Arlinda Cerga Pashoja

St Mary's University Twickenham London

Mental health in the workplace is a growing concern for enterprises and policy makers. MENTUPP is a multi-level mental health intervention implemented in small and medium size enterprises from three work sectors in nine countries. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, delivery, and instruments for the MENTUPP intervention to inform th...

Background The process of tailored implementation is ill-defined and under-explored. The ItFits-toolkit was developed and subsequently tested as a self-guided online platform to facilitate implementation of tailored strategies for internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) services. In ImpleMentAll, ItFits-toolkit had a small but positive...

Background Research on cultural adaptation of psychological interventions indicates that a higher level of adaptation is associated with a higher effect size of the intervention. However, direct comparisons of different levels of adaptations are scarce. Aims This study used a smartphone-based self-help programme called Step-by-Step (Albanian: Hap-...

Background An online self-help programme for the treatment of depression called Hap-pas-Hapi was tested among Albanian-speaking immigrants in Switzerland and Germany, and two different levels of cultural adaptation were compared. Despite a massive recruitment effort, an insufficient number of participants could be recruited, and the drop-out rate w...

Background Despite growing interest in workplace mental health interventions, evidence of their effectiveness is mixed. Implementation science offers a valuable lens to investigate the factors influencing successful implementation. However, evidence synthesis is lacking, especially for small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and for specific work...

Background Increasing interest has centered on the psychotherapeutic working alliance as a means of understanding clinical change in digital mental health interventions in recent years. However, little is understood about how and to what extent a digital mental health program can have an impact on the working alliance and clinical outcomes in a ble...

Objective To determine if and which types of organisational interventions conducted in small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in healthcare are effective on mental health and wellbeing. Methods Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched six scientific databases, assessed the methodological quality of eligible studies using QATQS and grouped them i...

Background Effective interventions need to be implemented successfully to achieve impact. Two theory-based measures exist for measuring the effectiveness of implementation strategies and monitor implementation progress. The Normalization MeAsure Development questionnaire (NoMAD) explores the four core concepts (Coherence, Cognitive Participation, C...

Background According to the Medical Research Council (MRC) framework, the theorisation of how multilevel, multicomponent interventions work and the understanding of their interaction with their implementation context are necessary to be able to evaluate them beyond their complexity. More research is needed to provide good examples following this ap...

The COVID-19 outbreak hit also Kosovo. Experts around the globe call for research and action in mental health field. Kosovo as one LMI country in Europe adapted its responses to those recommended in other countries affected by pandemics. The aim of this study was to understand the level of depression as a result of the COVID-19 situation, possible...

Background: Well-organised and managed workplaces can be a source of wellbeing. The construction, healthcare and information and communication technology sectors are characterised by work-related stressors (e.g. high workloads, tight deadlines) which are associated with poorer mental health and wellbeing. The MENTUPP intervention is a flexibly del...

Background Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face major financial losses due to mental health issues affecting employees at all levels but seldom apply programs to promote wellbeing and prevent mental health issues among employees. To support the development of a multi-country workplace-based mental health intervention for SMEs (MENTUPP), a...

Objective: Multicomponent interventions are recommendable to achieve the greatest mental health benefits, but are difficult to evaluate due to their complexity. Defining long-term outcomes, arising from a Theory of Change (ToC) and testing them in a pilot phase, is a useful approach to plan a comprehensive and meaningful evaluation later on. This...

BACKGROUND Increasing interest has centred on the psychotherapeutic working alliance as a means of understanding clinical change in digital mental health interventions in recent years. However, little is understood about how and to what extent a digital mental health program can have an impact on the working alliance and clinical outcomes in a blen...

Objectives Increasing access to mental health support is a key factor for treating mental disorders, however, important barriers complicate help-seeking, among them, mental health related stigma being most prominent. We aimed to systematically review the current evidence for interventions focusing on reducing stigma related to mental health problem...

Background: Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) services for common mental health disorders have been found to be effective. There is a need for strategies that improve implementation in routine practice. One-size-fits-all strategies are likely to be ineffective. Tailored implementation is considered as a promising approach. The self...

Objectives This systematic review assesses the scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of organisational-level workplace mental health interventions on stress, burnout, non-clinical depressive and anxiety symptoms, and wellbeing in construction workers. Methods Eligibility criteria were randomized controlled trials (RCTs), cluster randomiz...

BACKGROUND Internet-based Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (iCBT) services for common mental health disorders have been found to be effective. There is a need for effective strategies to improve implementation in routine practice. One-size-fits-all strategies are likely to be ineffective and tailored implementation is considered as a promising approach....

An expert survey was designed to support the development of a workplace-based multi-country intervention tackling depression, anxiety, and mental illness-related stigma in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Academic experts and representatives of SME organisations, specific sector organisations, labour or advocacy groups, and occupational...

Background Digital technologies have been widely acknowledged as a potentially useful resource for increasing mental healthcare access. The working alliance is a key influence on outcomes in conventional psychotherapy, but little is known about therapists’ experiences of forming an effective working alliance in blended interventions that involve in...

"Background: The use of digital mental health (MH) programs such as internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) hold promise in increasing the quality and access of MH services. However very little research has been conducted in understanding the feasibility of implementing iCBT in Eastern Europe. Methods: We used qualitative semi-structure...

Background Although major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by a pervasive negative mood, research indicates that the mood of depressed patients is rarely entirely stagnant. It is often dynamic, distinguished by highs and lows, and it is highly responsive to external and internal regulatory processes. Mood dynamics can be defined as a comb...

Depression and anxiety are the most prevalent mental health difficulties in the EU, causing immense suffering and costing the global economy EUR 1 trillion each year in lost productivity. Employees in construction, health and information and communications technology have an elevated risk of mental health difficulties. Most mental health interventi...

Background Behavioral activation (BA), either as a stand-alone treatment or as part of cognitive behavioral therapy, has been shown to be effective for treating depression. The theoretical underpinnings of BA derive from Lewinsohn et al’s theory of depression. The central premise of BA is that having patients engage in more pleasant activities lead...

BACKGROUND Behavioral activation (BA), either as a stand-alone treatment or as part of cognitive behavioral therapy, has been shown to be effective for treating depression. The theoretical underpinnings of BA derive from Lewinsohn et al’s theory of depression. The central premise of BA is that having patients engage in more pleasant activities lead...

BACKGROUND Sleep disturbance symptoms are common in major depressive disorder (MDD) and have been found to hamper the treatment effect of conventional face-to-face psychological treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy. To increase the dissemination of evidence-based treatment, blended cognitive behavioral therapy (bCBT) consisting of web-ba...

Background. Depression and anxiety are the most prevalent mental health difficulties in the workplace, costing the global economy $1 trillion each year. Evidence indicates that symptoms may be reduced by interventions in the workplace. This paper is the first to systematically review psychosocial interventions for depression, anxiety, and suicidal...

Background Published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 2015, the mental health Gap Action Programme Humanitarian Intervention Guide (mhGAP-HIG) recommends brief versions of structured psychological interventions for people experiencing symptoms of common mental disorders (CMDs). mhGA...

BACKGROUND The use of digital mental health (MH) programs such as internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) hold promise in increasing the quality and access of MH services. However very little research has been conducted in understanding the feasibility of implementing iCBT in Eastern Europe. OBJECTIVE To qualitatively examine organisat...

Background The use of digital mental health programs such as internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) holds promise in increasing the quality and access of mental health services. However very little research has been conducted in understanding the feasibility of implementing iCBT in Eastern Europe. Objective The aim of this study was to...

Background Mental health problems are common in the working population and represent a growing concern internationally, with potential impacts on workers, organisations, workplace health and compensation authorities, labour markets and social policies. Workplace interventions that create workplaces supportive of mental health, promote mental health...

Background: In order to narrow the world-wide treatment gap, innovative interventions are needed that can be used among culturally diverse groups, e.g., immigrant populations in high-income countries. Research on cultural adaptation of psychological interventions indicates that a higher level of adaptation is associated with a higher effect size of...

Objectives: To examine and adapt a conceptual framework of the working alliance (WA) in the context of a low-intensity blended (psychological well-being practitioner (PWP) plus computerised program) cognitive behavioural therapy intervention (b-CBT) for depression. Design: Patient involvement was enlisted to collaboratively shape the design of t...

Background: Mental health problems are common in the working population and represent a growing concern internationally, with potential impacts on workers, organisations, workplace health and compensation authorities, labour markets and social policies. Workplace interventions that create mental health-supportive workplaces, promote mental health a...

Background: Mental health problems are common in the working population and represent a growing concern internationally, with potential impacts on workers, organisations, workplace health and compensation authorities, labour markets and social policies. Workplace interventions that create mental health-supportive workplaces, promote mental health a...

Background Internet- and mobile-based mental health interventions have the potential to narrow the treatment gap in ethnic groups. Little evidence exists on the cultural adaptation of such interventions. Cultural adaptation of evidence-based interventions distinguishes between surface and deep structure adaptation. Surface refers to matching materi...

Objectives: Numerous studies and reviews have explored the value of adding therapist support to internet self-help for improving client adherence and outcomes. This study is different as it explores the value of adding internet self-help to face-to-face therapy, from the perspective of practitioners who used both. This study explores practitioners’...

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience reading comprehension difficulties, often misinterpreting complex texts, metaphors, and idioms. We have developed and tested a new assistive technology tool for adaptive, personalized text simplification, called Open Book. This tool is an open-sourced, online platform that uses Natural Language...

Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) such as agitation and aggression are core symptoms of dementia and affect almost everyone with the condition. Such symptoms cause distress to the person with dementia and their caregivers and have also been found to predict early institutionalisation as well as death. Historically, BPSD have...

Just over 25 years have passed since the major sociopolitical changes in central and eastern Europe; our aim was to map and analyse the development of mental health-care practice for people with severe mental illnesses in this region since then. A scoping review was complemented by an expert survey in 24 countries. Mental health-care practice in th...

Background: The integration of digital treatments into national mental health services is on the agenda in the European Union. The E-COMPARED consortium conducted a survey aimed at exploring stakeholders' knowledge, acceptance and expectations of digital treatments for depression, and at identifying factors that might influence their opinions when...

Overview of start-page and analysed survey items.

Background Effective, accessible, and affordable depression treatment is of high importance considering the large personal and economic burden of depression. Internet-based treatment is considered a promising clinical and cost-effective alternative to current routine depression treatment strategies such as face-to-face psychotherapy. However, it is...

Although available evidence is modest, exercise could be beneficial in reducing behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. We aim to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a dyadic exercise regimen for individuals with dementia and their main carer as therapy for behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. Cost-effectiveness analysis...

Objective: Although available evidence is modest, exercise could be beneficial in reducing behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. We aim to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a dyadic exercise regimen for individuals with dementia and their main carer as therapy for behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. Methods: Cost-e...

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a simple dyadic (person with dementia and their main carer) exercise regimen as a therapy for the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. A two arm, pragmatic, randomised, controlled, single-blind, parallel-group trial of a dyadic exercise regimen (individually tailored wal...

Introduction: Numerous studies have been documenting during the last decades the difficulties of reading comprehension shown by people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including those with preserved intelligence. These difficulties can condition their educational path and directly impact on social inclusion, autonomy and access to employment....

Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are common and are core symptoms of the condition. They cause considerable distress to the person with dementia and their carers and predict early institutionalization and death. Historically, these symptoms have been managed with anxiolytic and antipsychotic medication. Although potentially...

‘Evidenced based interventions in dementia’ (EVIDEM: www.EVIDEM.org.uk) is a 5-year research & development programme aiming to explore, evaluate and improve the quality of community based dementia care (Iliffe et al., 2008). The EVIDEM programme, like most clinical trials, relies on clinicians to recruit participants. Key NHS Stakeholders support w...

Almost all of the 820,000 people in the UK with dementia will experience Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD). However, research has traditionally focused on treating cognitive symptoms, thus neglecting core clinical symptoms that often have a more profound impact on living with dementia. Recent evidence (Kales et al, 2007; Bal...