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Background: The ever-increasing spread of Internet-based systems for common mental disorders has generated the need for brief online screening methods. This study aims to test the psychometric properties of the Web Screening Questionnaire (WSQ) to examine its suitability for screening for common mental health problems among a community sample of Italian adults. Methods: A total of 1282 subjects (F = 819; mean age = 42.05) answered the WSQ. Its discriminant characteristics were examined with other validated selected scales for measuring mental health widely used in the Italian population using sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC), as well as positive (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV). Results: Most of the WSQ subscales exhibited moderate to high specificity values. Specifically, the scales of ‘agoraphobia’ (0.947; 95%CI [0.934, 0.960]), ‘anxiety’ (0.959; 95%CI [0.946, 0.970]), and ‘panic disorder’ (0.973; 95%CI [0.964, 0.981]) showed the highest values whilst the ‘obsessive-compulsive’ dimension had the lowest value at 0.838, 95%CI [0.815, 0.861]. With exceptions observed for ‘depression’ (0.716; 95%CI [642, 798]) and ‘alcohol abuse’ (0.760; 95%CI [560, 920]), instead, the WSQ demonstrated critical sensitivity values (<0.6) in all dimensions. Conclusions: The WSQ was appropriate for discriminating between people with and without a psychiatric condition, as it helps to confirm the absence of disorders. However, further diagnostic procedures are required, in case of a positive WSQ screening result.

Background: Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) for anorexia nervosa (AN) is an intervention specifically focused on addressing cognitive difficulties associated with the eating disorder. This systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analysis aimed to provide a summary of the existing literature examining the efficacy of CRT in improving the neuropsychological, psychological, and clinical parameters of patients with AN. Methods: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses were sought in electronic databases, encompassing studies that explored the impact of CRT on AN. Three eligible reviews were identified based on the inclusion criteria. The Revised Assessment of Multiple SysTemAtic Reviews (R-AMSTAR) was employed to evaluate the methodological quality of the reviews, and all included reviews demonstrated satisfactory methodological quality with an R-AMSTAR score of >= 22. Relevant information was extracted from each review and qualitatively compiled. Results: Findings suggest that CRT can help people increase their awareness of cognitive styles and information processing and have a positive effect on patients' responses to treatment. Conclusions: Further research is required to better understand its impact on other relevant outcomes, including psychological variables, to optimize the treatment's benefits.

Introduction Providing informal care to one's romantic partner who is ill may become a highly distressing and demanding task. Based on the innovative dyadic coping model, several support interventions have been developed to alleviate informal caregivers' burden, including both caregivers' and care receivers' needs. Considering the unique challenges characterising the caregiving phenomenon, such as geographical barriers and time restrictions, digital solutions should be considered. However, there is a lack of research examining the effectiveness of dyadic digital solutions. Thus, this review aims to examine the existing literature on the efficacy of dyadic digital psychological interventions designed for caregivers and their care-receivers couples within the illness context. Methods and analysis Randomised controlled trials targeting caregivers' burden among dyads of informal caregivers and care receivers will be identified via an electronic search of the following databases: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Cinhal, Scopus, PsycINFO, MEDLINE and supplemented by hand searching of previous systematic reviews. The search will be undertaken following the PICO (population, intervention, comparison and outcome) elements. If possible, a meta-analysis will be conducted to examine: (1) the effectiveness of dyadic digital psychological interventions for reducing caregivers' burden (primary outcome) among caregivers who are in a romantic relationship with the care receivers; (2) the effectiveness of dyadic digital psychological interventions on secondary outcomes such as anxiety, depression, stress, quality of life, well-being and self-efficacy among caregivers and care receivers; and (3) moderating effects of clinical and methodological factors on caregivers' burden. Prior to inclusion in the review, retrieved papers will be critically appraised by two independent reviewers. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool will assess the risk of bias for randomised controlled trials. Ethi

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Background: During the COVID‐19 pandemic, healthcare providers and informal caregivers were at an increased risk of adverse mental health effects. This systematic review provides a summary of the available evidence on the content and efficacy of the psychological support interventions in increasing mental health among healthcare providers and informal caregivers during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods: PubMed, Google Scholar, PsychINFO, and Scopus databases were systematically searched for relevant articles, and the methodological quality of selected articles was assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. Results: A search of electronic databases identified five reports based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. All psychological support interventions for caregivers were delivered digitally. Despite the large heterogeneity of the selected studies, the findings support the efficacy of mental health interventions in reducing distress and burnout, while promoting self‐efficacy and well‐being in both healthcare providers and informal caregivers. Conclusion: Since mental health problems are expected to increase during, and as a result of, the COVID‐19 pandemic, and digital tools might offer a range of mental health treatments to meet the unique and immediate needs of people, further research is needed to test the cost‐effectiveness of digital psychological interventions.

Objective: Informal care, defined as the unpaid care provided to an older, frail or ill person, by a person such as a spouse, parent, child, other relative, neighbour, friend, may lead to stress, burden and low well-being levels. As the phenomenon of informal care is growing, there is a need of psychological interventions in order to support informal caregivers. Evidence-based psychological treatments obtained good results in terms of well-being, but access to these treatments could be difficult for caregivers due to the of lack of time and financial strains. Internet-based interventions could be a possible solution within this scenario. "SOSteniamoci", an Internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Treatment program, consisting of 8 modules, will be adapted and tested in Italy. Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial involving 128 informal caregivers will be conducted. Participants will be recruited from the Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS1 and social media advertisements. After initial screening they will be randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a waiting list group. Expected results: During the last decade, internet-based cognitive behavioral interventions have been developed and tested. This therapeutic approach, due to its characteristics, could be beneficial in supporting informal caregivers. We expect this intervention to be feasible and efficient in reducing caregivers' burden, anxiety, depression and stress, while improving caregivers' quality of life and the quality of relationship with the care receiver.

Frailty is a new and interesting concept that describes a preclinical condition in which elderly are more vulnerable and the possibility to develop pathologies increases. Often, the physical decline is related to cognitive impairments: Subjects in this situation are defined as cognitive frail patients. The literature connected to this syndrome is growing steadily and a bibliometric analysis is needed to better understand the evolution and the current state of the art. In this article, several domains are analyzed: Authors, categories, countries, institutions and journals. An interesting scenario emerged from the data: On the one hand, outcomes show a strong interest in understanding the real diffusion of this phenomenon using demographics and statistical methods. On the other hand, it emerged the increasing application of mathematical models to the study of medical phenomena.

Background: Unilateral Spatial Neglect (USN) is traditionally assessed with paper-and-pencil tests or computer-based tests. Thanks to the wide-spreading of mobile devices, and the extensive capabilities that they have in dealing complex elements, it is possible to provide clinicians with tools for cognitive assessment. Contemporary 3D engine is, in general generally, able to deploy complex 3D environments for iOS, Android and Windows mobile, i.e., most of the mobile phone and tablet operative systems. Results: This brand-new scenario and pressing requests from professionals, pushed us to build an application for the assessment of USN. Our first attempt was to replicate the classic cognitive tests, traditionally used at this purpose. Ecological assessment is difficult in real scenarios so we implemented virtual environments to assess patients' abilities in realistic situations. At the moment, the application is available only for iPad and iPhone for free, from the Apple Store, under the name of "Neglect App." The App contains traditional tests (e.g., barrage with and without distractors) and ecological tests (e.g., to distribute the tea in a table to close people). Scoring of each test is available to the clinicians through a database with the executed ecological tasks, that are stored locally. Conclusion: In conclusion, Neglect App is an advanced mobile platform for the assessment of Neglect.