Adolescents with eating disorders. Primary care screening, identification, and early intervention

Contribution of researchers in the Arab region to peer-reviewed literature on mental health and well-being of university students

OBJECTIVE

The current study aimed at investigating the contribution of researchers in the Arab region to the field of mental health and well-being of university students using bibliometric tools.

METHOD

Relevant literature was obtained from the Scopus database for the period from 2001-2020. Examples of keywords used in the query included "college student", "university student", and undergraduate student" combined with keywords such as wellbeing, wellness, suicide, and anxiety. No language restriction was used. Only research articles were considered. The search query was validated. Bibliometric indicators and mappings such as active countries, institutions, authors, highly cited documents, and the most frequently encountered topics were identified and discussed to shed light on research gaps in the Arab region. Research gaps were also identified. The analysis was carried out on February 12, 2021.

RESULTS

The search query returned 309 research articles published by authors from 17 different Arab countries. Less than one-third (n = 97, 31.4%) of the retrieved articles were carried out in collaboration with authors from 39 non-Arab countries, mainly from the United Kingdom and the United States. The overall contribution of researchers from the Arab region to global research in the field was 5.6%. In total, 1212 authors from 791 different institutions participated in publishing the retrieved research articles. At the country level, Saudi Arabia (n = 125, 40.5%) ranked first, followed by Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon. At the institutional level, The University of Jordan (n = 25, 8.1%) ranked first, followed by King Saud University, and Kuwait University. The retrieved articles included 132 (42.7%) articles on stress/distress, 95 (30.7%) on anxiety, 61 (19.7%) on depression. Knowledge gaps on suicide, eating disorders, substance use, and happiness were identified. The retrieved articles appeared in 193 different journals and approximately two-thirds of the active journal were in general medicine, public health, and education.

CONCLUSIONS

The contribution of researchers in the Arab region to the field showed a noticeable increase with time. However, important research gaps were identified. The contribution was confined to authors from a limited number of Arab countries. Funding and international research collaboration for the mental health and well-being of students need to be strengthened.

Review of the literature regarding early intervention for children and adolescents aged 0-15 experiencing a first-episode psychiatric disturbance

AIM

The purpose of this review is to report on existing literature regarding children and adolescents younger than 16 years of age experiencing a first-episode psychiatric disturbance. Rather than providing a comprehensive list of service implications, this paper identifies some of the gaps in knowledge and practice to encourage ongoing analysis regarding better practices for early intervention for children and adolescents experiencing a first-episode psychiatric disturbance.

METHODS

A search was conducted to identify key evidence-based literature published from 1985 to 2007 discussing various aspects of child and youth mental health in Canada, the USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The review also included 'grey' literature. Categories of information include diagnoses, pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment, prevalence, environmental and other risk factors, and demographic variables.

RESULTS

Understanding first-episode psychiatric disturbance for patients under the age of 16 years is limited because of a scarcity of controlled studies focusing on this population. Programme evaluations are sparse, perhaps because of the small number of specialized units servicing this population. It may be helpful to enlist early intervention psychosis programmes that have been successful in assisting young people aged 16-24 in the development of better practices and care outcomes for younger age groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The authors highlight information that has the potential to assist in optimizing care for those youth younger than 16 years experiencing or exhibiting signs of a first-episode psychiatric disturbance.

Strengths and limitations of breast cancer risk assessment

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES

To evaluate current definitions of breast cancer risk and breast cancer risk assessment models, including the Gail, Claus, and BRCAPRO models, and discuss potential markers to enhance and standardize individual risk assessment.

DATA SOURCES

Published articles, conference proceedings, and textbooks.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Defining high risk for breast cancer development is explored, and options for high-risk women are discussed. The risk factors frequently used for risk evaluation, including age, age at menarche, age at first live birth, past history of breast biopsy, family history of breast cancer, and the presence of atypical hyperplasia, are reviewed.

CONCLUSIONS

Current models of breast cancer risk assessment are limited. Exploring the progression from healthy tissue to malignancy through techniques such as fine needle aspiration, ductal lavage, and nipple aspiration may lead to more precise individualized risk prediction.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING

More accurate information regarding personal breast cancer risk is necessary. Oncology nurses may facilitate the use of appropriate tools that provide the most individualized risk assessment.

[Validation of the SCOFF questionnaire for screening the eating behaviour disorders of adolescents in school]

OBJECTIVE

To determine the internal consistency and criteria validity of the SCOFF questionnaire for screening adolescent eating behaviour disorders.

DESIGN

Validation study with stochastic sampling.

SETTING

Three schools at Bucaramanga, Colombia.

PARTICIPANTS

241 students selected at random from 1595 possible ones.

MAIN INTERVENTIONS

SCOFF questionnaire and semi-structured CIDI interview, administered independently.

MAIN MEASUREMENTS

Social and personal details, Cronbach's alpha, sensitivity analysis, specificity, forecast values, Cohen mean kappa test, and ROC curve.

RESULTS

Sensitivity found was 81.9% (95% CI, 70.7-89.7) and specificity, 78.7% (95% CI, 71.7-84.6). The area under the ROC curve was 0.8596 (95% CI, 0.8108-0.9084); the Cronbach's alpha test, 0.436, and the Cohen mean kappa, 0.554 (95% CI, 0.425-0.683).

CONCLUSIONS

The SCOFF questionnaire is an acceptable alternative for screening groups of adolescents because of its simplicity and speed of administration.

An evidence-based eating disorder program

The Children's Hospital of Denver has an internationally renowned outpatient-inpatient treatment program for children, adolescents, and young adults with eating disorders (EDs). A unique feature of this ED program is its inpatient location on a medical unit. The nurses are medically trained, yet their patients with EDs have complex emotional and psychological problems. To address the special needs of these patients, a child life specialist worked in collaboration with other members of an ED health care team to create a program better serving ED pediatric patients. An evidence-based approach was used to drive this program. The child life specialist queried other health care facilities for best practice ideas, searched the literature, and analyzed unit-based ED data to design a program matching the needs of the patients.