Influence of learning stress on anxiety levels among high school students in China: the chain-mediated role of physical activity and mobile phone addiction

Objectives
The objectives are to explore the relationship between study stress and anxiety in high school students and the mediating role of physical activity and mobile phone addiction.

Design
A cross-sectional study.

Setting
129 high schools were randomly selected in 13 cities of Jiangsu province, China.

Participants
High school students aged 16–19 years, age and gender balance. A total of 40 000 questionnaires were distributed, with 32 974 effectively recovered.

Primary and secondary outcome measures
Questionnaires were administered offline, covering four parts: General Demographics, Learning Stress Scale, International Physical Activity Questionnaire, Mobile Phone Addiction Scale and Generalized Anxiety Scale-7. Data analysis included path analysis and correlation analysis, along with descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, correlation analysis and structural equation model.

Results
In this study, the proportions of anxiety, high academic pressure, low physical activity level and high mobile phone addiction were 58.18%, 46.48%, 36.40% and 39.26%, respectively. Study stress was positively correlated with anxiety (r=0.130, p physical activity level – > mobile phone addiction – > anxiety’ was 0.072, and the 95% CI of Bootstrap (0.226, 0.400), and the mediating effect was significant.

Conclusions
High school students’ learning stress can significantly positively predict anxiety levels. High school students learning stress indirectly predicts anxiety through the independent mediating effect of physical activity and mobile phone addiction, as well as the chain mediating effect of physical activity and mobile phone addiction.

Leggi
Novembre 2024

Stress and its associated factors in mothers with preterm infants in a private tertiary care hospital of Karachi, Pakistan: an analytical cross-sectional study

Objectives
This goal of this research is to present a comprehensive method for evaluating stress and the factors that contribute to it in mothers of premature babies.

Design
Analytical cross-sectional study.

Setting
Data were collected from inpatient service for preterm infants including neonatal intensive care unit, and neonatal step-down units of the Aga Khan University Hospital—a private tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.

Participants
Mothers aged 18 years and above who delivered preterm infants (gestational age of preterm below 37 weeks) in a private tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.

Primary outcome
Stress in mothers of preterm infants.

Results
200 participants with a mean age of 30.12 years (SD ±5.21) were assessed. The level of stress identified using the perceived stress scale (PSS) among mothers who had delivered preterm infants was significantly higher as compared with other countries around the world. Based on the criteria of PSS scoring, the majority of the participants (92%, n=184) were categorised as having high perceived stress and 8% (n=16) of the mothers fell into the category of moderate stress.

Conclusions
The study findings suggest high levels of perceived stress among mothers of preterm infants. The factors associated with the stress among mothers of preterm infants included immunisation of newborn, education and occupation status of mothers, substance abuse by mother, gender preference from family, planning for further children, consumption of balance diet, education status of husband, mode of socialisation, years of marriage and hours of sleep.

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Novembre 2024

Preference of mHealth versus in-person treatment for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in Kenya: demographic and clinical characteristics

Objectives
We conducted an implementation science mental health treatment study in western Kenya, testing strategies for scale up of evidence-based mental health services for common adult disorders using a non-specialist workforce, integrated with existing primary care (Sequential Multiple, Assignment Randomized Trial of non-specialist-delivered psychotherapy (Interpersonal Psychotherapy) and/or medication (fluoxetine) for major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (SMART DAPPER)). Because study launch coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, participants were allowed to attend treatment visits via mHealth (audio-only mobile phone) or in-person. We conducted a secondary data analysis of the parent study to evaluate preference for mHealth or in-person treatment among our study participants, including rationale for choosing in-person or mHealth treatment modality, and comparison of baseline demographic and clinical characteristics.

Design, setting, participants and interventions
Participants were public sector primary care patients at Kisumu County Hospital in western Kenya with major depression and/or PTSD and were individually randomised to non-specialist delivery of evidence-based psychotherapy or medication (n=2162).

Outcomes
Treatment modality preference and rationale were ascertained before randomised assignment to treatment arm (psychotherapy or medication). The parent SMART DAPPER study baseline assessment included core demographic (age, gender, relationship status, income, clinic transport time and cost) and clinical data (eg, depression and PTSD symptoms, trauma exposures, medical comorbidities and history of mental healthcare). Given that this evaluation of mHealth treatment preference sought to identify the demographic and clinical characteristics of participants who chose in-person or mHealth treatment modality, we included most SMART DAPPER core measurement domains (not all subcategories).

Results
649 (30.3%) SMART DAPPER participants preferred treatment via mHealth, rather than in person. The most cited rationales for choosing mHealth were affordability (18.5%) (eg, no transportation cost) and convenience (12.9%). On multivariate analysis, compared with those who preferred in-person treatment, participants who chose mHealth were younger and had higher constraints on receiving in-person treatment, including transport time 1.004 (1.00, 1.007) and finances 0.757 (0.612, 0.936). Higher PTSD symptoms 0.527 (0.395, 0.702) and higher disability 0.741 (0.559, 0.982) were associated with preference for in-person treatment.

Conclusions
To our knowledge, this is the first study of public sector mental healthcare delivered by non-specialists via mHealth for major depression and/or PTSD in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our finding that mHealth treatment is preferred by approximately one-third of participants, particularly younger individuals with barriers to in-person care, may inform future mHealth research to (1) address knowledge gaps in mental health service implementation and (2) improve mental healthcare access to evidence-based treatment.

Trial registration number
NCT03466346.

Leggi
Novembre 2024