Background: The death of a partner is a critical life event in later life, which requires grief work as well as the development of a new perspective for the future. Cognitive behavioral web-based self-help interventions for coping with prolonged grief have established their efficacy in decreasing symptoms of grief, depression, and loneliness. However, no study has tested the efficacy for reducing grief after losses occurring less than 6 months ago and the role of self-tailoring of the content. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the clinical efficacy and acceptance of a web-based self-help intervention to support the grief process of older adults who have lost their partner. It will compare the outcomes, adherence, and working alliance in a standardized format with those in a self-tailored delivery format and investigate the effects of age, time since loss, and severity of grief at baseline as predictors. Focus groups to understand user experience and a cost-effectiveness analysis will complement the study. Methods: The study includes 3 different randomized control trials. The trial in Switzerland comprises a waitlist control group and 2 active arms consisting of 2 delivery formats, standardized and self-tailored. In the Netherlands and in Portugal, the trials follow a 2-arm design that will be, respectively, complemented with focus groups on technology acceptance and cost-effectiveness analysis. The main target group will consist of adults aged >60 years from the general population in Switzerland (n≥85), the Netherlands (n≥40), and Portugal (n≥80) who lost their partner and seek help for coping with grief symptoms, psychological distress, and adaptation problems in daily life. The trials will test the intervention’s clinical efficacy for reducing grief (primary outcome) and depression symptoms and loneliness (secondary outcomes) after the intervention. Measurements will take place at baseline (week 0), after the intervention (week 10), and at follow-up (week 20). Results: The trials started in March 2022 and are expected to end in December 2022 or when the needed sample size is achieved. The first results are expected by January 2023. Conclusions: The trials will provide insights into the efficacy and acceptance of a web-based self-help intervention among older adults who have recently lost a partner. Results will extend the knowledge on the role of self-tailoring, working alliance, and satisfaction in the effects of the intervention. Finally, the study will suggest adaptations to improve the acceptance of web-based self-help interventions for older mourners and explore the cost-effectiveness of this intervention. Limitations include a self-selective sample and the lack of cross-cultural comparisons. Trial Registration: Switzerland: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05280041; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05280041; Portugal: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05156346; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05156346 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/37827

Background/Objectives: Anxiety and depression result in a greater health burden; both can impact functionality and quality of life. This review aims to understand the association between anxiety, depression, functionality, and quality of life. Although three systematic reviews exist, one focuses on quality of life in depression and anxiety, while the others address functionality in depression and anxiety, with the former being more recent and the latter two being older. The association between these four variables will be explored. Methods: A literature search of MEDLINE with Full Text, CINHAL PLUS with Full Text, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and Academic Search Complete was conducted from 1 January 2017 to 22 November 2022. Seven studies involving 2279 adults were included. Results: All studies analyzed the association between anxiety and/or depression with functionality and/or quality of life, in a population with a primary chronic condition. We found the higher functionality (return to work, no sedentary lifestyle, and no fatigue) and quality of life are, the lower the values of anxiety and depression will be. The HADS is a consensual instrument to access anxiety and depression, but the same cannot be said for assessing functionality and quality of life. Conclusions: The severity of the chronic disease and the loss of functionality and quality of life seem to increase psychological distress. This study highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary and holistic approach, focusing not only on clinical outcomes but also on overall well-being. Further longitudinal research is needed to support the association between these variables to draw more concrete conclusions with scientific evidence.

Summary: Clinical assessments of sleep and subjective state upon waking were performed in normal controls and patients with generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, primary dysthymia and major depression. Subjects were selected according to DSM-III-R criteria. As compared to normal controls, patients with generalised anxiety, dysthymia and major depression exhibit pervasive and intense complaints of insomnia, and no clear distinctions can be drawn among these groups. Patients with panic disorder do not differ from normal controls, whereas obsessive compulsive patients present limited sleep symptoms. These findings suggest that subjective sleep variables are relevant for the diagnostic discrimination of panic and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) encompasses a broad range of symptoms and is normally considered a heterogeneous disorder. Sometimes, OCD seems to be psychotic in nature, being complex in the differentiation between OCD and schizophrenia. This report describes a female adult patient who was diagnosed in her adolescence with schizophrenia due to her complains of “hearing voices “criticizing her. In response to team request for a second evaluation, she was admitted to the acute inpatient service. After a careful reassessment, the core symptom was recognized as obsession, and her diagnosis was revised to OCD; this allowed for a more direct treatment and management, with cognitive-behavior therapy and high doses of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, achieving a sustained clinical improvement over 2 years of follow-up. Currently, she is more functional, participates in social activities, and totally recognizes the egodystonic and intrusive thoughts. This case demonstrates the importance of eliciting psychopathology in greater detail for specific diagnosis and treatment decisions, especially in a complex clinical presentation.