Public health teams need to understand how the public responds to vaccination messages in a pandemic or epidemic to inform successful campaigns encouraging the uptake of new vaccines as they become available. A rapid systematic review was performed by searching PsycINFO, MEDLINE, healthevidence.org, OSF Preprints and PsyArXiv Preprints in May 2020 for studies including at least one health message promoting vaccine uptake of airborne-, droplet- and fomite-spread viruses. Included studies were assessed for quality using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) or the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR), and for patient and public involvement (PPI) in the research. Thirty-five articles were included. Most reported messages for seasonal influenza (n = 11; 31%) or H1N1 (n = 11; 31%). Evidence from moderate to high quality studies for improving vaccine uptake included providing information about virus risks and vaccination safety, as well as addressing vaccine misunderstandings, offering vaccination reminders, including vaccination clinic details, and delivering mixed media campaigns across hospitals or communities. Behavioural influences (beliefs and intentions) were improved when: shorter, risk-reducing or relative risk framing messages were used; the benefits of vaccination to society were emphasised; and beliefs about capability and concerns among target populations (e.g., vaccine safety) were addressed. Clear, credible, messages in a language target groups can understand were associated with higher acceptability. Two studies (6%) described PPI in the research process. Future campaigns should consider the beliefs and information needs of target populations in their design, including ensuring that vaccine eligibility and availability is clear, and messages are accessible. More high quality research is needed to demonstrate the effects of messaging interventions on actual vaccine uptake.

Background: People with severe mental illness (SMI) must receive early interventions to prevent mental health deterioration or relapse. Telecommunications and other technologies are increasingly being used to assist in health care delivery using “telehealth,” which includes telephones and mobile phones, computers, remote sensors, the internet, and other devices, to provide immediate real-time information to service users to improve the management of chronic health conditions. Some initial findings have suggested that technology could improve the quality of life of people with SMI. Objective: In this systematic review, we aimed to identify the various uses and efficacy of telehealth technology for SMI. Methods: We systematically searched electronic databases from inception to March 2016 (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, Health Technology Assessment, CINAHL Plus, and NHS Economic Evaluations Database) to identify randomized controlled trials evaluating telehealth for adults with SMI published in English. Additional literature was identified through searching reference lists of key articles. The articles meeting the inclusion criteria were systematically reviewed and assessed for quality and risk of bias. Results: Our search identified 31 articles describing 29 trials as eligible for the review. The included studies evaluated the use of computers to deliver cognitive rehabilitation (15 trials), patient education (3 trials), and Web-based self-management interventions (2 trials) and to support consultations (1 trial). Virtual reality was used to simulate work and social situations (2 trials) and to deliver cognitive training (1 trial). Telephones were used to prompt service users to take medications (3 trials) and to report symptoms to their health care team (1 trial). Remote sensors were used to monitor medication use (1 trial). Telephone support was found effective in improving medication adherence and reducing the severity of symptoms and inpatient days. Computer-assisted cognitive rehabilitation was effective in improving cognitive function. The impact of telehealth on other outcomes was inconsistent. The results of this review should be taken in the context of varied quality in study design, with only 5 studies demonstrating a low risk of bias. Conclusions: A growing variety of telehealth technologies are being used to support the management of SMI. Specific technology types have been found to be effective for some outcomes (eg, telephone and remote medication monitoring for adherence to treatment), while other types of telehealth technologies (eg, delivery of patient education using computers) had no benefit over traditional nurse-based methods and were less acceptable to patients. Further research is warranted to establish the full potential benefits of telehealth for improving the quality of life in people with SMI, acceptability from the service user perspective, and cost-effectiveness. The findings of this review are limited by the poor quality of many of the studies reviewed.

Thyroid eye disease (TED) has been found to reduce quality of life for many patients because of changes in their appearance and vision, although some seem to adjust better than others. This study was designed to investigate whether a patient's quality of life changes after having orbital decompression for improvement of appearance, vision, or both, and whether any demographic, clinical, or psychosocial factors can predict which patients might benefit from this surgery. This study used a within-subjects repeated-measures design, in which patients were assessed before and at 6 weeks and 6 months after surgery. A total of 123 adults (aged >18 years) with TED and undergoing orbital decompression surgery were recruited at Moorfields Eye Hospital. Participants received lateral wall, medial wall, 2.5 wall, or 3 wall decompression and were followed up after surgery with a range of psychosocial and clinical assessments. The Graves' Ophthalmopathy Quality of Life (GO-QOL) scale was completed at each time point, and this was used as the dependent variable in each hierarchical multiple regression model. Significant improvements were found in all clinical characteristics after orbital decompression and in most psychosocial variables. The GO-QOL visual function scores did not change significantly until 6 months after surgery. In contrast, GO-QOL appearance scores changed significantly by 6 weeks after surgery and continued to increase to 6 months, reaching a minimal clinically important difference for this scale. None of the changes in clinical or psychosocial outcomes significantly predicted change in GO-QOL visual function. However, the hierarchical regression model explained 79% of the variance in change in GO-QOL appearance, with change in subjective evaluation of appearance being the only unique predictor of change in appearance-related quality of life. This study highlights the importance of appearance-related cognitions in predicting quality of life outcomes after surgery. Implications for clinical practice need to be considered in light of the limitations of this study, but it is suggested that psychosocial interventions targeting appearance-related cognitive processes, in particular personal evaluation of appearance, could enhance the quality of life outcomes for patients with TED undergoing orbital decompression surgery.

Background: Thyroid eye disease (TED) causes a number of esthetic and visual problems, and its treatment requires close clinical assessment, often for several years. There is evidence to suggest that clinical factors are poor indicators of patient-reported outcomes after treatments that aim to improve appearance, vision, or both. Psychosocial factors can impact on both adjustment to living with TED and also patients' perceptions of their improvements after treatment. There has been growing recognition that it is essential to evaluate treatment efficacy in terms of psychosocial outcomes, but, to date, there has been no review that has systematically evaluated psychosocial outcomes following a variety of treatments for TED. Summary: Fifteen studies were included in the review, and six were randomized controlled trials. The studies varied greatly in methodological rigor; whilst major treatments such as surgery do improve quality of life outcomes, other noninvasive treatments such as intravenous steroids can have a similar impact and show long-term benefits. Only three studies reviewed orbital decompressive surgery, which showed better psychosocial outcomes than other types of surgery. Conclusions: The effect of some treatments remains unclear due to poor methodology and poor reporting of results. Clinicians need to be aware when planning rehabilitative treatments such as surgery of the influence of psychosocial factors on quality of life outcomes and the lack of a relationship with clinical factors such as disease severity.

Purpose: Benign essential blepharospasm (BEB) and hemifacial spasm (HFS) are debilitating conditions causing spasms to the eyes and/or face and can significantly impact on quality of life (QoL). Initial research has highlighted potential factors impacting on QoL in BEB, but there remains a wealth of demographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors that may contribute to QoL but have not received attention. Methods: Cross-sectional baseline data were collected before a single-masked randomised controlled trial from 130 adults with BEB and HFS recruited from botulinum toxin clinics at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London. QoL was measured using the 24-item Craniocervical Dystonia Questionnaire (CDQ24), which provides a total score and five subscale scores relating to Stigma, Emotional state, Pain, Activities of daily living (ADL), and Social/family life. Treating clinicians provided clinical data. Hierarchical multiple regressions were performed on this baseline data to identify significant predictors of QoL. Results: ADL and Stigma were the areas most impacted upon whilst patients experienced better adjustment in relation to Pain, Social/family life, and Emotional state. CDQ24 Total scores were explained by the model (80% variance) and were significantly associated with appearance concerns, emotional representations, perceived negative consequences of the condition, mood, and dose of botulinum toxin. Conclusions: Patients with BEB and HFS report a detrimental impact on ADL and perceived stigma in relation to their condition. Predominantly, individual perceptions and mood are associated with QoL in this population, rather than demographic and clinical factors, signifying areas to target in the design of future healthcare services or interventions.

Background Population level behaviour change, requiring individual behaviour change such as hand hygiene and physical distancing, are central to reducing transmission of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, but little is known about how best to communicate this type of risk reducing information, and how populations might respond. We conducted a rapid systematic review to identify and synthesise evidence relating to: a) What characterises effective public-health messages for managing risk and preventing infectious disease, and b) What influences people’s responses to public-health messages.Methods Rapid systematic review methodology was used. We included all study designs and grey literature. Non-English language papers were excluded. Ovid Medline, Ovid PsycINFO and Healthevidence.org were searched alongside PsyarXiv and OSF Preprints up to May 2020. A narrative synthesis was conducted.Findings We identified 70 eligible papers: 3 systematic reviews, 54 individual papers and 14 pre-prints. To influence behaviour effectively at the population level, public-health messages need to be acceptable, credible and trustworthy, to increase the public’s understanding and perceptions of the threat. Interpretation Key recommendations are to: engage communities in the development of public-health messaging, use credible and legitimate sources, address uncertainty immediately and with transparency, focus on unifying messages from all sources, and develop messages aimed at increasing understanding, induce social responsibility and empower personal control. Embedding these principles of behavioural science into public-health messaging is an important step towards more effective health-risk communication for managing risk, promoting protective behaviours and preventing disease during epidemics/pandemics.