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PloS One 2024In the wake of the mental health crisis in children and adolescents, the coordination of education and mental health services has become a global priority. However,...
In the wake of the mental health crisis in children and adolescents, the coordination of education and mental health services has become a global priority. However, differing terminologies and classifications across sectors, hinder effective comparison. The classification in education focuses mainly on outputs like qualifications or throughputs like teaching programs. This proof-of-concept study tested the applicability of a standard classification of health services, the Description and Evaluation of Services and DirectoriEs (DESDE), to evaluate education services for mental health users in the context of Spain and The Netherlands. It was conducted alongside the PECUNIA project, that sought to develop methods for the assessment of mental health costs and outcomes in different sectors. The study followed an ontoterminology approach involving: 1) identification of services from a predefined list of 46 resource-use items, 2) disambiguation of identified services with the DESDE, and classifying them as accurate, ambiguous, vague or confuse; and 3) external validation by an expert panel. The analysis was conducted at the level of type of resource, target population and care provision. From the initial list, only ten of the resources could be categorized as services using DESDE, and not activities, interventions or professionals. Only four of them (8,65%) were accurate across all disambiguation categories. Experts were unaware of terminology problems in classification of service provision in the education sector. Classifications and glossaries can clarify service naming, description and costing allowing comparative effectiveness analysis and facilitating cross-sectoral planning. This should be grounded in common methodologies, tools, and units of analysis.
Topics: Humans; Terminology as Topic; Mental Health Services; Spain; Adolescent; Netherlands; Child; Mental Health; Mental Disorders
PubMed: 38959274
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306539 -
PloS One 2024Can a large language model produce humor? Past research has focused on anecdotal examples of large language models succeeding or failing at producing humor. These... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
Can a large language model produce humor? Past research has focused on anecdotal examples of large language models succeeding or failing at producing humor. These examples, while interesting, do not examine ChatGPT's humor production abilities in ways comparable to humans' abilities, nor do they shed light on how funny ChatGPT is to the general public. To provide a systematic test, we asked ChatGPT 3.5 and laypeople to respond to the same humor prompts (Study 1). We also asked ChatGPT 3.5 to generate humorous satirical headlines in the style of The Onion and compared them to published headlines of the satirical magazine, written by professional comedy writers (Study 2). In both studies, human participants rated the funniness of the human and A.I.-produced responses without being aware of their source. ChatGPT 3.5-produced jokes were rated as equally funny or funnier than human-produced jokes regardless of the comedic task and the expertise of the human comedy writer.
Topics: Humans; Wit and Humor as Topic; Female; Male; Adult; Language; Young Adult
PubMed: 38959273
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305364 -
PloS One 2024Quitting smoking may lead to improvement in substance use, psychiatric symptoms, and pain, especially among high-risk populations who are more likely to experience... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
BACKGROUND
Quitting smoking may lead to improvement in substance use, psychiatric symptoms, and pain, especially among high-risk populations who are more likely to experience comorbid conditions. However, causal inferences regarding smoking cessation and its subsequent benefits have been limited.
METHODS
We emulated a hypothetical open-label randomized control trial of smoking cessation using longitudinal observational data of HIV-positive and HIV-negative US veterans from 2003-2015 in the Veterans Aging Cohort Study. We followed individuals from the first time they self-reported current cigarette smoking (baseline). We categorized participants as quitters or non-quitters at the first follow-up visit (approximately 1 year after baseline). Using inverse probability weighting to adjust for confounding and selection bias, we estimated odds ratios for improvement of co-occurring conditions (unhealthy alcohol use, cannabis use, illicit opioid use, cocaine use, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and pain symptoms) at second follow-up (approximately 2 years after baseline) for those who quit smoking compared to those who did not, among individuals who had the condition at baseline.
RESULTS
Of 4,165 eligible individuals (i.e., current smokers at baseline), 419 reported no current smoking and 2,330 reported current smoking at the first follow-up. Adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for associations between quitting smoking and improvement of each condition at second follow-up were: 2.10 (1.01, 4.35) for unhealthy alcohol use, 1.75 (1.00, 3.06) for cannabis use, 1.10 (0.58, 2.08) for illicit opioid use, and 2.25 (1.20, 4.24) for cocaine use, 0.78 (0.44, 1.38) for depressive symptoms, 0.93 (0.58, 1.49) for anxiety symptoms, and 1.31 (0.84, 2.06) for pain symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS
While a causal interpretation of our findings may not be warranted, we found evidence for decreased substance use among veterans who quit cigarette smoking but none for the resolution of psychiatric conditions or pain symptoms. Findings suggest the need for additional resources combined with smoking cessation to reduce psychiatric and pain symptoms for high-risk populations.
Topics: Humans; Smoking Cessation; Male; Veterans; Female; Middle Aged; Pain; Substance-Related Disorders; United States; Adult; Aged; Depression; Anxiety; Longitudinal Studies; Cigarette Smoking
PubMed: 38959263
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298576 -
PloS One 2024During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers faced grave responsibilities amidst rapidly changing policies and material and staffing shortages. Moral injury,...
During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers faced grave responsibilities amidst rapidly changing policies and material and staffing shortages. Moral injury, psychological distress following events where actions transgress moral beliefs/ expectations, increased among healthcare workers. We used a sequential mixed methods approach to examine workplace and contextual factors related to moral injury early in the pandemic. Using a Total Worker Health® framework, we 1) examined factors associated with moral injury among active healthcare professionals (N = 14,145) surveyed between May-August 2020 and 2) qualitatively analyzed open-ended responses from 95 randomly selected participants who endorsed moral injury on the survey. Compared to inpatient hospital, outpatient (OR = 0.74 [0.65, 0.85]) or school clinic settings (OR = 0.37 [0.18, 0.75]) were associated with lower odds of moral injury; while group care settings increased odds (OR = 1.36 [1.07, 1.74]). Working with COVID+ patients (confirmed+ OR = 1.27 [1.03, 1.55]), PPE inadequacy (OR = 1.54 [1.27, 1.87]), and greater role conflict (OR = 1.57 [1.53, 1.62]) were associated with greater odds of moral injury. Qualitative findings illustrate how outside factors as well as organizational policies and working conditions influenced moral injury. Moral injury experiences affected staff turnover and patient care, potentially producing additional morally injurious effects. Worker- and patient-centered organizational policies are needed to prevent moral injury among healthcare workers. The generalizability of these findings may be limited by our predominantly white and female sample. Further research is indicated to replicate these findings in minoritized samples.
Topics: Humans; COVID-19; Health Personnel; Female; Male; Adult; Pandemics; Middle Aged; Surveys and Questionnaires; Morals; SARS-CoV-2; Workplace; Personal Protective Equipment
PubMed: 38959222
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304620 -
PloS One 2024To determine the effect of different combinations of different exercise modalities with different training cycles on the improvement of quality of life and pain symptoms... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
PURPOSE
To determine the effect of different combinations of different exercise modalities with different training cycles on the improvement of quality of life and pain symptoms in breast cancer patients.
METHODS
The databases PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus were searched through a computer network with a search deadline of 23 August 2023. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data and performed methodological quality assessment of the included literature, and then performed the corresponding statistical analyses and graphing using stata17.0.
RESULTS
Thirty-six randomized control trial (RCT) studies involving 3003 participants and seven exercise modalities were included. Most of the exercise modalities improved patients' quality of life compared to usual care, with long-term aerobic combined with resistance exercise [SMD = 0.83,95% CI = 0.34,1.33,p = 0.001] and YOGA [SMD = 0.61,95% CI = 0.06,1.16,p = 0.029] treatments having a significant effect. For pain and fatigue-related outcome indicators, the treatment effect was not significant for all exercise modalities included in the analysis compared to the control group, but tended to be beneficial for patients.
CONCLUSION
Long-term aerobic combined with resistance exercise was the most effective in improving quality of life and fatigue status in breast cancer patients, and aerobic exercise was more effective in improving pain symptoms in breast cancer patients.
Topics: Humans; Quality of Life; Breast Neoplasms; Female; Network Meta-Analysis; Exercise Therapy; Exercise; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Pain; Resistance Training; Cancer Pain
PubMed: 38959209
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300176 -
PloS One 2024Psychological distress is an important and frequent health problem. The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) allows screening for psychological distress in clinical, general...
Psychological distress is an important and frequent health problem. The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) allows screening for psychological distress in clinical, general and research populations. We aimed to provide normative data for the BSI and the BSI-18 for the Swiss general population: We 1) present psychometric properties, 2) develop a Swiss T-standardization and validate it using a clinical sample, 3) describe psychological distress in the Swiss general population and the clinical sample, and 4) compare the means and T-standardized scores of the Swiss general population to different German norm populations. Using a cross-sectional study design, we invited a representative sample of the Swiss general population aged 18-75 years to the study. A sample of psychotherapy outpatients had competed the BSI before start of their therapy. We calculated scores for the nine scales of the BSI (three of them constitute the BSI-18), the T-standardization and the following BSI indices: Global Severity Index (GSI), Positive Symptom Total (PST), Positive Symptom Distress Index (PSDI), and Caseness (reaching T≥63 on the GSI or T≥63 on at least two of the scales). A total of 1238 general population participants completed the BSI (41.8% male; mean age 48.9 years). The BSI had good psychometric properties. The Swiss T-standardization showed good validity when applied in the clinical sample. Females reached a significantly higher GSI score than males (p<0.001). Older participants (p = 0.026), those with higher education (p <0.001), and those employed or retired (p<0.001) reached lower scores than participants aged 18-25 years, those with compulsory schooling, and unemployed participants, respectively. A total of 18.1% (CI: 16.0-20.5) participants of the general population and 75.2% (CI: 73.7-76.7) of the psychotherapy patients were considered cases with psychological distress. Our study presents detailed normative data for the BSI and the BSI-18 based on a representative sample of the Swiss general population. This information will be helpful for clinical applications and research in the Swiss and international context.
Topics: Humans; Middle Aged; Adult; Male; Female; Switzerland; Psychological Distress; Aged; Adolescent; Psychometrics; Cross-Sectional Studies; Young Adult; Stress, Psychological; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 38959205
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305192 -
PloS One 2024We aim to uncover grading bias by gender, socio-economic status, ethnic/migration background as well as body weight in the German secondary school system. Following an...
We aim to uncover grading bias by gender, socio-economic status, ethnic/migration background as well as body weight in the German secondary school system. Following an intersectional approach, we test whether-controlling for ability-students receive different grades depending on (the specific combination of) ascriptive characteristics. Using data from the fourth starting cohort (SC4, 13.0.0, first survey in year 9 in 2010) of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) consisting of more than 14,000 ninth graders, we compute the predicted differences in grades for the different groups of students depending on whether they are a boy or a girl, whether they are obese/overweight or not, their socio-economic status (SES) and ethnic background. We rely on a grade equation approach, assuming that discrepancies between observed grades and achievement as measured in standardised tests are evidence of biased grading. We control for two different competence tests-the Domain General Cognitive Functions (DGCF) and a standardised domain-specific competence test-as objective measures of ability as well as secondary school track. Even after controlling for different personality and behavioural traits-the "big five", the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Sick, Control, One, Fat and Food (SCOFF), health satisfaction and class retention-substantial differentials in grading across almost all factors and subjects remain. To account for the fact that many students may face bias on multiple grounds, we then compare the differences in predicted grades for groups with overlapping (dis)advantaging characteristics (e.g. low SES overweight Turkish boy vs a high SES non-overweight majority girl), while controlling for the objective ability measures. Significant differentials in grades are found in almost all cases, with the largest effect sizes for the subject German. We also compute models including all 2-way or 4-way interactions between the four axes of inequality and find the main effects largely unchanged. On the whole our findings are indicative of widespread additive intersectional effects of gender, social and ethnic origin as well as body weight on grading bias.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Germany; Schools; Adolescent; Students; Social Class; Bias; Educational Measurement
PubMed: 38959194
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305703 -
PloS One 2024The perinatal period is known as time of transition and anticipation. For women with social risk factors, child protection services may become involved during the...
Healthcare experiences of pregnant and postnatal women and healthcare professionals when facing child protection in the perinatal period: A systematic review and Critical Interpretative Synthesis.
BACKGROUND
The perinatal period is known as time of transition and anticipation. For women with social risk factors, child protection services may become involved during the perinatal period and this might complicate their interactions with healthcare providers.
AIM
To systematically review and synthesise the existing qualitative evidence of healthcare experiences of women and healthcare professionals during the perinatal period while facing child protection involvement.
METHODS
A systematic search of databases (Web of Science, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, CINAHL, ASSIA, MIDIRS, Social Policy and Practice and Global Health) was carried out in January 2023, and updated in February 2024. Quality of studies was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. A Critical Interpretative Synthesis was used alongside the PRISMA reporting guideline.
RESULTS
A total of 41 studies were included in this qualitative evidence synthesis. We identified three types of healthcare interactions: Relational care, Surveillance and Avoidance. Healthcare interactions can fluctuate between these types, and elements of different types can coexist simultaneously, indicating the complexity and reciprocal nature of healthcare interactions during the perinatal period when child protection processes are at play.
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings provide a novel interpretation of the reciprocal interactions in healthcare encounters when child protection agencies are involved. Trust and transparency are key to facilitate relational care. Secure and appropriate information-sharing between agencies and professionals is required to strengthen healthcare systems. Healthcare professionals should have access to relevant training and supervision in order to confidently yet sensitively safeguard women and babies, while upholding principles of trauma-informed care. In addition, systemic racism in child protection processes exacerbate healthcare inequalities and has to be urgently addressed. Providing a clear framework of mutual expectations between families and healthcare professionals can increase engagement, trust and accountability and advance equity.
Topics: Humans; Female; Pregnancy; Health Personnel; Child Protective Services; Perinatal Care; Pregnant Women; Child
PubMed: 38959192
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305738 -
PloS One 2024In this study, we examine the association between Big Five personality traits and cigar or cigarette smoking in a sample of 9,918 older adults across 11 European...
In this study, we examine the association between Big Five personality traits and cigar or cigarette smoking in a sample of 9,918 older adults across 11 European countries derived from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) dataset. We find significant associations between several traits and smoking groups. Smoking was associated with lower scores on Conscientiousness and Agreeableness and higher Extraversion scores. In addition, cigar smokers exhibit lower Neuroticism and higher Openness compared to both cigarette smokers and non-smokers. These findings suggest that both personality traits are antecedents of smoking behavior, offering implications for targeted public health interventions and social policies aimed at combating the global tobacco epidemic.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Aged; Personality; Middle Aged; Cigarette Smoking; Europe; Tobacco Products; Smoking
PubMed: 38959187
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305634 -
JMIR Mental Health Jul 2024Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide. Journalistic reporting guidelines were created to curb the impact of unsafe reporting; however, how suicide is framed in...
BACKGROUND
Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide. Journalistic reporting guidelines were created to curb the impact of unsafe reporting; however, how suicide is framed in news reports may differ by important characteristics such as the circumstances and the decedent's gender.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to examine the degree to which news media reports of suicides are framed using stigmatized or glorified language and differences in such framing by gender and circumstance of suicide.
METHODS
We analyzed 200 news articles regarding suicides and applied the validated Stigma of Suicide Scale to identify stigmatized and glorified language. We assessed linguistic similarity with 2 widely used metrics, cosine similarity and mutual information scores, using a machine learning-based large language model.
RESULTS
News reports of male suicides were framed more similarly to stigmatizing (P<.001) and glorifying (P=.005) language than reports of female suicides. Considering the circumstances of suicide, mutual information scores indicated that differences in the use of stigmatizing or glorifying language by gender were most pronounced for articles attributing legal (0.155), relationship (0.268), or mental health problems (0.251) as the cause.
CONCLUSIONS
Linguistic differences, by gender, in stigmatizing or glorifying language when reporting suicide may exacerbate suicide disparities.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Suicide; Mass Media; Social Stigma; Sex Factors; Adult
PubMed: 38959061
DOI: 10.2196/49879