Responsible innovation in technology for mental health care

Brain Health Living Labs

We call on geriatric brain health care providers, executives and entrepreneurs to embrace our Brain Health Living Lab model-a user-centered, iterative ecosystem, integrating concurrent clinical care, research and innovation processes.

Effect of Nature Walks on Depression and Anxiety: A Systematic Review

The benefits of nature for our health have been an increasing research focus in recent years. In the context of a global increase in mental health diagnoses, the potential health benefits of nature have attracted attention. One practical nature treatment is to walk in nature. However, evidence for this practice on mental health has not been comprehensively appraised to date. This systematic review synthesized the effects of nature walks for depression and anxiety, and evaluated the methodological rigor of studies. Academic databases including ProQuest, PsycINFO, Science Direct, and Google Scholar were utilized to identify eligible articles, which were examined using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Of 385 articles initially retrieved, 12 studies met all the eligibility criteria (nine pre-post within-subject studies, two quasi-experimental studies, and one experimental between-subjects study). These studies demonstrated that nature walks were effective for state anxiety but not generalized anxiety and the effects for depression were inconsistent. Findings indicate that nature walks may be effective for mental health, especially for reducing state anxiety. However, the quality of the included studies varied, and sample sizes were small, suggesting a need for more rigorous and large-scale research.

Brain Health Executives: A Transdisciplinary Workforce Innovation-A Commentary

Given the rapidly evolving landscape of technologies, social, health, and consumer trends, the development of effective Brain Health Executives is a key workforce innovation. Convergence Brain Health involves the integration of scientists, clinicians, bioinformaticists, global health experts, social scientists, engineers, technology entrepreneurs, medical educators, caregivers, and consumers. Synergy between government, academia, and industry is also vital. The discipline of Brain Health Executives provides a novel workforce approach to ensure we have individuals who can meet the demands of Convergence Brain Health. The optimal persona of an effective Brain Health Executive will include these core elements: a certain mindset, sufficient clinical experience to understand clinical realities and research experience to understand methodology and process, business experience in critical functional areas, informed perspectives on platform design and deep technologies in brain health, fluency with novel funding mechanisms, a progressive interest in the emerging fields across brain health, the ability to see where point solutions fit within broader product symphonies and the brain health landscape, and the facility to apply proven business and commercialization practices from not only other fields of medicine, but other industries. Promising initiatives for training and workforce development, such as Stanford University Brainstorm Mental Health Innovation Lab and the Global Brain Health Institute, may serve as predicates for the novel Brain Health Executive model. Small, agile, highly collaborative, and emotionally intelligent teams may help form the ideal Brain Health Executives in the short-term. This commentary explores the discipline of convergence of science and its role in addressing the current global brain health crisis.

A Brain Capital Grand Strategy: toward economic reimagination

‘I have not found among my possessions anything which I hold more dear than, or value so much as, my knowledge of the actions of great people, acquired by long experience in contemporary affairs, and a continual study of antiquity.’ The Prince, Machiavelli