Mental health
Loneliness is a key factor contributing to poor mental health among behind-the-scenes workers in the UK’s film and television industry, new research shows. The study links this to several job-related pressures – including long and irregular hours, the transient nature of project-based employment, workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination, and persistent stigma around mental health that [...]
Digital cancer care provider Perci Health has raised £3m in a funding round that exceeded its initial £1.5m goal, bringing its total raised to £7.7m to date, as it looks to expand partnerships with employers and insurers. The company offers AI-powered support for cancer patients via a digital platform, combining technology with input from nurses, [...]
Psyomics has announced a new partnership with waiting times improvement specialists Acumentice, in a move designed to help NHS trusts meet cost improvement targets and manage patient pathways. The collaboration brings together two complementary areas of expertise: Psyomics’ clinically-led digital front door technology, and Acumentice’s hands-on consultancy and operational support in reducing waiting lists and [...]
Researchers in Australia are testing whether a virtual reality (VR) table tennis game can make balance rehabilitation exercises more enjoyable and effective. The study explores how VR headsets could help turn repetitive balance routines into more engaging experiences—potentially improving adherence to rehabilitation programmes. The research focused on a VR table tennis game played while participants [...]
Spending time in or around nature can provide people suffering from chronic lower back pain with a degree of escapism that helps them better manage their physical discomfort, a new study has shown. The research is the first of its kind to ask people experiencing chronic lower back pain – in some cases for almost [...]
A trial of an interactive game that trains people to alter their brain waves has shown promise as a treatment for nerve pain – offering hope for a new generation of drug-free treatments. The PainWaive technology teaches users how to regulate abnormal brain activity linked to chronic nerve pain, offering a potential in-home, non-invasive alternative [...]
A new study has found that depression is linked to an increased risk of dementia in both mid and later life. Previous studies have shown that people with depression are more likely to develop dementia later in life, but there’s been a lot of debate about when depression matters most, whether it’s depression that starts [...]
Nearly 40 per cent of paediatric patients with long COVID reported feeling significant symptoms of anxiety or depression in a recent study. The study included 139 patients evaluated at Kennedy Krieger’s Pediatric Post-COVID-19 Rehabilitation Clinic. Clinicians used mental health screening surveys to assess symptoms reported by the patients. The screenings also included measures [...]
Digital mental health company Psyomics has announce that its CEO, Dr Melinda Rees, has been awarded a prestigious NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) Fellowship. The NHS Innovation Accelerator is a highly selective programme that supports high-impact, evidence-based innovations to scale within the NHS. Backed by NHS England, the programme provides access to NHS expertise, mentorship, and [...]
Cyberbullying should be considered an adverse childhood experience (ACE) – a category of childhood trauma linked to long-term emotional, psychological and physical harm, new research suggests. While many assume that only extreme forms of online harassment – like threats or identity-based attacks – can cause significant harm, the findings suggest that even less visible or [...]
