
Rachna BhargavaAll India Institute of Medical Sciences | AIIMS · National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre
Rachna Bhargava
Doctor of Philosophy
About
88
Publications
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Introduction
Skills and Expertise
Publications
Publications (88)
Background/Aim
An injury sustained during sports activity can lead to the development of reinjury anxiety and hamper performance. Although tools exist to assess re‐injury anxiety, a domain of interest in the field of sports medicine, research in the psychological impact of an orofacial injury is rudimentary. The present study envisaged to develop a...
Background
There has been growing concern about stress in nursing. It is acknowledged as a major part of the student experience and linked to psychological distress and other adverse consequences on student’s health and well-being. Psychological stress depends on students’ personality traits and may lead to adjustment issues.
Aim
To assess persona...
Background: Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that greatly impacts the real-world functioning of patients. In India, caregivers are primarily responsible for their patients and function as their support system, often taking treatment decisions on their behalf. However, they may have insufficient knowledge of the illness, which can have a neg...
Background
Nomophobia or no-mobile-phone phobia, defined as the fear of being unable to use or being unreachable via one’s mobile phone. The pervasive concern has varied bio-psychosocial and clinical implications in an individual’s life. Nomophobia is currently in an exploratory phase.
Methods
A scoping review was conducted to systematically map t...
Context
Gambling disorder is a significant public health problem. Despite the significant negative consequences of problem gambling, a relatively small proportion actively seek help for their issues.
Aims
This study was conducted to understand the reasons why people did not seek help for gambling disorders.
Settings and Design
The study was condu...
Background
The classification of mental, behavioural and neurodevelopmental disorders in the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases 11th revision (ICD‐11) includes a comprehensive set of behavioural indicators (BIs) within the neurodevelopmental disorders grouping. BIs can be used to assess the severity of disorders of...
Background: Family caregivers provide essential support to their loved ones with schizophrenia with profound outcomes for themselves. The caregiver burden fails to consider the entire caregiving experience, which also incorporates positive aspects of caring. Many potentially significant variables are associated with this.
Aim: To examine the correl...
Background and aims: Caring for a person with schizophrenia entails considerable effort. The caregiving experience while caring for a person with schizophrenia has been described as both stressful and enriching. The literature on changes in caregiving experience with time has been fairly limited. The present analysis looks at the change in the care...
Background
Specific learning disorder (SLD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) commonly occur together leading to significant academic underachievement. Individuals with dyslexia not only face behavioral and emotional regulation problems but also psychiatric disorders, including anxiety and depression.
Materials and Methods
Sixty...
Background
Street children are vulnerable to adverse health and risk behaviors and drug use. Substance use among street children has been well documented in several countries. This study reports sociodemographic and peer, family, and stress-related factors associated with substance use and non-use in a representative sample of street children of De...
This study aimed to understand the psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Indian nursing professionals working with COVID-19 patients and coping strategies employed for the same. This was a cross-sectional observational study conducted on nursing professionals (staff and students) of a tertiary care hospital, medical college and research cent...
A condition of exposure to multiple stressors resulting in a mixed clinical picture spanning conventional categories without meeting any of them in full, encompasses a risk for a list of comorbidities preventing appropriate prevention and treatment. New transformative transdiagnostic approaches suggest changes spanning conventional categories. They...
Background: Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is a rare autosomal dominant hereditary cancer syndrome. Due to the high risk of occurrence of multiple cancers, families with LFS may have an overwhelming psychosocial burden. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care center using face-to-face interviews through a grounded theory ap...
Background and objectives:
Dissociative convulsions represent complex biopsychosocial etiopathogenesis and have semiological similarities with epilepsy, which leads to delays in definitive diagnosis as well as treatment. We explored the neurobiological underpinnings of dissociative convulsions using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) d...
Gaming disorder is a health concern associated with significant impairment. Digital technology can be helpful for implementing preventive measures for gaming disorder. This randomized trial aimed to assess the effectiveness of an e-Health intervention to prevent gaming disorder among college students. This randomized trial compared an online interv...
Deliberate self-harm is a rising epidemic in the youth. This review examined the different self-harm behavior, approach to treatment, and the implication of such behaviors in the adolescent population in the academic literature. Using the PubMed database, we searched for specific terms related to different self-harm behaviors in Adolescents. The bi...
Objectives
We assessed and correlated neurochemical levels and cognitive functions in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and left hippocampus in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder and compare these with healthy controls
Methodology
Twenty-five right-handed euthymic patients (HAM-D score < 7, and YMRS score < 7) with bipolar disorder...
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the lives of millions of people around the world. The stress due to the increased risk of morbidity and mortality among the elderly along with the lockdown measures can impact the mental health of older aged adults. Hence, the current study aimed to assess the mental health impact of COVID-19 pandemic on...
Clinical relevance:
Patients undergoing exenteration have significant anxiety and depression, and lower quality of life that worsens after surgery. Therefore, counselling by an eye health-care provider along with the team of psychologist and psychiatrist could be provided pre-operatively to assess baseline psychosocial status and be continued post...
Background
Despite significant prevalence of specific learning disorder (SLD) in India, insufficient efforts have been taken to deal with its burden. Currently, the workforce is limited and resources are expensive and difficult for families to access. Consequently, developing an alternative remedial program in the form of a home-based intervention...
Objectives:
To evaluate the autonomic function in specific learning disorder (SLD) and comorbid SLD attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (SLD-ADHD).
Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital with 20 adolescent subjects each of confirmed SLD, SLD-ADHD, and healthy control (mean age 15.32 y). Heart-rate variabi...
Background and Objectives
Concerns have been expressed about the possible adverse impact of increased screen time on the psychological well-being of students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study aimed to assess the relationship between screen time and mental well-being among college students.
Methods
This cross-sectional online survey-b...
The chapter focuses on the role of families in adolescent development and the need for family-based interventions with adolescence, especially in the context of various disorders. Various family therapies, their key strategies, goals, and techniques are elaborated. Process of implementing these interventions keeping in view the special needs of ado...
Background:
The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). A version of the ICD-11 for Mental, Behavioural and Neurodevelopmental Disorders for use in clinical settings, called the Clinical Descriptions and Diagnostic Requirements (CDDR), has also been developed. The CDD...
In this study, we aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the amount and pattern of screen time among college students. The relationship between increased screen time and quality of life (QoL), COVID-related stress, and personality traits were also explored. A cross-sectional online survey-based study was conducted among Indian colle...
There is a gap in existing literature regarding Over the Top (OTT) platform use contributing to the excessive and problematic screen time. We aimed to assess OTT platform use among college students and its associations with increased screen time, mental well-being, COVID-19 related anxiety and personality traits. A total of 1039 students from a col...
With the increase in Internet use across the world, there has also been an increase in the prevalence of problematic Internet use. There are various challenges in addressing the same – the addictive nature of Internet, lack of standard or uniform definition making its measurement or comparability across studies difficult, lack of national epidemiol...
Background and aims
To determine the prevalence of different psychiatric comorbidities in patients with obesity and study their relationship with the degrees of obesity.
Methods
This cross-sectional study included 151 patients with a BMI≥25 kg/m². Subjects with diagnosed psychiatric illness, type 2 diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease or any...
Background: Stress is linked to psychological distress and other adverse consequences on student's health and wellbeing. Being in a profession closely related to life and death makes nursing students more prone to stress.
Digitalization has changed the way children learn and grow in the contemporary society. Also, COVID-19 has ushered in a 'new normal' as a means of prevention and safety, necessitating children and adolescents to stay at home for educational and recreational purposes. This 'Position Statement' addresses the issue of conceiving a balance with respect...
Objectives:
Psychiatric morbidity and behavioral problems are quite common in children and adolescents with bronchial asthma, yet they remain underexplored and often ignored in clinical settings. This can impact the child's overall quality of life. There seems to be a dearth of Indian literature and so the current study was planned to assess psych...
Background
There is little data on the prevalence and effects of eating disorders in patients with T2DM.
Aims
To evaluate the presence of eating disorders (ED) and their association with glycemic control and metabolic parameters in adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted in the endocrinol...
This study aimed to develop and validate a brief psychometric scale for gaming disorder and hazardous gaming based on the WHO framework as defined in the ICD-11. The study was carried out among college students using face to face interview. A panel of mental health experts examined the face validity of the new Gaming Disorder and Hazardous Gaming S...
Background:
The uncertainty about the impact of the lockdown in wake of COVID-19 on their future academic and carrier prospects, besides other concerns; makes college students, particularly vulnerable to stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gaming has been recognized as a coping mechanism against stress in the previously published literature.
Obj...
Street children as a population sub-group exist in significant numbers in the developing world and have been reported to be vulnerable to adverse health and risk behaviours that include physical and sexual risk behaviour. However, the estimation of prevalence for various psychoactive substances among the street children in a representative sample h...
Background Specific learning disorder (SLD) is a neurodevelopmental condition which frequently exhibits with comorbidities of other disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder, anxiety, and depression. SLD with any comorbidity may affect the expression and severity of the SLD and may make its management di...
Objective:
There is scarce literature available on the pattern of problematic internet use (PIU) and use of internet for mental health help-seeking among adult patients with psychiatric disorders in South-East Asian countries. The present study aimed to understand the pattern of PIU among adult patients attending the outpatient psychiatry services...
Only few studies have focused on the humanistic burden of FES, which not only concerns patients but also relatives and caregivers. The current study evaluates the disability in patients
with FES and find the relationship with the caregivers’ perception of their needs
Problematic Internet use (PIU) among students has become a significant mental health concern. Our goals were to review the existing studies on problematic Internet from Southeast Asian Region and examine: the prevalence for PIU among students; explore for sociodemographic and clinical correlates; and assess the physical, mental, and psychosocial im...
Background: Parents have a tremendous influence on their children’s academic and social success. Unfortunately, a majority of them do not have a concrete idea on how to assist their children, impacting negatively on both the parents and the child. Currently, there is sparse research on parents’ experiences in dealing with children with specific lea...
Aim
The aim of this study was to inform thinking around the terminology for ‘schizophrenia’ in different countries.
Objectives
The objective of this study was to investigate: (1) whether medical students view alternative terminology (psychosis subgroups), derived from vulnerability-stress models of schizophrenia, as acceptable and less stigmatisin...
We report on a global survey of diagnosing mental health professionals, primarily psychiatrists, conducted as a part of the development of the ICD-11 mental and behavioural disorders classification. The survey assessed these professionals' use of various components of the ICD-10 and the DSM, their attitudes concerning the utility of these systems,...
Background: Specific learning disorder (SLD) in the past decade has gained recognition as a disabling condition among children by parents
and teachers in India. However, there are still gaps in knowledge about its clinical presentation and understanding. Therefore, the present study was planned to evaluate the clinical and academic profile of child...
-Self-medication hypothesis was proposed to explain addiction to psychoactive substances
-Gaming disorder has been conceptualized as a behavioral addiction akin to addiction to psychoactive substances.
-Gaming can begin as an attempt at self-medication to address distress due to underlying psychiatric symptoms.
-It can subsequently develop into add...
Introduction:
Behavioral addictions are increasingly being recognized as a major public health problem. While this issue continues to hog the limelight in the media, there is limited scientific research on this theme from India.
Objectives:
We aimed at presenting the findings on assessment of the awareness, self-assessment and help seeking behav...
The concept of behavioural addiction is relatively new. The growing recognition of the behavioural addictions globally and increasing clinical queries catalysed the ongoing deliberations on setting up services for addressing behavioural addictions at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. This led to establishment of what i...
Preventive measures for mental health issues among children have received meager attention.
Although the prevalence rates of mental disorders are significant, systematic focused efforts toward
management specifically in this special population in low‑resources settings have been markedly
inconsequential. Certainly, unlike other medical conditions,...
India is in a state of transition between massively transformed ‘modern’ lifestyles on one hand and the influence of traditional values and customs on the other. In view of the current realities of urbanization, migration, globalisation and societal transformation, the mental health treatment needs have become complex. The article highlights the ex...
Sir,
Over the last few decades, awareness about Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) is slowly increasing in India, National Educational Boards (ICSE & CBSE) and other state governments have been formally granted benefits and provisions to accommodate this invisible handicap. However, there is still a lack of awareness in a large majority of general po...
Background/Objectives: Eating disorders are rarely encountered in the Indian subcontinent. Surprisingly, there is sparse literature related to eating attitude distortions and body dissatisfaction in the Indian population. The objective of this study was to explore the eating attitudes and body shape concerns in medical students, with the objectives...
Childhood substance abuse and delinquency often progress to harder substances and antisocial personality disorder and carries deleterious consequences for self, family and community at large. Early management of such cases poses several clinical and management challenges, as highlighted in the present case. The treatment seeking for this sub-popula...
Objectives: Childhood substance abuse and delinquency often progress to harder substances and antisocial personality disorder and carries deleterious consequences for self, family and community at large. Early management of such cases poses several clinical and management challenges, as highlighted in the present case. The treatment seeking for thi...
Background & objectives:
Several studies have been conducted in India to determine the prevalence of learning disabilities in school children which has been reported to be 3-10 per cent among students population. The present study was conducted to find out prevalence of specific developmental disorder of scholastic skills in students of classes VII...
To develop an objective and 'easy to administer' Disability Screening Tool to facilitate the certification process for Persons with Disabilities Act (PWD Act) in a community setting
Background:
A large number of persons with psychiatric disorders are not seeking treatment due to various reasons, thus contributing to the huge treatment gap. One of the ways to bring these people into treatment is through telephonic helplines.
Materials and methods:
Following a large number of suicides in the city of Chandigarh in 2003, The de...
Alcohol and drug dependence is widely prevalent in rural and slum areas of society. In order to take effective preventive measures it is essential to study the attitude of the population towards alcohol and drug dependence. Hence this study was planned with the aim to: (1) ascertain the attitudes of persons living in rural and urban slum areas towa...
Objective: To compare the dietary habits and nutritional status of mentally retarded (MR) and normal (NG) subjects and to examine the relationship between the dietary habits and nutritional status and the level of mental retardation in the MR group. Method: A case control design was utilized: 117 MR (random sampling) and 100 NG (quota sampling) sub...
The present epidemiological survey was conducted by the department of psychiatry, Govt. Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh to estimate the pattern of alcohol and other substance dependence in rural and slum dwellers population of Chandigarh. In this survey 6.88% individuals of the total population surveyed (2992) fulfilled dependence criteria...
The authors studied the psychological variables of 25 men who participated in the winter-over team of an Indian expedition to Antarctica for possible associations with seasonality and isolation. It was found that increased cigarette smoking was associated with the stress of the beginning of isolation (March), sleep difficulty was associated with mi...
Quality of life is becoming an important component of overall assessment in health care settings. However, satisfactory instruments are not available for use in India.
Qualitative and quantitative work was conducted at the Delhi centre as a part of the WHOQOL (World Health Organization Quality of Life) project at 15 centres in developing and develo...
Somatic complaints are common occurrence in medical setting. However attempts towards management has lacked consensus over approach. There is lack of empirical evidence especially from India. This case illustrates the multimodal approach in management of a case of somatoform disorder characterized by recurrent abdominal pain and vomiting.