Introduction Several studies have examined how the lockdown restrictions enforced to halt the spread of COVID-19 have affected children and adolescents’ movement behaviours, but there is a need to synthesise these findings. Therefore, we conducted this systematic review to examine the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on children and adolescents’ movement behaviours. Methods We searched eight databases and grey literature for relevant studies of all study designs; and conducted a narrative analysis of the results following synthesis without meta-analysis guidelines. We used appropriate tools to assess the risk of bias in quantitative and qualitative studies. We compared changes in physical activity, screen time and sleep duration and quality from before to during the COVID-19 lockdown. Results This review included 71 studies reporting data from 35 countries and territories, mostly from high-income economies. A majority of the studies used a cross-sectional design and had fair to poor-quality ratings. Most studies reported reduced physical activity, increased screen time and longer sleep hours among children and adolescents. Children and adolescents facing strict lockdowns saw a larger decline in physical activity and a sharper increase in screen time than those under mild restrictions. Conclusion COVID-19-related lockdowns were detrimental to children and adolescents’ movement behaviours, with stricter lockdowns tending to have a bigger impact. Children and adolescents under COVID-19 restrictions are likely to be less active, spend more time on screen, and sleep longer hours than before the lockdown. More studies from low-income and middle-income countries could provide a clearer picture of the impact. PROSPERO registration number CRD42021245924.

Objective To investigate the roles of mobile health, or mHealth, in the psychosocial health of pregnant women and mothers. Methods A systematic search was conducted in databases and grey literature including MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Academic Search Complete, SocINDEX, Central Register of Controlled Trials, The Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, NHS Economic Evaluation Database, Health Technology Assessment, UNICEF and WHO databases. Two searches were conducted to include original research articles published in English until 15 November 2021. Several tools were used to assess the risk of bias: revised Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomised trials, Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute quality assessment tool for cohort and cross-sectional studies, Critical Appraisal Skills Program checklist for qualitative studies and Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool for mixed-methods studies. Certainty of evidence was assessed using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. Due to the high heterogeneity and variability of the included studies, data synthesis was conducted narratively. Results 44 studies were included among 11 999 identified articles. Most studies reported mixed findings on the roles of mHealth interventions in the psychosocial health of pregnant women and mothers; mHealth improved self-management, acceptance of pregnancy/motherhood and social support, while mixed results were observed for anxiety and depressive symptoms, perceived stress, mental well-being, coping and self-efficacy. Furthermore, pregnant women and mothers from vulnerable populations benefited from the use of mHealth to improve their psychosocial health. Conclusions The findings suggest that mHealth has the potential to improve self-management, acceptance of pregnancy/motherhood and social support. mHealth can also be a useful tool to reach vulnerable pregnant women and mothers with barriers to health information and facilitate access to healthcare services. However, the high heterogeneity limited the certainty of evidence of these findings. Therefore, future studies should identify the context under which mHealth could be more effective.

As people age, they are expected to experience adverse life conditions and major life events. These circumstances might have a significant impact on their subjective well-being. This study investigated the factors associated with subjective well-being among community-dwelling Filipino senior citizens. We conducted a cross-sectional study among 1021 senior citizens (68.5% women) aged 60 and above and identified the factors independently associated with their subjective well-being using multiple linear regression analysis. We also used hierarchical regression analysis for model prediction. In the hierarchical regression analysis, psychological resilience was found as the most powerful predictor of subjective well-being. Loneliness, however, was the only psychosocial factor not associated with it. Both men and women with positive self-rated health and had higher psychological resilience and perceived social support showed a higher level of subjective well-being. Women who were separated and received pension and men who were uneducated showed a lower level of subjective well-being. Psychological resilience, positive self-rated health, and perceived social support might be protective factors for low subjective well-being. To improve the subjective well-being of Filipino senior citizens, we should build psychological resilience and social support networks in the community.

Little is known about community-based interventions for geriatric depression in low-resource settings. This study assessed the effectiveness of 3-month-duration interventions with peer counseling, social engagement, and combination vs. control in improving depressive symptoms of community-dwelling Filipino senior citizens. We conducted an open (non-blinded), non-randomized trial of senior citizens at risk for depression. Three different 3-month interventions included peer counseling (n = 65), social engagement (n = 66), and combination (n = 65) were compared with the control group (n = 68). We assessed geriatric depression, psychological resilience, perceived social support, loneliness, and working alliance scores at baseline and three months after the intervention. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT03989284. Geriatric depression score over three months significantly improved in all intervention groups (control as reference). Significant improvements were also seen in psychological resilience and social support. Not all interventions, however, significantly improved the loneliness score. The combination group showed the largest effect of improving depressive symptoms (d = -1.33) whereas the social engagement group showed the largest effect of improving psychological resilience (d = 1.40), perceived social support (d = 1.07), and loneliness (d = -0.36) among senior citizens. At the community level, peer counseling, social engagement, and combination interventions were effective in improving depressive symptoms, psychological resilience, and social support among Filipino senior citizens. This study shows that it is feasible to identify senior citizens at risk for depression in the community and intervene effectively to improve their mental health. Further studies are required to target loneliness and investigate the long-term benefits of the interventions. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03989284

This study explored the phenomenological experiences of migrant care workers working in the formal long-term care setting in Japan and identified their stressors on caregiving. We collected data using in-depth interviews among Filipino (n = 21), Indonesian (n = 6), and Vietnamese (n = 4) migrant care workers. We conducted the interviews in either their native language or in Japanese. All interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. We analyzed the transcripts using thematic analysis. We used qualitative data analysis software NVivo 10Ⓡ to code and manage the data. Six key themes emerged that were related to stressors on caregiving. These include (1) coworker relationship, (2) language barrier, (3) work-life balance, (4) health concerns, (5) physical environment, and (6) patient relationship. Migrant care workers struggled with Kanji (Chinese characters) and verbal communication. Most of them shared having fatigue and chronic back pain. A few also mentioned about anxiety and depression. The low salary and heavy workload have made caregiving jobs unattractive to them. Workplace discrimination, patients’ attitude, and a hostile work environment were part of their stressors at work. This study is the first step in highlighting the current issues being faced by migrant care workers in Japan. The stressors were the identified psychosocial issues of migrant care workers. The Japanese government is suggested to amend their care work policy and provide psychosocial support explicitly tailored for migrant care workers.