Suicide is a public health issue, and there are several factors leading to suicide, like mental illness and psychosocial stressors. Actual loneliness (living alone) and subjective loneliness (feeling of being alone) and different suicidal behaviors have been reported to have some link. This scoping review aimed to assess the association between loneliness and suicidal behaviour by exploring the existing literature. A scoping review was conducted implementing the appropriate framework and in accord with the PRISMA-ScR extension. A PubMed database search was made using a combination of terms to find publications in English from 2011 to 2021. Studies were included if they reported quantitative outcomes of the association between loneliness and suicidal experiences, including suicidal thoughts, plans, and/or attempts. Screening and data charting of the published literature was conducted by a panel of authors. The accuracy and clarity of extracted data was checked by three reviewers. Among 421 articles found, 31 full texts were evaluated based on exclusion and inclusion criteria, out of which, 18 papers that reported quantitative outcomes of the association between loneliness and suicidal experiences were included. We found that association between loneliness and suicidal behaviour is determined by individual, social and cultural factors. Co-existing mental illness, substance use disorder and economic hardship play an important role for the completion of suicide. Loneliness is correlated with suicide, and the knowledge about this association could assist in the identification of suicidal individuals or those at elevated risk of suicidal behaviour. Future studies should focus on loneliness and its relation to suicidal ideation in individuals with different mental health disorders and personalities.

Background: Facebook represents a new dimension for global information sharing. Suicidal behaviours and attempts are increasingly reported on Facebook. This scoping review explores the various aspects of suicidal behaviours associated with Facebook, discussing the challenges and preventive measures. Methods: PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus were searched for related articles published in English up to October 2021, using different combinations of “Facebook” and “suicide”. A group of experts comprising consultant psychiatrists screened the records and read the full-text articles to extract relevant data. Twenty-eight articles were chosen as relevant and included in the review under four selected themes. Results: Facebook impacts on suicidal behaviours in different aspects. Announcing suicides through sharing notes or personal information may lead to the prediction of suicide but be harmful to the online audience. Live-streaming videos of suicide is another aspect that questions Facebook’s ability to monitor shared contents that can negatively affect the audience. A positive impact is helping bereaved families to share feelings and seek support online, commemorating the lost person by sharing their photos. Moreover, it can provide real-world details of everyday user behaviours, which help predict suicide risk, primarily through novel machine-learning techniques, and provide early warning and valuable help to prevent it. It can also provide a timeline of the user’s activities and state of mind before suicide. Conclusions: Social media can detect suicidal tendencies, support those seeking help, comfort family and friends with their grief, and provide insights via timelining the users’ activities leading to their suicide. One of the limitations was the lack of quantitative studies evaluating preventative efforts on Facebook. The creators’ commitment and the users’ social responsibility will be required to create a mentally healthy Facebook environment.

Tackling the spread of COVID-19 remains a crucial part of ending the pandemic. Its highly contagious nature and constant evolution coupled with a relative lack of immunity make the virus difficult to control. For this, various strategies have been proposed and adopted including limiting contact, social isolation, vaccination, contact tracing, etc. However, given the heterogeneity in the enforcement of these strategies and constant fluctuations in the strictness levels of these strategies, it becomes challenging to assess the true impact of these strategies in controlling the spread of COVID-19. In the present study, we evaluated various transmission control measures that were imposed in 10 global urban cities and provinces in 2021– Bangkok, Gauteng, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, London, Manila City, New Delhi, New York City, Singapore, and Tokyo. Based on our analysis, we herein propose the population-level Swiss cheese model for the failures and pitfalls in various strategies that each of these cities and provinces had. Furthermore, whilst all the evaluated cities and provinces took a different personalized approach to managing the pandemic, what remained common was dynamic enforcement and monitoring of breaches of each barrier of protection. The measures taken to reinforce the barriers were adjusted continuously based on the evolving epidemiological situation. How an individual city or province handled the pandemic profoundly affected and determined how the entire country handled the pandemic since the chain of transmission needs to be broken at the very grassroot level to achieve nationwide control. The present study did not receive any external funding.

Background: Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a debilitating condition that affects millions worldwide. It is accompanied by a myriad of adverse consequences, such asdiminishing of quality of life and deterioration of mental health. Caregivers play a pivotal role in helping CHF patients manage their conditions and symptoms, as a result the physical, mental and emotional state of caregivers have a direct impact on CHF patients and the management of this condition. Purpose: This systematic review aims to synthesize data about the effectiveness of behavioral interventions targeted at patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and/or informal caregivers of CHF patients to improve overall management and treatment of CHF in the population. Patients and Methods: Three databases were searched for published studies and studies that included evaluated outcomes of interventions that targeted CHF patients or informal caregivers. All randomized controlled trials, trials of either experimental or quasi-experimental design were included. Studies that only involved formal caregivers, patient populations of adolescents/young adults and patients with non-chronic conditions were excluded. Results: Across the 21 included studies, no study reported a significant improvement in all three domains of quality of life (QoL), depression and loneliness of caregivers while only three studies reported a significant improvement in two outcomes. Within each domain, heterogeneity in measures limited quantitative pooling. Conclusion: This review provides data on the efficacy of interventions targeted at CHF patients and/or informal caregivers. It also highlights successful interventions and its features. Following this, additional resources need to be invested and directed towards implementing these interventions.

Background/Objectives: Bereavement in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood is associated with a range of grief responses, and a subset of bereaved individuals develop persistent or severe grief symptoms. Understanding the prevalence and risk factors of prolonged grief symptoms is important for guiding supportive care. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, MedLine, Embase and PsycINFO for all studies comparing the prevalence and prognostic factors of prolonged grief-related symptoms among young individuals following parental or sibling death from cancer. Young individuals were defined as those not more than 25 years old before losing a parent or sibling to any cancer. Prolonged grief-related symptoms were defined as the presence of grief symptoms at least six months following the death of a parent or sibling of the bereaved person. Retrospective cross-sectional studies were included for evaluating prognostic factors affecting prolonged grief-related symptoms, but were not used for meta-analyses. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted for the primary analysis. Results: From 1561 records identified, thirteen studies were included with five for quantitative pooling in meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of self-reported prolonged grief-related symptoms was 48% (95% CI: 29–67%). Stratified analyses suggested a prevalence of 28% (95% CI: 7–65%) after parental death and 59% (95% CI: 45–72%) after sibling death. Factors associated with elevated prolonged grief-related symptoms included pre-existing depression, emotional difficulties, and insomnia. As no included studies conducted diagnostic clinical interviews, prolonged grief disorder according to the ICD-11 or DSM-5-TR criteria could not be assessed. Conclusions: Prolonged grief-related symptoms appear common among young individuals bereaved by loss of a parent or sibling to cancer, especially after sibling loss. However, interpretation remains limited by substantial heterogeneity, such as outcome measures, symptom thresholds, assessment time window, non-validated symptom measures, and predominance of cross-sectional studies. Future larger and methodologically rigorous studies using validated grief instruments across diverse settings are needed to clarify grief trajectories and guide developmentally appropriate intervention strategies.