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The high prevalence of psychological problems observed among healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID‐19 pandemic called for interventions to safeguard their mental health. We assessed the effectiveness of a 6‐week online mindfulness‐based intervention in improving well‐being and reducing stress among HCWs in Sri Lanka. Eighty HCWs were recruited and randomised into two groups: waitlist‐control (WLC) and intervention groups. In the intervention, 1‐hour online sessions were conducted at weekly intervals and participants were encouraged to do daily home practice. Stress and well‐being were measured pre‐ and post‐intervention using the Perceived Stress Scale and WHO‐5 Well‐being Index, respectively. One‐way analysis of covariance was used to evaluate the effectiveness, in both intention‐to‐treat (ITT) and complete‐case (CC) analyses. A significantly greater improvement in well‐being occurred in the intervention arm compared to WLC on both ITT (p =.002) and CC analyses (p <.001), with medium‐to‐large effect sizes (partial η2 =.117–.278). However, the reduction in stress following the intervention was not significant compared to the WLC group on both ITT (p =.636) and CC analyses (p =.262). In the intervention arm, the median number of sessions attended by participants was 3. Low adherence to the intervention may have contributed to the apparent non‐significant effect on stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimation of rates of suicidal behaviors (ideation, plan, and attempt) would help to understand the burden and prioritize prevention strategies. However, no attempt to assess suicidal behavior among students was identified in South-East Asia (SEA). We aimed to assess the prevalence of suicidal behavior (ideation, plan, and attempt) among students in SEA. We followed PRISMA 2020 guidelines and registered the protocol in PROSPERO (CRD42022353438). We searched in Medline, Embase, and PsycINFO and performed meta-analyses to pool the lifetime, 1-year, and point prevalence rates for suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts. We considered the duration of a month for point prevalence. The search identified 40 separate populations from which 46 were included in the analyses, as some studies included samples from multiple countries. The pooled prevalence of suicidal ideation was 17.4% (confidence interval [95% CI], 12.4%–23.9%) for lifetime, 9.33% (95% CI, 7.2%–12%) for the past year, and 4.8% (95% CI, 3.6%–6.4%) for the present time. The pooled prevalence of suicide plans was 9% (95% CI, 6.2%–12.9%) for lifetime, 7.3% (95% CI, 5.1%–10.3%) for the past year, and 2.3% (95% CI, 0.8%–6.7%) for the present time. The pooled prevalence of suicide attempts was 5.2% (95% CI, 3.5%–7.8%) for lifetime and 4.5% (95% CI, 3.4%–5.8%) for the past year. Higher rates of suicide attempts in the lifetime were noted in Nepal (10%) and Bangladesh (9%), while lower rates were reported in India (4%) and Indonesia (5%). Suicidal behaviors are a common phenomenon among students in the SEA region. These findings call for integrated, multisectoral efforts to prevent suicidal behaviors in this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Estimates of depression in suicidal behavior in South Asia would help to formulate suicide prevention strategies in the region that hasn't been assessed yet. Objectives: We aimed to systematically assess the prevalence of depression in fatal and non-fatal attempts of suicide in eight South Asian countries. Methods: We searched Medline, Embase, and PsychINFO by specific search terms to identify articles assessing depression in fatal and non-fatal attempts of suicide in South Asian countries published between 2001 and 2020. Two separate meta-analyses were conducted for fatal and non-fatal attempts. Due to the high heterogeneity of studies (96–98%), random-effects models were used to calculate pooled prevalence rates. Results: A total of 38 studies was identified from five south Asian countries (India [27], Pakistan [6], Sri Lanka [3], Nepal [1], and Bangladesh [1]). The majority of studies (n = 27) were published after 2010. Twenty-two studies reported non-fatal attempts, and sixteen reported suicide. The prevalence of depression among non-fatal attempts ranged from 14% to 78% where the pooled prevalence rate was 32.7% [95% CI 26–39.3%]. The prevalence of depression among suicides ranged from 8% to 79% where the pooled prevalence estimate was 37.3% [95% CI 26.9–47.6%]. Conclusions: This review revealed the pooled prevalence of depression among fatal and non-fatal suicidal attempts in South Asian countries, which seems to be lower when comparedto the Western countries. However, a cautious interpretation is warranted due to the heterogeneity of study methods, sample size, and measurement of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BRS is probably the only measure to assess resilience in its most basic meaning - the ability to "bounce back."[2] Furthermore, among resilience scales, BRS is short and, therefore, would generate better response rates in research. The procedure for questionnaire translation followed the recommendations of Beaton et al. (2000).[6] Firstly, BRS was translated into each local language (Sinhalese and Tamil) independently by two bilingual experts, and a consensus translation was prepared. [Extracted from the article]

AbstractObjectiveMethodsResultsConclusionsThe aim of this study was to create age-stratified norms for the Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) for Sri Lankan adults.A sample of 610 adults (age: 18–72 years; education: 1–19 years), underwent the 60-item version of the SPM under individual supervision of a test administrator. The sample was stratified into 5-year age bands, and the norms are presented as percentile tables and percentile curves.The age-related changes were more accurately predicted by a curvilinear model (overall R2 = 0.961) than a linear regression model (R2 = 0.639). The SPM norms are presented as age-stratified percentile tables, as well as sex-, age- and education-adjusted multiple regression equations. The highest percentiles in the younger end of the age spectrum showed a ceiling effect. In the context of age-stratified US (1993) and British (1992) norms, older individuals in the Sri Lankan sample scored much lower than their Western counterparts. However, the difference narrowed in the younger age bands, showing no difference among the 18-to-22-year age bands in the three countries.This age-by-country interaction can be partly explained by poorer education in the older individuals in the present sample compared to those in the US and UK standardization samples. SPM norms presented in this paper fill a hiatus in assessment of general intellectual ability in Sri Lankan adults. Given that Sri Lanka improves its educational, socioeconomic and health standards faster than the nations who have already reached higher standards, these norms would require re-standardization in the coming decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]