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Against the backdrop of the COVID‐19 pandemic, workplace wellbeing is a key priority for employers. Severe market and health conditions continue to bring inevitable problems that could be reduced with the application of psychological interventions to prevent mental and physical health issues, making this study a highly pertinent and valuable contribution to the field. This paper reports the effects of a rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) programme on the irrational beliefs and emotional reactivity of 56 office‐based sales professionals located in the northwest region of the UK. A pre‐test, post‐test experimental design was utilised, and a mixed model ANOVA (repeated measures) was adopted to assess changes in mean differences concerning irrational beliefs and emotional reactivity at pre and post‐test stages for the intervention group, in comparison to a control group. Results indicate that those in the REBT group reported significant reductions in irrational beliefs and emotional reactivity, whilst those in the control group reported no such changes. It is recommended that future research studies consider utilizing a mixed methods design and focus on a strategic collaboration of organisational and individual level interventions for improving the psychological wellbeing and performance of sales personnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To generate, test and refine programme theories that emerged from a rapid realist review investigating practising UK Nurses' and Midwives' experiences of effective leadership strategies during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Background: The realist review of literature generated six tentative theories of healthful leadership practices reflecting, working with people's beliefs and values; being facilitative; multiple means of communication and; practical support. The review yielded little insight into the actual impact of the leadership approaches advocated. Methods: A realist study, informed by person‐centredness using mixed‐methods. Online survey (n = 328) and semi‐structured interviews (n = 14) of nurses and midwives across the UK in different career positions/specialities. Quantitative data analysed using descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis. Framework analysis for qualitative data using context (C), mechanism (M), outcome (O) configurations of the tentative theories. Results: Three refined theories were identified concerning: Visibility and availability; embodying values and; knowing self. Healthful leadership practices are only achievable within organisational cultures that privilege well‐being. Conclusions: Leaders should intentionally adopt practices that promote well‐being. 'Knowing self' as a leader, coaching and mentoring practice development is important for leadership development. Implications for Clinical Practice: Nurses who feel valued, heard, cared for and safe are more likely to remain in clinical practice. Job satisfaction and being motivated to practice with confidence and competence will impact positively on patient outcomes. Impact: The study addresses the role of leadership in developing healthful workplace cultures. The main findings were six leadership practices that promote healthful cultures. The research will have an impact on strategic and clinical leaders, nurses and midwives. Reporting Method: This study used EQUATOR checklist, RAMASES II as reporting standards for realist evaluations. Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has suggested that older trans and gender non-conforming (TGNC) people may face particular challenges related to stigma, social exclusion and discrimination in later life. However, direct data on social support and needs in older TGNC population both internationally and within the UK is limited due to the small, dispersed nature of this population, and the absence of specific data collection on aging TGNC populations. During the UK COVID-19 lockdown in summer 2020, older people and those with long-term health conditions were advised to adopt particular precautions. This study aimed to explore older TGNC people's social support networks, key concerns and unmet needs during the COVID-19 'lockdown'. A UK cross-sectional survey of LGBT + people aged 60+ (n = 375) was undertaken during the lockdown. This paper analyses responses from the subset (n = 38) of TGNC participants. The majority of TGNC respondents described diverse social networks, often centered around friends and non-kin social networks, although partners and adult children were also significant for some. In most cases, those with existing strong networks continued to maintain social connections during lockdown, albeit with some regrets about loss of activities and face-to-face connection. However, a minority of respondents had experienced greater challenges prior to lockdown, and may have been at increased vulnerability during the pandemic, for example indicating that they had no-one to call on for practical support in an emergency. When asked about unmet needs and challenges, social isolation was repeatedly raised as the most frequent concern. Several respondents also mentioned issues specifically affecting TGNC communities, including access to gender affirming care and a perceived rise in social intolerance. Health and social care providers should be aware of the diversity of support networks within TGNC communities. There may also be benefits in community sector interventions to help older TGNC build and maintain strong social networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and beyond for many businesses, employees have had to adapt to new ways of working due to disruptions in traditional practices. It is therefore crucial to understand the new challenges that employees are facing when it comes to taking care of their mental wellbeing at work. To that end, we distributed a survey to full-time UK employees (N = 451) to explore how supported they felt throughout the pandemic, and to identify whether there are any additional types of support they would like to receive. We also compared employees' intentions to seek help before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic, and assessed their current attitudes toward mental health. Based on direct employee feedback, our results show remote workers felt more supported throughout the pandemic compared to hybrid workers. We also found that employees who had previously experienced an episode of anxiety or depression were significantly more likely to want extra support at work compared to those who had not. Furthermore, employees were significantly more likely to seek help for their mental health during the pandemic compared to before. Interestingly, the largest increase in intentions to seek help during the pandemic compared to before was with digital health solutions. Finally, we found that the strategies managers have adopted to better support their employees, an employee's mental health history, and their attitude to mental health all contributed to significantly increasing the likelihood that an employee would disclose a mental health concern to their line manager. We provide recommendations that encourage organisations to make changes to better support their employees, and we highlight the importance of mental health awareness training for both managers and employees. This work is of particular interest to organisations who are looking to tailor their current employee wellbeing offer to a post-pandemic world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be one of the greatest public health challenges faced by the UK. Reported rates of psychiatric difficulties have increased and the mechanisms by which the pandemic has affected mental health requires investigation. Aims: The aim of the study was to understand the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health anxiety in the general population, with a focus on Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, which provides specialist mental health care within Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Methods: We invited participants aged 18+ across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire to complete an online questionnaire consisting of standardised questionnaires measuring psychological wellbeing, non-standardised questions to provide demographic information, and information about social circumstances and behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were then invited via email to complete a 3-month follow-up questionnaire. Results: About 324 participants completed the baseline survey while 199 completed the follow-up. Our analysis demonstrated that higher scores on a health anxiety inventory were related to reports of depression, anxiety, loneliness, poor quality of life and obsessive-compulsive symptoms and panic. We also identified several predictors of health anxiety such as being female, having a pre-existing physical or mental health condition, and poor tolerance of uncertainty. Lifestyle and demographic factors such as changes in financial situation, changes in employment status, having a close relative or friend with COVID-19, being able to do grocery shopping, being a key worker, and ethnicity were not found to predict health anxiety. Conclusions: Awareness of the impact of health anxiety on people needs to be consistently high among healthcare professionals, especially in the continuing fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The relationship between health anxiety and fatigue, sleep quality, gender and co-morbid mental and physical health difficulties needs to be investigated further to determine areas of intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that stress impacts on people's religious beliefs. However, several aspects of this effect remain poorly understood, for example regarding the role of prior religiosity and stress-induced anxiety. This paper explores these aspects in the context of the recent coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The latter has impacted dramatically on many people's well-being; hence it can be considered a highly stressful event. Through online questionnaires administered to UK (n = 140) and USA (n = 140) citizens professing either Christian faith or no religion, this paper examines the impact of the coronavirus crisis upon common people's religious beliefs. Anxiety about the coronavirus and prior religiosity showed an interaction effect upon change in religious beliefs (t(276) = 2.27, p =.024): for strong believers higher anxiety about coronavirus was associated with increased strengthening of religious beliefs (r =.249), while for non-believers higher anxiety about coronavirus was associated with increased scepticism towards religious beliefs (r = −.157). These observations are consistent with the notion that stress-induced anxiety enhances support for an individual's existing ideology already embraced before a stressful event occurs. This study sheds light on the psychological and cultural implications of the coronavirus crisis, which represents one of the most serious health emergencies in recent times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]