How mood is affected by environment and upsetting events: The moderating role of psychological flexibility

OBJECTIVE

Patients suffering from psychological disorders report decreased quality of life and low mood. The relationship of these symptoms to daily upsetting events or environments, and in the context of active coping mechanisms is poorly understood. The present study thus investigates the association between mood, psychological flexibility, upsetting events, and environment in the daily life of outpatients.

METHOD

We investigated 80 outpatients at the beginning of treatment, using event sampling methodology (ESM). Patients' mood, occurrence of upsetting events, current environment, and psychological flexibility were sampled six times per day during a one-week intensive longitudinal examination. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models (LMMs).

RESULTS

Participants reported worse mood the more upsetting events they experienced. Further, participants reported better mood when in private environments (e.g., with friends), and worse mood when at the hospital, compared to being at home. Higher levels of psychological flexibility, however, were associated with better mood, irrespective of the occurrence of upsetting events or current environment.

CONCLUSION

Results suggest that mood is positively associated with psychological flexibility, not despite, but especially during the dynamic and context-specific challenges of daily life. Psychological flexibility may thus potentially act as a buffer against distress-provoking situations as patients go about their daily lives.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ISRCTN.org identifier: ISRCTN11209732.

Unmet Psychosocial Needs of Health Care Professionals in Europe During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mixed Methods Approach

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected everyday life and working conditions for most Europeans, particularly health care professionals (HCPs). Over the past 3 years, various policies have been implemented in various European countries. Studies have reported on the worsening of mental health, work-related stress, and helpful coping strategies. However, having a closer look is still necessary to gain more information on the psychosocial stressors and unmet needs of HCPs as well as nonmedical staff.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to obtain quantitative information on job-related stressors of physicians and nurses and the coping strategies of HCPs and nonmedical staff at 2 periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. By further analyzing qualitative comments, we wanted to gain more information on the psychosocial stressors and unmet needs of HCPs as well as nonmedical staff on different levels of experience.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted at 2 time points during the COVID-19 pandemic in several European countries. The first study period (T1) lasted between April 1 and June 20, 2020, and the second study period (T2) lasted between November 25, 2021, and February 28, 2022. On a quantitative level, we used a questionnaire on stressors for physicians and nurses and a questionnaire on coping strategies for HCPs and nonmedical staff. Quantitative data were descriptively analyzed for mean values and differences in stressors and coping strategies. Qualitative data of free-text boxes of HCPs and nonmedical staff were analyzed via thematic analysis to explore the experiences of the individuals.

RESULTS

T1 comprised 609 participants, and T2 comprised 1398 participants. Overall, 296 participants made 438 qualitative comments. The uncertainty about when the pandemic would be controlled (T1: mean 2.28, SD 0.85; T2: mean 2.08, SD 0.90) and the fear of infecting the family (T1: mean 2.26, SD 0.98; T2: mean 2.02, SD 1.02) were the most severe stressors identified by physicians and nurses in both periods. Overall, the use of protective measures (T1: mean 2.66, SD 0.60; T2: mean 2.66, SD 0.60) and acquiring information about COVID-19 (T1: mean 2.29, SD 0.82; T2: mean 1.99, SD 0.89) were identified as the most common coping strategies for the entire study population. Using thematic analysis, we identified 8 themes of personal experiences on the micro, meso, and macro levels. Measures, working conditions, feelings and emotions, and social climate were frequently mentioned topics of the participants. In T1, feelings of isolation and uncertainty were prominent. In T2, feelings of exhaustion were expressed and vaccination was frequently discussed. Moreover, unmet psychosocial needs were identified.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a need for improvement in pandemic preparedness. Targeted vocational education measures and setting up of web-based mental health support could be useful to bridge gaps in psychosocial support needs in future crises.

The psychological syndrome associated with Long-COVID: A study protocol

Introduction

Chronic post-viral syndromes, including Long-COVID, are characterized by a range of persistent symptoms that occur following a viral infection. Psychological symptoms are prevalent in Long-COVID patients and can have a significant impact on their quality of life. However, the specific patterns of psychological symptoms, their associations with physical symptoms, and the factors predicting their severity remain poorly understood.

Aims

This study aims to explore and systematically assess psychological symptoms in Long-COVID, to identify syndrome clusters based on these symptoms, to examine their relationship with physical symptoms, and to investigate the influence of pandemic-related variables.

Methods

Descriptive, cross-sectional study with data collected through an online questionnaire across several EU countries, from February 2020 to December 2022. Participants were recruited using public relations, the social media and information campaigns directed at the public and health professionals using snowball sampling.

Results

The findings will allow to phenotype Long-COVID related psychological symptom clusters based on self-reports. facilitating improved assessment and treatment approaches.

Conclusions

The results will provide important knowledge for the public health management of the public healh management of Long COVID. The findings will contribute to a better understanding of the psychological symptoms associated with Long-COVID and the development of specific treatment guidelines for psychological burden associated with Long-COVID, thereby supporting management strategies to combat the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, enhancing their overall well-being and quality of life.

Co-Design of a Voice-Based Digital Health Solution to Monitor Persisting Symptoms Related to COVID-19 (UpcomingVoice Study): Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study

BACKGROUND

Between 10% and 20% of people with a COVID-19 infection will develop the so-called long COVID syndrome, which is characterized by fluctuating symptoms. Long COVID has a high impact on the quality of life of affected people, who often feel abandoned by the health care system and are demanding new tools to help them manage their symptoms. New digital monitoring solutions could allow them to visualize the evolution of their symptoms and could be tools to communicate with health care professionals (HCPs). The use of voice and vocal biomarkers could facilitate the accurate and objective monitoring of persisting and fluctuating symptoms. However, to assess the needs and ensure acceptance of this innovative approach by its potential users-people with persisting COVID-19-related symptoms, with or without a long COVID diagnosis, and HCPs involved in long COVID care-it is crucial to include them in the entire development process.

OBJECTIVE

In the UpcomingVoice study, we aimed to define the most relevant aspects of daily life that people with long COVID would like to be improved, assess how the use of voice and vocal biomarkers could be a potential solution to help them, and determine the general specifications and specific items of a digital health solution to monitor long COVID symptoms using vocal biomarkers with its end users.

METHODS

UpcomingVoice is a cross-sectional mixed methods study and consists of a quantitative web-based survey followed by a qualitative phase based on semistructured individual interviews and focus groups. People with long COVID and HCPs in charge of patients with long COVID will be invited to participate in this fully web-based study. The quantitative data collected from the survey will be analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data from the individual interviews and the focus groups will be transcribed and analyzed using a thematic analysis approach.

RESULTS

The study was approved by the National Research Ethics Committee of Luxembourg (number 202208/04) in August 2022 and started in October 2022 with the launch of the web-based survey. Data collection will be completed in September 2023, and the results will be published in 2024.

CONCLUSIONS

This mixed methods study will identify the needs of people affected by long COVID in their daily lives and describe the main symptoms or problems that would need to be monitored and improved. We will determine how using voice and vocal biomarkers could meet these needs and codevelop a tailored voice-based digital health solution with its future end users. This project will contribute to improving the quality of life and care of people with long COVID. The potential transferability to other diseases will be explored, which will contribute to the deployment of vocal biomarkers in general.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05546918; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05546918.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/46103.

Psychotherapy for Chronic In- and Outpatients with Common Mental Disorders: The "Choose Change" Effectiveness Trial

INTRODUCTION

Treatment non-response occurs regularly, but psychotherapy is seldom examined for such patients. Existing studies targeted single diagnoses, were relatively small, and paid little attention to treatment under real-world conditions.

OBJECTIVE

The Choose Change trial tested whether psychotherapy was effective in treating chronic patients with treatment non-response in a transdiagnostic sample of common mental disorders across two variants of treatment delivery (inpatient and outpatient).

METHODS

The controlled nonrandomized effectiveness trial was conducted between May 2016 and May 2021. The study took place in two psychiatric clinics with N = 200 patients (n = 108 inpatients and n = 92 outpatients). Treatment variants were integrated inpatient care versus outpatient care based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for approximately 12 weeks. Therapists delivered individualized and non-manualized ACT. Main outcome measures were symptoms (Brief Symptom Checklist [BSCL]); well-being (Mental Health Continuum-Short Form [MHC-SF]), and functioning (WHO Disability Assessment Schedule [WHO-DAS]).

RESULTS

Both inpatients and outpatients showed decreases in symptomatology (i.e., BSCL: d = 0.68) and increases in well-being and functioning (MHC-SF: d = 0.60 and WHO-DAS: d = 0.70), with more improvement in the inpatients during treatment. Both groups maintained gains 1 year following treatment, and the groups did not significantly differ from each other at this timepoint. Psychological flexibility moderated impact of stress on outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Psychotherapy as practiced under routine conditions is effective for a sample of patients with common mental disorders, a long history of treatment experience and burden of disease, in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study was registered in the ISRCTN registry on May 20, 2016, with the registration number ISRCTN11209732.

Long COVID Classification: Findings from a Clustering Analysis in the Predi-COVID Cohort Study

The increasing number of people living with Long COVID requires the development of more personalized care; currently, limited treatment options and rehabilitation programs adapted to the variety of Long COVID presentations are available. Our objective was to design an easy-to-use Long COVID classification to help stratify people with Long COVID. Individual characteristics and a detailed set of 62 self-reported persisting symptoms together with quality of life indexes 12 months after initial COVID-19 infection were collected in a cohort of SARS-CoV-2 infected people in Luxembourg. A hierarchical ascendant classification (HAC) was used to identify clusters of people. We identified three patterns of Long COVID symptoms with a gradient in disease severity. Cluster-Mild encompassed almost 50% of the study population and was composed of participants with less severe initial infection, fewer comorbidities, and fewer persisting symptoms (mean = 2.9). Cluster-Moderate was characterized by a mean of 11 persisting symptoms and poor sleep and respiratory quality of life. Compared to the other clusters, Cluster-Severe was characterized by a higher proportion of women and smokers with a higher number of Long COVID symptoms, in particular vascular, urinary, and skin symptoms. Our study evidenced that Long COVID can be stratified into three subcategories in terms of severity. If replicated in other populations, this simple classification will help clinicians improve the care of people with Long COVID.

Meaningful Relationships in Community and Clinical Samples: Their Importance for Mental Health

Meaningful relationships are centrally important for human functioning. It remains unclear, however, which aspects of meaningful relationships impact wellbeing the most and whether these differ between psychiatric patients and members of the community. Information about relationship attributes and functions were collected in community members (N = 297) and psychiatric patients (N = 177). Relationship attributes and functions were examined for differences between groups (community vs. patients), their impact on wellbeing and symptoms, and the size of network (one vs. many relationships). Community members reported fewer relationships, higher frequency of contact and less desire for change when compared to the psychiatric patients. Nevertheless, both groups reported relatively high levels of fulfilled functions. Quality of the relationship and investment into the relationship was associated with both wellbeing and symptoms for both the community and the patient group. Almost all functions were associated with wellbeing and symptoms for the community group. However, for the patient group, only few functions (sexual partner, go-to person for compassion, go-to person when happy) were associated with wellbeing and no functions were associated with symptoms. Contrary to our hypotheses, the results show that psychiatric patients do not have a deficit in fulfilling relationships. Most people report a well-functioning network of meaningful, high-quality relationships. Patients benefit from meaningful, function-fulfilling relationships just as much as community members. Results are discussed with respect to how targeting relationships can be used clinically.

Rumination about obsessive symptoms and mood maintains obsessive-compulsive symptoms and depressed mood: An experimental study

Rumination is common in individuals diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We sought to clarify the causal role of rumination in the immediate and intermediate maintenance of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and depressed mood. In total, 145 individuals diagnosed with OCD were asked to read aloud their most distressing obsessive thought (OT). OT activation was followed by a thought-monitoring phase in which frequency of the OT was assessed. Participants were randomly allocated to one of three experimental conditions: rumination about obsessive-compulsive symptoms, rumination about mood, or distraction. Ratings of distress, urge to neutralize, and depressed mood and frequency ratings of the OTs were taken before and after the experimental manipulation. Obsessive-compulsive symptom severity and affect were assessed 2, 4, and 24 hr after the laboratory experiment using ecological momentary assessment. Compared to distraction, both types of rumination resulted in an immediate reduced decline of distress, urge to neutralize, depressed mood, and frequency of OTs, with medium to large effect sizes. Rumination about obsessive-compulsive symptoms did not have a stronger immediate effect than rumination about mood. Rumination about obsessive-compulsive symptoms increased obsessive-compulsive symptom severity and reduced positive affect compared to rumination about mood 24 hr later. Regarding negative affect, there was no difference in effect between the two types of rumination in the intermediate term. To conclude, rumination in OCD has an immediate and intermediate maintaining effect on obsessive-compulsive symptoms and mood and may require additional psychological interventions that supplement cognitive behavioral therapy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The spatiotemporal movement of patients in and out of a psychiatric hospital: an observational GPS study

BACKGROUND

Movement is a basic component of health. Little is known about the spatiotemporal movement of patients with mental disorders. The aim of this study was to determine how spatiotemporal movement of patients related to their symptoms and wellbeing.

METHOD

A total of 106 patients (inpatients (n = 69) and outpatients (n = 37)) treated for a wide range of mental disorders (transdiagnostic sample) carried a GPS-enabled smartphone for one week at the beginning of treatment. Algorithms were applied to establish spatiotemporal clusters and subsequently related to known characteristics of these groups (i.e., at the hospital, at home). Symptomatology, Wellbeing, and Psychological flexibility were also assessed.

RESULTS

Spatiotemporal patterns of inpatients and outpatients showed differences consistent with predictions (e.g., outpatients showed higher active areas). These patterns were largely unassociated with symptoms (except for agoraphobic symptoms). Greater movement and variety of movement were more predictive of wellbeing, however, in both inpatients and outpatients.

CONCLUSION

Measuring spatiotemporal patterns is feasible, predictive of wellbeing, and may be a marker of patient functioning. Ethical issues of collecting GPS data are discussed.

The everyday lives of in- and outpatients when beginning therapy: The importance of values-consistent behavior

Background/Objective

The manifestation of functional impairment in patients’ daily lives and interference with things they value is poorly understood. If values are compromised in patients, as theory suggests, social contexts (and the lack thereof) are especially important – though this is currently unexplored. We therefore examined whether daily values-consistent behavior was associated with the importance of a value and whether it involved social or non-social activity.

Method

Using Event Sampling Methodology, we examined daily values-consistent behavior in 57 transdiagnostic inpatients and 43 transdiagnostic outpatients at the beginning of treatment. Patients’ values-consistent behavior, its importance, and (social vs non-social) context was sampled six times per day during a one-week intensive longitudinal examination.

Results

Across both groups, the probability of subsequent values-consistent behavior increased if (1) it was judged as more important by the patient or (2) if it was embedded in a social context. The probability of reporting values-consistent behavior was higher for outpatients than inpatients.

Conclusions

Clinicians are encouraged to examine the values of their patients more closely and to especially monitor important and/or social values. Incorporating these into clinical work might increase patients’ values-consistent behavior, which can play a role in reducing suffering.

A Two-Day Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Workshop Increases Presence and Work Functioning in Healthcare Workers

BACKGROUND

In this controlled naturalistic study performed in healthcare workers we examined the effect of a two-day acceptance commitment therapy (ACT) workshop on work presence and productivity, i.e. the influence the workshop had on treatment efficacy in a routine hospital care setting.

AIM

To examine the influence of ACT on productivity and presence in healthcare workers.

METHOD

Study participants were all healthcare workers (nurses, medical doctors, physiotherapists, social workers, and art therapists) of four inpatient wards for depression. Half of the healthcare workers attended the workshop. Measures were evaluated 3 months after the intervention in the study participants and the patients treated by them in the same time period.

RESULTS

A significantly higher treatment efficacy [as measured with HoNOS (Health of the nation outcome scales) change in the patients treated by the participants] has been observed in the healthcare workers who attended the ACT workshop when compared to the control group who did not attend the workshop. Moreover, the work presence of the participants of the ACT workshop was increased when compared with the time period before the intervention and with the presence of the control group. A cost analysis showed that ACT workshops lead to a significant return of investment for the employer as the costs for the workshop were ten times compensated by the increase of work presence in participants of the workshop.

CONCLUSION

These findings provide support that ACT interventions motivate healthcare workers to work and increase their patients' treatment quality. To our knowledge this is the first study showing an ACT workshop in healthcare workers can influence HoNOS outcome in the treated patients.

"Choose change": design and methods of an acceptance and commitment therapy effectiveness trial for transdiagnostic treatment-resistant patients

BACKGROUND

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been successfully established in hundreds of efficacy trials. It is less understood, however, how ACT works in real-world settings. Furthermore, little is known about how contextual variables such as treatment setting (inpatient vs. outpatient), social network and environment of the patient impact outcome.

METHODS

This paper describes the methods of the Choose Change study that compares transdiagnostic inpatients (n = 85) and outpatients (n = 85) with varying degrees of treatment experience and treatment success (i.e., no previous treatment vs. previous remission vs. treatment-resistant). Patients received ACT during an intensive treatment phase lasting approximately twelve treatment sessions, and were accompanied up to twelve months following intensive treatment. Main outcomes include symptoms, functioning, and well-being. Multiple levels of data are investigated, including treatment context, weekly assessments, a behavioral approach test, multiple follow-up phases, and ambulatory assessment using Event Sampling Methodology, to examine patients' daily context.

DISCUSSION

We aim to investigate antecedents, consequences, and inherent processes that contribute to the maintenance or fluctuations of psychological disorders and the efficacy of ACT treatment. Furthermore, this study intends to increase understanding of how accurately participants can report on their own experiences, in order to expand our knowledge of how to probe for such information in the future. The results of Choose Change will provide basic clinical theory and clinical care with important and meaningful insights into the effectiveness of ACT, trans diagnostically, in in- and outpatients, and in a naturalistic setting.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study was retrospectively registered in the ISRCTN Registry (registration number ISRCTN11209732 ) on May 20th 2016.

Akzeptanz- und Commiment-Therapie mit therapieresistenten Störungen im stationären Setting

Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Stationäre psychotherapeutische Behandlungen haben eine große Bedeutung im Versorgungsalltag. Ihre Bewährung bei schwergradigen und komorbiden Störungsbildern ist jedoch nur lückenhaft untersucht. Dies gilt besonders für die zunehmend angewendete Akzeptanz- und Commitment-Therapie (ACT). Fragestellung: In erster Linie soll die Wirksamkeit einer stationären störungsübergreifenden ACT-basierten Behandlung in erwähnten Stichproben untersucht werden. Ergänzend wird der zeitliche Verlauf der psychischen Flexibilität (PF), dem Kernkonzept der ACT, explorativ untersucht. Methode: Eine konsekutive Stichprobe von 47 Patientinnen und Patienten mit heterogenen und komorbiden Störungsbildern in stationärer Psychotherapie wurde im Rahmen einer explorativen Beobachtungsstudie mittels wöchentlicher Verlaufsmessungen sowie umfassender Prä-Post-Vergleiche untersucht. Ergebnisse: Die Effektstärken hinsichtlich allgemeiner Symptomreduktion, der Zunahme psychischer Flexibilität sowie weiterer ACT-spezifischer Fertigkeiten sind moderat bis hoch. Die Verlaufsmessungen weisen auf lineare Verbesserungen sowie hohe Übereinstimmungen zwischen Selbst- und Fremdrating hin. Schlussfolgerungen: Die Ergebnisse zeigen positive Effekte der ACT im stationären Setting bei einer diagnostisch heterogenen Stichprobe mit einem hohen Anteil komorbider Störungen.