smaller numbers of diagnoses of psychosis, PTSD, anxiety and depression. Seventy-four (63%) individuals improved in MH, and eighty (68%) in SUD.
Conclusions:
Despite the limitations due to the naturalistic methodology, this early work suggests that an integrated type of provision of MH treatment within a SUD service might have a beneficial complementary role within the existed parallel treatment model implemented in England.
This study explores the relationship between sustainable earthquake awareness and earthquake stress coping strategies among university students following the February 6, 2023, earthquake.
Methods
A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted between March and April 2024, involving 239 university students. Following the STROBE checklist, data were collected using the Personal Information Form, Earthquake Stress Coping Scale (ESCS), and Sustainable Earthquake Awareness Scale (SEAS). Ethics approval was obtained, and data were gathered through face-to-face surveys.
Results
The average participant age was 21 years; 67.8% were women, and 20% had direct earthquake experience. Among participants, 67.4% reported negative academic impacts due to the earthquake. Higher SEAS scores were associated with higher income, prior earthquake experiences, having an emergency kit, securing belongings, and participation in earthquake training and drills. Higher ESCS social support-seeking scores correlated with higher income, earthquake preparedness training, drill participation, awareness of emergency meeting areas, and enrollment in the child development department.
Conclusion
The findings highlight gaps in earthquake preparedness among university students while emphasizing the role of personal earthquake experiences in fostering awareness and adaptive coping strategies. Enhancing earthquake preparedness training could improve resilience among students in earthquake-prone regions.
The objective of this study was to develop, implement, and refine a food environment survey to capture people’s perceptions of their food environments in low-and middle-income countries: the Food Environment Perceptions Survey (FEPS).
Design:
Identifying aspects of food environment to include: drawing from existing survey instruments; a Delphi survey with food environment experts working globally; workshops with local experts in India and Cambodia; cognitive testing of the survey items; and piloting the tools in diverse field settings in India and Cambodia.
Setting:
Rural, peri-urban, and urban communities in India and Cambodia.
Participants:
Global food environment experts for Delphi survey; food environment experts in India and Cambodia for workshops; convenience sample of participants in India (n=44) and Cambodia (n=60) for FEPS piloting.
Results:
The FEPS underwent many iterations prior to piloting. The initial versions of the survey were long, leading us to remove questions and reconfigure the survey to streamline it. The workshop participants rated the revised survey versions relatively favorably. The final survey consists of 109 questions covering six sections: accessibility and availability (48 questions); affordability (5 questions), convenience (17 questions); quality and safety (3 questions); information, promotion, and labeling (16 questions); and an optional sustainability section (20 questions). Based on pilot data, we found significant differences in how participants interacted with different food environment types across rural, peri-urban, and urban transects.
Conclusions:
The finalized FEPS is a newly developed survey instrument that can be incorporated by other researchers to characterize diverse perceptions of food environments in LMICs.
Self-regulation is central to adolescent emotional and cognitive development and deficits in self-regulation may associate with depression and anxiety. This scoping review maps the use of the Emotional Go/No-Go (EGNG), Delay Discounting Task (DDT), and Balloon Analogue Risk Task and Youth version (BART) in studies of adolescent depression and anxiety, examines consistency of task implementation, and identifies methodological and geographic gaps.
Methods:
A PRISMA-ScR–compliant search was conducted in MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, and PsycINFO from database inception to 15 December 2025 (initial search: 1 December 2023; updated: 15 December 2025). Data were charted using a standardized form. Eligible studies included adolescents, employed EGNG, DDT, or BART, and assessed depressive or anxiety symptoms.
Results:
Thirty reports were included (EGNG n = 21; DDT n = 3; BART n = 6). Twenty-six studies (87%) were conducted in high-income countries and 24 (80%) were English language. Twenty-two studies were cross-sectional (EGNG n = 18/21; DDT n = 2/3; BART n = 2/6); five employed longitudinal designs, and two employed experimental manipulations. Fourteen studies (47%) reported significant task performance associations with depression or anxiety (EGNG n = 8/21; DDT n = 2/3; BART n = 4/6); remaining studies reported no significant associations. The directionality of associations differed across study populations and methodologies.
Conclusion:
The current literature is concentrated in English-speaking higher-income contexts and has yielded few and inconsistent associations with adolescent depression and anxiety. Future research should harmonize protocols, expand evidence from low- and middle-income settings, and increase longitudinal and intervention-based studies to assess sensitivity to change and clinical utility.
Impaired autophagy has been implicated in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Consistent and replicated evidence indicate that Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1RAs) exert treatment and preventative effects across disparate neurologic and mental disorders, potentially through mechanisms involving autophagy. This systematic review examined the effects of GLP-1RAs on autophagy in cell and animal models of AD and PD, as a proof of concept, to determine if these agents can be repurposed for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative and other mental disorders.
Methods:
A systematic search on PubMed, Web of Science, and OVID (Medline, Embase, and APA PsycInfo databases) was conducted from inception to June 17, 2025. Screening was performed independently by two reviewers (MCS and IH) using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Subsequently, a quality assessment was conducted.
Results:
The search yielded 142 studies, of which 14 were included. Across studies, GLP-1RAs (e.g., liraglutide, semaglutide, and exendin-4) autophagy-specific markers, including beclin-1, LC3-II/LC3-I, ATG7, ATG3, and LAMP1, while normalizing p62 levels.
Discussion:
In addition to promoting neurogenesis, neuroplasticity, and reducing inflammation, GLP-1RAs appear to modulate molecular and cellular systems contributing to autophagy, potentially mediating their broad therapeutic effects. Collectively, these studies present promising findings of GLP-1RAs for neurodegenerative and mental disorders; however, further studies are required to establish their translatability to human populations.
This sixth volume in Stahl's Case Studies series presents a selection of clinical case studies in forensic psychopharmacology. Focusing on severe syndromes and clinical presentations found in the severely mentally ill who have become justice involved and/or required care in a state or forensic hospital facility, these cases illustrate questions that are routinely asked in psychiatric consultations. Following a consistent, user-friendly layout, each case features icons, tips and questions about diagnosis and management as it progresses over time, a pre-case self-assessment question, followed by the correct answers at the end of the case. Formatted in alignment with the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology's maintenance of psychiatry specialty certification, cases address multifaceted issues in an understandable way. Covering a wide-ranging and representative selection of clinical scenarios, each case is followed through the complete clinical encounter, from start to resolution, acknowledging the complications, issues, decisions, twists and turns along the way.