Compassion is the emotion that motivates people to relieve the physical, emotional, or mental pains of others. Engaging in compassionate behaviour has been found to enhance psychological wellness and resilience. However, constant displays of compassionate behaviour can lead to burnout particularly for healthcare workers who inherently practise compassion day to day. This burnout can be relieved by Compassion focused meditation. The aim of this review is to identify neuroplastic changes in the brain associated with meditation, with a focus on compassion and compassion related meditation.

Based on PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a scoping review of studies which described neuroplastic effects of meditation, focusing on compassion-based training. Studies were excluded if they (i) included multiple meditation practices or (ii) included participant populations with psychiatric/neuropsychiatric history (except anxiety or depression) or (iii) included exclusively ageing populations.

The results of the reviewed studies showed various neurological changes in regions of the brain as a result of compassion based training. These regions include amygdala, the anterior insula, medial prefrontal cortex, medial orbitofrontal cortex and structures within the dopamine system.

This review highlights that compassion-based training could lead to neuroplastic changes which interconnect to enhance overall well-being, resilience and compassionate care among health-care professionals. However, further work is required to establish conclusive evidence of its sustained benefit and cost-effectiveness, as well as its utility in a healthcare setting.

Nigeria’s shortage of psychiatrists is exacerbated due to health worker migration.

This study explores migration experiences and tendencies among early-career psychiatrists in Nigeria.

We conducted a cross-sectional survey covering Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, using a 61-item online questionnaire assessing short-term mobility, long-term migration experiences and migration attitudes. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS version 29.

Of 228 early-career psychiatrists surveyed, 9.7% had short-term mobility and 8.0% had long-term migration experiences. However, 85.8% had ‘ever’ considered migration, 69.2% were planning to leave ‘now’, and 52.9% had taken ‘practical migration steps’. Over half (52.7%) said they would be working abroad in 5 years, with 25.2% indicating they would migrate within a year. The top reasons to leave were financial and academic, while personal and cultural factors were the key reasons to stay. Income dissatisfaction (OR = 2.27, 95%, CI = 1.05–4.88) predicted planning to leave ‘now’, while being in a relationship (OR = 3.46, 95%CI = 1.06–11.30) predicted taking ‘practical migration steps’. Attractive job features were good welfare (85.4%) and high salaries (80.3%). Improvements in finances (90.8%) and work conditions (86.8%) were requested.

Systemic changes to address psychiatrists’ migration from Nigeria are needed.

Frontline workers report negative mental health impacts of being exposed to the risk of COVID-19, and of supporting people struggling with the effects of the virus. Uptake of psychological first-aid resources is inconsistent, and they may not meet the needs of frontline workers in under-resourced contexts. This study evaluates a culturally adapted basic psychosocial skills (BPS) training program that aimed to meet the needs of frontline workers in under-resourced settings.

A cross-sectional survey administered to frontline workers who completed the program between 2020 and 2022, investigated their perceived confidence, satisfaction, and skill development, as well as their views on relevance to context and accessibility of the program.

Out of the 1000 people who had undertaken the BPS program, 118 (11.8%) completed the survey. Participants reported high levels of satisfaction and improved confidence in, and knowledge of, psychosocial skills. Participants reported that the BPS program was culturally and contextually relevant, and some requested expansion of the program, including more interactivity, opportunities for anonymous participation, and adaption to other cultural contexts, including translation into languages other than English.

Findings indicate a need for free, online, and culturally adapted psychosocial skills training program that is designed with key stakeholders to ensure relevance to social and cultural contexts.

To investigate the occurrence of traumatic stress symptoms (TSS) among healthcare workers active during the COVID-19 pandemic and to obtain insight as to which pandemic-related stressful experiences are associated with onset and persistence of traumatic stress.

This is a multicenter prospective cohort study. Spanish healthcare workers (N = 4,809) participated at an initial assessment (i.e., just after the first wave of the Spain COVID-19 pandemic) and at a 4-month follow-up assessment using web-based surveys. Logistic regression investigated associations of 19 pandemic-related stressful experiences across four domains (infection-related, work-related, health-related and financial) with TSS prevalence, incidence and persistence, including simulations of population attributable risk proportions (PARP).

Thirty-day TSS prevalence at T1 was 22.1%. Four-month incidence and persistence were 11.6% and 54.2%, respectively. Auxiliary nurses had highest rates of TSS prevalence (35.1%) and incidence (16.1%). All 19 pandemic-related stressful experiences under study were associated with TSS prevalence or incidence, especially experiences from the domains of health-related (PARP range 88.4–95.6%) and work-related stressful experiences (PARP range 76.8–86.5%). Nine stressful experiences were also associated with TSS persistence, of which having patient(s) in care who died from COVID-19 had the strongest association. This association remained significant after adjusting for co-occurring depression and anxiety.

TSSs among Spanish healthcare workers active during the COVID-19 pandemic are common and associated with various pandemic-related stressful experiences. Future research should investigate if these stressful experiences represent truly traumatic experiences and carry risk for the development of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The aim of this study is to culturally adapt and validate the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale Form B (FATCOD-B) in Spanish health professionals.

A cultural adaptation and scale validation was carried out to evaluate the validity of appearance, content and construct, reliability and feasibility. The psychometric validation of the FATCOD-B was carried out on a sample of 2,446 Spanish physicians, nurses, psychologists, and social workers and students of these disciplines, between January 2017 and December 2018. This sample was selected by intentional sampling. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample. An exploratory multi-group factor analysis was performed, internal consistency was evaluated by calculating Cronbach's α and stability by test–retest.

A total of 2,446 people participated in the study, 1,134 students and 1,312 professionals. The exploratory multi-group factor analysis revealed a two-dimensional factor structure, with a total of 17 items retained in the model from the 30 of the original scale. The results showed that this version has adequate reliability (α = 0.79) and for each subscale, and stability (ICC = 0.843, p < 0.001).

FATCOD has been used with physicians and nurses from different countries. However, no reports have been found in the literature of its use with psychologists and social workers. It is important to have an instrument that allows us to know the attitudes of these professionals since they are all directly involved in the care of patients at the end of their lives and their families. The Spanish version of FATCOD-B has proven to be a reliable and valid instrument for its use in Spanish health professionals while allowing comparisons between disciplines.

In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, healthcare workers experienced significant distress. At the same time, concern for the safety and well-being of employees remained important priorities to ensure the quality of care for children with mental illness.

To study the specifics of the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic among employees of a children’s psychiatric clinic, highlight the existing among them attitudes about the pandemic and form administrative decisions to improve the quality of care for children.

380 employees voluntarily took part in the study (group 1 (G1): 115 people who worked directly with Covid-19 and group 2 (G2): 265 people without this experience) from 05/18/2020 to 05/20/2020. The author’s questionnaire included the following blocks: 1) attitude towards patients and colleagues; 2) emotional experiences; 3) ways of coping; 4) social support; 4) finance.

The main motive when deciding to work with Covid-19 was the motive of professional duty (25.4% of participants). There are a number of significant differences between group 1 and group 2: participants in G1 are characterized by denial of special experiences associated with Covid-19, seeking help from colleagues in difficult working conditions, reliance on family members and a positive vision of administrative decisions significantly more than participants G2. Relatives of G1 participants are less concerned about their future and health.

The personnel decisions made on the basis of the research allowed the clinic’s team to provide quality care to children and families throughout the pandemic.

Preserving personal dignity is an important aim of palliative care. Little is known about how physicians perceive and preserve dignity of patients from non-western migration backgrounds. Insight in this is important given the increased demand for culturally sensitive palliative care.

To gain insight in how Dutch physicians perceive and preserve dignity in the last phase of life for patients from non-western migration backgrounds.

Qualitative thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews.

Fifteen physicians experienced in palliative care.

Physicians experienced dilemmas in preserving dignity of non-western patients in three situations: (a) relief of suffering in the terminal phase, (b) termination of interventions and treatment, and (c) disclosure of diagnosis. Physicians wanted to grant the needs of patients in the last phase of their lives, which was central to physicians’ view on dignity, but dilemmas arose when this conflicted with physicians’ other personal and professional values. To make the dilemmas manageable, physicians assessed whether needs of patients were authentic, but due to linguistic, cultural, and communication barriers, this was difficult with non-western patients. To find a way out of the dilemmas, physicians had three strategies: accept and go along with patient's wishes, convince or overrule the patient or family, or seek solutions that were acceptable for all.

Physicians encounter dilemmas providing palliative care for people from non-western backgrounds. Future physicians can be trained in connective strategies and seeking middle grounds to optimally preserve patients’ dignity while being in concordance with their personal and professional values.

Influenza vaccination remains the most effective primary prevention strategy for seasonal influenza. This research explores the percentage of emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians who received the seasonal flu vaccine in a given year, along with their reasons for vaccine acceptance and potential barriers.

A survey was distributed to all EMS clinicians in Virginia during the 2018-2019 influenza season. The primary outcome was vaccination status. Secondary outcomes were attitudes and perceptions toward influenza vaccination, along with patient care behaviors when treating an influenza patient.

Ultimately, 2796 EMS clinicians throughout Virginia completed the survey sufficiently for analysis. Participants were mean 43.5 y old, 60.7% male, and included the full range of certifications. Overall, 79.4% of surveyed EMS clinicians received a seasonal flu vaccine, 74% had previously had the flu, and 18% subjectively reported previous side effects from the flu vaccine. Overall, 54% of respondents believed their agency has influenza or respiratory specific plans or procedures.

In a large, state-wide survey of EMS clinicians, overall influenza vaccination coverage was 79.4%. Understanding the underlying beliefs of EMS clinicians remains a critical priority for protecting these frontline clinicians. Agencies should consider practical policies, such as on-duty vaccination, to increase uptake.

Coronavirus disease 2019 personal protective equipment has been reported to affect communication in healthcare settings. This study sought to identify those challenges experimentally.

Bamford–Kowal–Bench speech discrimination in noise performance of healthcare workers was tested under simulated background noise conditions from a variety of hospital environments. Candidates were assessed for ability to interpret speech with and without personal protective equipment, with both normal speech and raised voice.

There was a significant difference in speech discrimination scores between normal and personal protective equipment wearing subjects in operating theatre simulated background noise levels (70 dB).

Wearing personal protective equipment can impact communication in healthcare environments. Efforts should be made to remind staff about this burden and to seek alternative communication paradigms, particularly in operating theatre environments.

Asia's first national advance care planning (ACP) program was established in Singapore in 2011 to enhance patient autonomy and self-determination in end-of-life (EoL) care decision-making. However, no known study has examined the extent to which ACP in Singapore successfully met its aims. The purpose of the current study was to examine the attitudes of local healthcare professionals on patients’ autonomy in decision-making at the EoL since they strongly influence the extent to which patient and family wishes are fulfilled.

Guided by the Interpretive-Systemic Framework and Proctor's conceptual taxonomy of implementation research outcomes, an interview guide was developed. Inquiries focused on healthcare professionals’ attitudes towards ACP, their clinical experiences working with patients and families, and their views on program effectiveness. Sixty-three physicians, nurses, medical social workers, and designated ACP coordinators who were actively engaged in ACP facilitation were recruited from seven major hospitals and specialist centers in Singapore through purposive sampling. Twelve interpretive-systemic focus groups were conducted, recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a thematic analysis.

The extent to which patients in Singapore can exert autonomy in EoL care decision-making is influenced by five themes: (i) collusion over truth-telling to patient, (ii) deferment of autonomy by patients, (iii) negotiating patient self-determination, (iv) relational autonomy as the gold standard and (v) barriers to realization of patient choices.

Healthcare practitioners in Asian communities must align themselves with the values and needs of patients and their family and jointly make decisions that are consistent and congruent with the values of patients and their families. Sensitivity towards such cross-cultural practices is key to enhancing ACP awareness, discourse, and acceptability in Asian communities.