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BACKGROUND: The current moment is characterised by deep-rooted uncertainties, such as climate change and COVID-19. Uncertainty has been reported to be associated with negative mental health outcomes, such as stress and anxiety. However, no comprehensive review on the association between uncertainty and mental health exists. AIM: The aim of the current scoping review was to systematically explore and describe the literature on the link between uncertainty and mental health. METHODS: A scoping review was undertaken following guidelines by Arksey and O'Malley (2005). RESULTS: One hundred and one papers addressing the association between uncertainty and mental health were identified. Most were cross-sectional studies (67%) conducted in the fields of medicine or nursing (59%), in high-income countries, among adult populations (74%), and in medical settings. Substantial heterogeneity was identified in the measurements of uncertainty and mental health. Most studies (79%) reported a positive association between uncertainty and mental health problems. CONCLUSIONS: Research is needed in more diverse contexts and populations. More robust designs are required to provide insight into the directionality and strength of the association between uncertainty and mental health. Few studies reported how individuals coped with uncertainty. Future studies should address the identified gaps and investigate interventions to address uncertainty and its determinants.
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COVID-19 , Mental Health , Adult , Humans , Uncertainty , AnxietyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Older adults contribute vast amounts of care to society, yet it remains unclear how unpaid productive activities relate to loneliness. The objective of this systematic review is to synthesise the evidence for associations between midlife and older people's unpaid productive activities (i.e., spousal and grandparental caregiving, volunteering) and loneliness. METHODS: Peer-reviewed observational articles that investigated the association between loneliness and caregiving or volunteering in later life (>50 years) were searched on electronic databases (Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, PsychInfo and Global Health) from inception until July 2021. Studies were analysed using narrative synthesis and assessed for methodological quality applying the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. RESULTS: A total of 28 articles from 21 countries with 191,652 participants were included (52.5% women). Results were separately discussed for the type of unpaid productive activity, namely, general caregiving (N = 10), spousal caregiving (N = 7), grandparental caregiving (N = 7), and volunteering (N = 6). Risk of bias assessments revealed a moderate to high quality of included studies. Loneliness was positively associated with spousal caregiving but negatively associated with caregiving to grandchildren and volunteering. CONCLUSIONS: Grandparental caregiving and volunteering may be promising avenues for reducing loneliness in older age. Future studies will need to distinguish between different types of caregiving and volunteering and explore more complex longitudinal designs with diverse samples to investigate causal relationships with loneliness.
Spousal caregiving is associated with more lonelinessGrandparental caregiving and volunteering are associated with less lonelinessThere is a lack of longitudinal evidence from lower- and middle-income countries.
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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1017/gmh.2021.40.].
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Aim To explore how e-cigarettes are perceived by a group of e-cigarette users and a group of Stop Smoking Advisors (SSAs), what are the risks and benefits they associate with e-cigarettes and how do these understandings shape participants' attitude towards e-cigarettes? METHOD: Face-to-face and phone interviews were conducted with 15 e-cigarette users and 13 SSAs in South East England between 2014 and 2015. Transcribed data were analysed inductively through thematic analysis. Findings E-cigarettes were used as a therapeutic aid to stop or cut down smoking and as a smoking substitute. A prominent theme is the uncertainty e-cigarettes have generated. This included ambiguity of e-cigarettes' status and efficacy, and ambiguity of e-cigarettes' physical and social risks. Different attitudes towards e-cigarettes were identified. CONCLUSION: E-cigarettes' benefits and risks should be continuously evaluated, put into perspective and circulated to avoid ambiguity. Stop smoking services need to recognise the benefits that can be gained by using e-cigarettes as a harm reduction tool.
