mental health

Rates of engagement in mental health care are disproportionately low for low-income, racial/ethnic minority youth. We will present novel research on caregiver-reported challenges to engagement in care, and the results of research on strategies supporting caregivers to overcome barriers to engagement.

Objective: Several studies have shown that spiritual/religious beliefs are associated with mental health and quality of life. However, so far, no study assessed the relationship between spiritual/religious coping (SRC) and depressive symptoms in family caregivers (FCs) of pediatric cancer patients, particularly in Latin America. This study aimed to investigate whether Positive and Negative SRC strategies are associated with depressive symptoms in FCs of pediatric cancer patients in Brazil. 

A key challenge facing the mental health field is connecting children and families to services when symptoms first appear. Multiple barriers inhibit timely access to treatment, and interventions to resolve barriers to care are not common among health and social care organisations.

Background: Approximately 8% of children have food allergy. Yet, little is known about how parents cope with the burden of this disease.; Objective: This study aimed to describe the perceptions of food allergy-related mental health issues of parents of children with food allergy. Methods: Parents of children with pediatric allergist-diagnosed food allergy were recruited through allergy clinics and education centers in a large Canadian city.

HIV/AIDS-related (HAR) stigma is still a prevalent problem in Sub-Saharan Africa, and has been found to be related to mental health of HIV-positive individuals. However, no studies in the Sub-Saharan African context have yet examined the relationship between HAR stigma and mental health among HIV-negative, HIV-affected adults and families; nor have any studies in this context yet examined stigma as an ecological construct predicting mental health outcomes through supra-individual (setting level) and individual levels of influence.

Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions that commonly begin in adolescence. Multi-family therapy (MFT) is recommended for young people with anorexia, but to date the majority of research on the effectiveness of this intervention has been conducted in highly specialist eating disorder (ED) services. In England there is a national transformation program that aims to develop specialist community ED services for children and young people.

Background: Consumption of fruits and vegetables is correlated with improved mental wellbeing. Although this growing body of research has been recognized by researchers and clinicians in high-income countries, fewer studies examining this relationship have been conducted in low- and middle-income settings. Objectives: In this study, we sought to estimate the association between fruit and vegetable intake and symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Background: Informal caregivers have a vital role in supporting and caring for family members with dementia. Caregiving is complex and may lead to psychological, physical, social and financial stress for caregivers. Methods: This article reports the findings of an integrative review that explored the literature on the psychological effect of caring for a family member with dementia at home.

Background: Drug use disorder (DUD) is a serious health condition that imposes a heavy burden on the persons who have a drug addiction experience and their families, especially in countries, such as Myanmar, where few formal support mechanisms are in place and repressive drug laws exacerbate the situation. Yet, in Myanmar, little is known about how informal caregivers are affected.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the use of antidepressants over 6 years between family caregivers providing high-intensity care and a matched control population using register-based data. Methods: The study includes all individuals, who received family caregiver’s allowance in Finland in 2012 (n = 29,846 females, mean age 66 years; n = 12,410 males, mean age 71 years) and a control population matched for age, sex, and municipality of residence (n = 59,141 females; n = 24,477 males).