Journal of Health Reports and Technology
Volume:10 Issue: 2, Apr 2024

 Mental health help-seeking is the initial step in evaluating one's mental state, receiving an accurate diagnosis and professional intervention for mental health problems.

 The current study aimed to determine the mental health help-seeking attitudes of older adults in Kermanshah.

 This descriptive cross-sectional research study was conducted in 2022 among 538 individuals aged 60 and above who were beneficiaries of the pension funds in Kermanshah, Iran. The samples were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. Data were collected through interviews with older adults using a standardized questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software version 16.

 The mean age of respondents was 66.01 ± 4.09, ranging from 60 to 75 years. About 39% (210 people) of older adults had positive mental health help-seeking attitudes, and 61% (328 people) had negative mental health help-seeking attitudes. The positive mental health help-seeking attitudes were higher in older adults with higher educational levels (P < 0.001) and better economic status (P = 0.029).

 The majority of the older adults had a negative attitude towards mental health help-seeking, highlighting the importance of interventions to improve elderly attitudes toward mental health help-seeking.

Context:

 Impairment in social interactions and daily activities of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients is one of the negative and important consequences of ASD. Recently, the use of non-pharmacological methods to improve behavior and rehabilitation in patients with ASD has attracted the attention of researchers and specialist physicians. According to the mentioned topic, This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of neurofeedback (NF) in improving social interactions and activity of daily living (ADL) in children with ASD.

Evidence Acquisition:

 This narrative review obtained the desired results by collecting previous similar studies related to the study's primary purpose. First, 182 articles were extracted through the search of MeSH (medical subject headings) terms associated with the particular objectives of the study in international reliable databases. Then, twenty-five studies were selected as final studies considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

 The results of the present study showed that NF can help to improve the performance of children with ASD through brain waves as a new treatment method based on conditioning and reinforcement. NF helps identify cognitive problems and improve cognitive processes in autistic children by improving self-regulation of the brain. In addition, NF leads to better cognitive performance by increasing beta waves and decreasing theta waves. On the other hand, increasing beta waves increases alertness, concentration, and metabolism, which can improve cognitive and social functioning.

 Based on the results, NF has a positive and significant effect in improving social interactions and ADL in children with autism spectrum disorder. Therefore, this method should be used to improve behavioral disorders and strengthen the ADL of patients with ASD, considering the side effects of pharmacological intervention methods.

 Spouses of veterans face many psychological problems, so it is necessary to use different methods to manage the care of veterans and their spouses.

 This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the extended parallel process model (EPPM) on the self-efficacy of spouses of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

 The present study was semi-experimental research carried out by control and intervention groups with a pre-test and post-test design. Thirty veterans' spouses were selected randomly and divided into two groups: the control group (15 people) and the group trained with EPPM (15 people). The intervention type was the training, and the method of implementation of the intervention was holding six sessions. The training was based on EPPM; each session was 30 to 40 minutes. The parenting self-agency measure (PSAM) questionnaire evaluated the self-efficacy variable before and after the intervention. Finally, the results were analyzed using statistical tests in the SPSS software Version 21 environment at the significance level (α = 0.05).

 The independent samples t-test showed that the self-efficacy level before the intervention was not significantly different among all two study groups (P=0.18). At the same time, this difference was significant after the intervention (P<0.001). In addition, based on the paired samples t-test, there was no significant difference in the level of self-efficacy in the pre-and post-intervention steps for the control group (P=0.89). At the same time, the above-mentioned subject had a significant difference for the group of trained with EPPM (P<0.001).

 Based on the results, the EPPM Model had a significant positive effect on the self-efficacy of spouses of veterans with PTSD. Therefore, the model above should be implemented continuously to improve how veteran care is managed and planned for veterans' spouses.