Public Mental Health Approaches to Online Radicalisation: An Empty Systematic Review

This systematic review seeks to position online radicalisation within whole system frameworks incorporating individual, family, community and wider structural influences whilst reporting evidence of public mental health approaches for individuals engaging in radical online content.

METHODS

the authors searched Medline (via Ovid), PsycInfo (via Ebscohost) and Web of Science (Core Collection) with the use of Boolean operators across "extremism", "online content" and "intervention".

RESULTS

Following full-text assessments, all retrieved papers were excluded. No publications fulfilled the primary objective of reporting public mental health interventions specifically addressing online radicalisation. However, six publications fulfilled the secondary objective of identifying theoretical and conceptual relationships amongst elements in the three inclusion criteria (online extremism, psychological outcomes and intervention strategy) that could inform interventions within public mental health frameworks. These publications were quality assessed and discussed following the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care guide for reporting empty reviews.

CONCLUSIONS

there is an immediate need for further research in this field given the increase in different factions of radicalised beliefs resulting from online, particularly social media, usage.

Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation of the COVID-19 Response in the Africa Region

As the COVID-19 pandemic swept throughout the world, it created a demand for information to help understand the public health response and its effects. Limited capacity to see and interpret data-"sensemaking" with measures of progress-affects the use of data for quality improvement. The World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO) supported partners from the Member States in using a participatory monitoring and evaluation system to document and systematically reflect on the COVID-19 response at the country level. The WHO AFRO's COVID-19 Response Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) team captured and communicated response activities based on available reports from 35 of the 47 member countries. By reviewing reports and communications, the M&E team documented nearly 8,000 COVID-19 response activities during the study period (January 2020 through July 2021). A "sensemaking" protocol was used to support country partners in identifying factors associated with increases or decreases in both new cases and response activities. This report describes this participatory M&E approach and process of shared sensemaking. We illustrate with a country-level case study of the COVID-19 response in the Africa Region.

Emerging challenges in meeting physiotherapy needs during COVID-19 through telerehabilitation

Background

Physiotherapy plays a significant role in rehabilitation. However, the emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed a big challenge to its practice, especially regarding the level of contact with patients. There is a dire need for the exploration of rehabilitation options, other than in-person contacts, to limit the spread of the virus. This article explores telerehabilitation, its outcomes, and the challenges involved in the continuum of care of patients by physiotherapists in the face of the pandemic.

Body

Telerehabilitation is a vital tool which utilizes technology to link practitioners to patients. With its previous history of favorable outcomes for the rehabilitation of certain conditions, telerehabilitation has been widely recommended. However, issues exist on how well it can bridge the gap of physical touch in physiotherapy, its effectiveness in terms of outcomes and satisfaction across various conditions and large population sizes, and finally, its cost and effects, especially in developing countries.

Conclusion

Telerehabilitation is a necessary adaptation to ensure continued physiotherapy service delivery during the pandemic. However, more quality studies are recommended to evaluate its effectiveness and outcomes. Also, measures to ensure that developing countries are catered for in meeting the rising demands for physiotherapy services using telerehabilitation should be carried out.