Background Living alone has become more common in today’s societies. Despite the high number of the population living alone, research directed towards the mental wellbeing issues related to living alone has been limited. This systematic literature review aimed to assess the association between living alone and positive mental health. Methods We conducted searches in Medline, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and other complementary databases from January 1998 to May 2019. Randomised trials and observational studies investigating adults over 18 years of age and living alone (defined as living in a single household or a household size of one person) were eligible. The primary outcome was positive mental health, defined as comprising both hedonic and eudaimonic elements of mental wellbeing, and it was measured with the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale and/or theWHO-5 Index. Two reviewers independently screened and selected data; one reviewer extracted data, and the second checked the extracted data. A narrative synthesis described the quality and content of the evidence. Included studies were appraised using relevant Joanna Briggs Institute checklist. Results A total of 4 cross-sectional studies (22,591 adult participants) were included after screening of 341 titles and abstracts and 46 full-text articles. These studies were conducted in Europe and were published between 2014 and 2017. The studies differed in their measurements of positive mental health (WHO-5 Well-Being Index, 3 studies; WEMWBS, 1 study), sources of data (1 regional, 1 national, and 2 European-level studies), and study populations (regional study, adults over 65 years of age; national-level study, mental health nurses over 21 years of age; European-level studies, employees between 15 and 65 years of age and adults over 18 years of age). A potential association between living alone and low positive mental health was found in three out of the four studies. Our findings were limited as the number of included studies was low and the quality of evidence varied across studies. Conclusions This review allows a limited look at the association between living alone and positive mental health. Because the number of included studies was low and the quality of evidence varied across studies, further research is warranted. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13643-019-1057-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Objective: The aim is to report the outcomes of the suicide prevention training in terms of the self-perceived impact on the participants. Design: The three-hour training consisted areas of risk and protective factors, screening and evaluating suicide risk, raising concerns and confronting suicidal patients, and treating suicidal ideation in primary healthcare and the associated referral processes. Subjects: The studied participants consisted of general practitioners, nurses, public health nurses and social work professionals. Main outcome measures: Participants assessed their own competence on online form regarding four training areas prior to and two weeks after the training. Results: The response rate was 25%. The self-perceived competence of the healthcare professionals increased in all training areas and in all occupational groups. The healthcare professionals' competence regarding the risk and protective factors training area saw the greatest increase across all professional groups except nurses. There were, however, differences between the groups. Conclusion: Suicide prevention training for primary healthcare professionals did increase the self-perceived competence of the participants in all areas covered by the training. Regular follow-up training is required in order for these improvements to be further developed and retained. KEY POINTSAfter the suicide prevention training all participants self-perceived increase in their competence in all training areas. The GPs self-perceived most increase in risk and protective factors and nurses in raising concerns and confronting suicidal patients. The GPs' lowest increase was in the area of treating suicidal ideation in primary health care and the referral processes.
The study provides new information on what competencies are needed to plan, implement and evaluate mental health promotion in health sector practice, with the aim of contributing to a more effective workforce. The competencies provide aid in planning training programmes and qualifications, as well as job descriptions and roles in health sector workplaces related to mental health promotion.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.