TOPIC

Mental health research

Everything we have read on mental health. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

736 PAPERS · PAGE 8 OF 15 · NEWEST FIRST

• RNRCT2024The Effect of Peer-Mentor Support for Older Vulnerable Patients With Ischemic Heart Disease-A 24-Week Randomized Controlled Trial.The Journal of cardiovascular nursingOlder, vulnerable heart patients who also got a trained peer mentor attended cardiac rehabilitation more often than those receiving usual care. The mentoring did not show clear improvement in anxiety, depression, quality of life, diet, physical activity, or self-efficacy.
• RNOther2024Psychological Symptom Cluster Severity Profiles Are Associated With Higher Levels of Stress and Worse Quality of Life in Postmenopausal Women With Breast Cancer.Cancer nursingPostmenopausal women after breast cancer surgery grouped by anxiety, depression, fatigue, and sleep symptoms showed more posttraumatic stress and poorer quality of life as symptom severity rose. All groups reported clinically relevant sleep disturbance.
• RNQualitative2024"Share the Fear": Communication Concerns of Parents With Cancer With Dependents and Coparents: A Qualitative Needs Assessment Study.Cancer nursingParents with cancer and coparents both struggled with what to tell children, money, emotions, and end-of-life. Coparents often felt overwhelmed and hid distress. Most preferred virtual support. These are themes, not tested outcomes.
• RNSystematic Review2025Decision Regret About Treatment Amongst Women With Early Breast Cancer: An Integrative Review.Journal of advanced nursingWomen with early breast cancer can report treatment decision regret, especially after mastectomy. Regret was linked with poorer communication, lower health literacy, and anxiety.
• RNSystematic Review2025Conceptualisation and Measurement of Resilience of Adults With Cancer: An Umbrella Review.Journal of advanced nursingResilience in adults with cancer was defined differently across reviews, but four parts appeared: personal resources, social support, coping, and recovering mental health. Most resilience questionnaires measured only some of these.
• RNNarrative Review2025Language-specific approaches to reduce perioperative stress and anxiety related to anaesthesia for patients with limited English proficiency: A narrative review.Journal of perioperative practiceFor patients with limited English proficiency, perioperative anxiety appears linked to not understanding anaesthesia information. Native-language education, reliable interpreters and culturally adapted materials may help, but no method is proven to reduce anaesthesia stress.
• RNRCT2025A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating Peer Recovery Coaches for Addiction Recovery Among Indigenous Americans.Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses AssociationPeer recovery coaching did not show sustained reductions in alcohol or drug use among Indigenous adults. It was acceptable and early drinking days were lower, but differences did not persist. Do not expect it alone to prevent relapse.
• RNOther2025A Mixed Methods Evaluation of a Nurse-Led Domestic and Family Violence Service.Journal of advanced nursing233 women in a nurse-led domestic violence service were contacted quickly and assessed for injuries, including strangulation. Staff said outreach and coordination helped them reach health care. This was a service evaluation, not a tested intervention.
• RNOther2025Differentiating Therapeutic Responses That Reduce Restrictive Practice Use and Situational Aggression in an Acute Mental Health Unit.Journal of clinical nursingIn an acute mental health unit, stand-alone verbal de-escalation was associated with lower seclusion, lower restraint and reduced situational aggression. Adding distraction, sensory modulation, environment change or individualised staff time did not show benefit.
• RNCohort2025Perceived Discrimination, Trauma, Mental Health, and Blood Pressure Outcomes Among Young African American/Black Mothers in the InterGEN Study.The Journal of cardiovascular nursingAmong young African American/Black mothers, more reported racial discrimination and race-related trauma was linked to increases in systolic blood pressure over 6 months. Depressive symptoms were not linked to systolic blood pressure change.
• RNQualitative2025A Practice Research Study of How Youth Understand and Manage Risks Associated With Their Food Allergy.Journal of advanced nursingYouth with food allergy described clinic risk advice as both reassuring and anxiety provoking. Nurses and doctors sometimes escalated warnings about adrenaline autoinjectors, which some experienced as frightening rather than helpful.
• RNCohort2026A 28-Day Ecological Momentary Assessment of Mental Health Among Psychiatric Outpatients With Suicidal Ideation.Journal of advanced nursingAverage 28-day suicidal ideation did not differ between high- and low-risk outpatients. Daily depression, anxiety and stress were associated with higher momentary suicidal ideation, especially depression, and high-risk showed flatter daily patterns.
• RNCohort2025Older Adults With Cardiovascular Disease and Their Care Partners: An Analysis of Care Needs, Care Activities, and Care Partner Stress and Mental Health.The Journal of cardiovascular nursingOlder adults with cardiovascular disease often need help with mobility, self-care, medications, and medical visits. Their unpaid care partners do many tasks and report stress, pain, and anxiety or depression symptoms. Ask who is helping, but this study did not test whether that changes outcomes.
• RNSurvey2025Association Between Red Cell Index and Depressive Symptoms in NHANES (2005-2018): A Cross-sectional Study.Cancer nursingAmong US cancer survivors, a blood index called RCI was not clearly linked to fewer depressive symptoms after accounting for demographics, blood tests, smoking and common illnesses. A lower likelihood appeared only below a threshold value.
• RNSystematic Review2026Substance Use Disorders in Adolescents: A Qualitative Systematic Review.Journal of advanced nursingAdolescents with substance use disorder described starting use through curiosity, family conflict, peers and easy access, then facing health, school, family and legal harms. They asked for motivated, nonjudgmental treatment with family support and coping skills.
• RNRCT2026Efficacy of Virtual Reality vs. Tablet Games for Pain and Anxiety in Children Undergoing Bone Pins Removal: Randomised Clinical Trial.Journal of advanced nursingFor children undergoing bone pin or suture removal, VR and tablet games produced similar pain and anxiety outcomes after the procedure. VR was not superior, though parents and healthcare professionals preferred it.
• RNSurvey2026Care Needs of Community-Dwelling Older Adults Living in Poverty and Their Relationship With Other Biopsychosocial Variables: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of advanced nursingHalf of older adults living in poverty had unmet needs for money and food budgets. Lower independence, higher loneliness, and poorer quality of life were linked to fewer met care needs. Assessing these social and functional factors is essential for this population.
• RNRCT2025Interactive AI Routines for Pain Symptoms and Loneliness in Older Adults.Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management NursesOlder adults living alone with chronic musculoskeletal pain did not report less pain severity after 12 weeks of voice-assistant routines combining meditation, games, music, and jokes. Pain interference, loneliness, and depression decreased in some groups, but no untreated control.
• RNQualitative2026You Can't Hold Their Hand the Whole Time: A Qualitative Study of Parents' Experiences of Adolescents With Food Allergy.Journal of advanced nursingParents of adolescents with food allergy described constant worry, family restrictions, and difficulty trusting their child to manage allergies. Misconceptions and poor confidence in using adrenaline persisted despite years of experience.
• RNCohort2026Factors Affecting the Quality of Life of Parents of Children With Spina Bifida: The Mediating Role of Family Resilience.Journal of advanced nursingParental quality of life was lower when parents had more depression or stress, had low income, or had children needing enemas. Family resilience was linked to better quality of life and partly linked depression to quality of life.
• RNSurvey2025Pregnancy, Birth, and Mental Health Outcomes Associated With Recent Reproductive Coercion and Intimate Partner Violence in a Crowd-Sourced National Sample.Journal of midwifery & women's healthReproductive coercion alone was linked to preterm birth and low birth weight, but when combined with other partner violence, the risk of unplanned pregnancy and suicidal thoughts rose sharply. Screening for coercion and violence is essential for perinatal mental health.
• RNCohort2026The Role of Nursing Diagnoses in Enhancing Prognostic Accuracy in Home-Based Cancer Care: Insights From a Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of clinical nursingIn home-based cancer care, nurses' documented diagnoses of poor nutrition and death anxiety, plus a high palliative prognostic score and terminal illness, were associated with death. They may help flag patients needing earlier comfort-focused palliative care.
• RNSurvey2026Childhood abuse and maladaptive coping in care leavers: An exploratory study on attachment and Early Maladaptive Schemas.Journal of child health care : for professionals working with children in the hospital and communityCare leavers reported very high childhood maltreatment, attachment insecurity and maladaptive coping. In this small study, anxiety about closeness and beliefs about rejection were linked to more coping difficulties; avoidance was linked to fewer.
• RNSurvey2026Grief and Psychopathology in Bereaved Caregivers of Palliative Care Patients: The Mediating and Moderating Roles of Distress, Burden and Social Support.Journal of advanced nursingFor families caring for palliative patients, higher grief risk was tied to more mental health symptoms when emotional burden was high or practical support was low. High support seemed to weaken this link. This was measured at one time.
• RNPilot2026Evaluating a Group-Based Intervention Addressing Fear of Childbirth in Multiparous Pregnant Women: A Mixed Methods Feasibility Study.Journal of advanced nursingA group intervention for women who had given birth before and feared childbirth was feasible and well accepted. Fear scores fell, but without a control group and with usual maternity care also given, this cannot show the intervention caused the change.
• RNQualitative2026The Family Caregiver Role From the Perspective of Older Women Experiencing Poverty in a High-Income Country: A Qualitative Study.Journal of advanced nursingOlder women caring for relatives in poverty relied mainly on daughters, granddaughters and neighbours, not formal services. They described skipping food, losing dignity, and seeing care as a woman's duty, while feeling unsupported by health and social services.
• RNMeta-Analysis2025Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Interventions for Perioperative Anxiety in Adults: A Systemic Review With Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical nursingThe combined analysis did not show a significant reduction in preoperative anxiety with virtual reality. Individual studies often reported lower anxiety and higher satisfaction, but findings were inconsistent.
• RNNarrative Review2025The Role of Technology Use in the Context of Social Isolation Among Immigrant Older Adults.The Canadian journal of nursing research = Revue canadienne de recherche en sciences infirmieresImmigrant older adults used technology to stay connected when local contact was hard, but language, low education, cost and digital skills limited access. This review does not show that technology or nurse screening improves isolation.
• RNOther2025Seclusion Rates and Workplace Violence on a Psychiatric Emergency Department Unit.Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses AssociationAfter adding violence screening, patient-specified agitation factors, de-escalation preferences, handoff communication, staff training, and post-incident debriefs on a psychiatric emergency unit, seclusion hours fell from 5.56 to 3.73 per 1,000 length-of-stay hours, and workplace violence reports fell from four to three.
• PTOTRNMeta-Analysis2026Effects of Psychosocial Interventions on Loneliness Amongst Long-Term Care Residents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of advanced nursingFace-to-face group activities lasting under eight weeks cut loneliness in long-term care residents. Lifestyle activities like laughter, gardening and exercise worked better than psychological therapies. Virtual visits with family showed no benefit.
• RNSystematic Review2026Effectiveness of Organisational Strategies for Pressure Injury Prevention and Treatment in Acute Hospital Settings: A Systematic Review.Journal of advanced nursingOrganisational bundles combining education, audit and feedback, and leadership support reduced pressure injury incidence in three of seven studies, though overall evidence was inconclusive. The specific mix of strategies needed for success remains unclear, and results varied widely across acute hospital settings.
• RNQualitative2026Parental decision-making for non-urgent emergency department presentations in Victoria, Australia.Journal of child health care : for professionals working with children in the hospital and communityParents who took a child to an emergency department for a non-urgent problem said anxiety and lack of timely primary care made the ED feel like the only place. They wanted quick reassurance and answers, not always a better doctor.
• RNSystematic Review2025How Do Spouses Experience Living Alone After Their Partner With Dementia Moves Into a Care Home?Journal of clinical nursingSpouses left at home after a partner with dementia enters a care home often describe loss, guilt and grief. Visiting can feel like duty, surveillance or relieving loneliness. Some report practical relief, yet many feel unable to move on.
• RNCase-Control2025Postpartum Hemorrhage and the Likelihood of Exclusive Breastfeeding Through 6 Months Postpartum: A Case-Control Study.Journal of midwifery & women's healthPeople who had postpartum hemorrhage were less likely to exclusively breastfeed at 4 and 6 months and stopped about 5 weeks earlier. The study shows an association, not that hemorrhage caused lower breastfeeding.
• RNMeta-Analysis2026The Association Between Caregiver Psychosocial Factors and Depressive Symptoms in People With Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of advanced nursingCaregiver distress and lower caregiver quality of life showed the strongest links with more depressive symptoms in people with dementia; caregiver anxiety and relationship quality did not.
• RNMeta-Analysis2026Examining the Impact of Telehealth Stoma Care Interventions on the Ostomates: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical nursingTelehealth stoma care, delivered by nurses in most included studies, improved stoma adjustment and self-efficacy versus usual care, but did not show a reduction in anxiety and had inconsistent quality-of-life effects.
• RNSystematic Review2025Experiences of Care for Adolescents With Mental Health Difficulties in Acute Paediatric Services: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical nursingAdolescents with mental health difficulties in acute paediatric services felt neglected and unsafe, while staff reported stigma and inadequate training. Families were dissatisfied with symptom management. Care requires specialist pathways, de-stigmatised communication, and environmental adjustments.
• RNSurvey2025An Exploratory Study of Sleep Quality After Lung Transplantation Using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.Progress in transplantation (Aliso Viejo, Calif.)Sixty-one lung transplant recipients reported poor sleep: 64% scored above the threshold for poor quality. Most woke to use the bathroom or had low sleep efficiency, and nearly half used sleep medications in the past month.
• RNQualitative2026Grit in the Workplace Experienced by Taiwanese Adults With Congenital Heart Disease: A Phenomenological Study.Journal of clinical nursingEmployed Taiwanese adults with congenital heart disease described managing work by choosing low-pressure jobs, pacing shifts, relying on family and colleagues, and seeing grit as persistence that respected health limits rather than pushing through pain.
• RNPilot2025Inflammation markers associated with symptoms and neighborhood deprivation in black adults with heart failure.Heart & lung : the journal of critical careIn 41 Black adults with heart failure, higher neighborhood deprivation was linked to more stress and poor sleep, and several blood markers of inflammation and oxidative stress were linked to worse breathing, fatigue, mood, and symptom burden. These were associations, not proof of cause.
• RNRCT2025Exploring Factors Associated with Sleep Quality After Lung Transplantation.Progress in transplantation (Aliso Viejo, Calif.)65 of 88 lung transplant recipients reported poor sleep. Psychological distress was the main factor linked to poor sleep, and wheezing also stood out; daily step count did not differ between sleep groups.
• RNQualitative2026A Qualitative Study Exploring Nursing Scope of Practice for the Care of People Experiencing Homelessness.Journal of advanced nursingPeople experiencing homelessness and nurses said care should be non-judgemental, flexible and culturally safe, with nurses able to assess physical and mental health, manage wounds and medications, and navigate services. These are perceptions, not tested effects.
• RNCohort2025Effects of Sociospatial Inequality on Exposure to Stress, Symptoms of Depression, and Cortisol Rhythms in Pregnancy.Journal of obstetric, gynecologic, and neonatal nursing : JOGNNCortisol slope and total output were not linked to sociospatial inequality. Pregnant women in concentrated privilege areas had fewer lifetime stress exposures, and elevated depression symptoms were more likely in concentrated deprivation. Income extremes showed larger cortisol rhythm fluctuations.
• RNCohort2025Impact of Nurse-Led Cardiovascular Risk Assessment and Management Program on 1-Year Outcomes in Patients on Hemodialysis Post Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.The Journal of cardiovascular nursingPatients on hemodialysis after PCI who received nurse-led risk management had a greater 1-year reduction in cardiovascular risk and fewer major adverse cardiovascular events than usual care. The study was retrospective, so this is not proof the program caused benefit.
• RNMeta-Analysis2026The Effect of Theory-Guided Positive Psychological Interventions for Patients With Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical nursingTheory-guided positive psychological interventions improved quality of life in 412 breast cancer patients across five randomised trials, with moderate certainty.
• RNQualitative2025Perspectives of Nurses and Adolescents About Pro Re Nata Treatment in Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatric Units: A Qualitative Study.Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursingAdolescents and nurses described PRN medication as a tool for autonomy and dialogue rather than just symptom control. Nurses used PRN requests to gauge distress levels and build trust, while adolescents viewed the transition to PRN as a step toward discharge and self-management.
• RNQualitative2025Digital Health Applications in Access to Health Service From the Perspective of Older Adults: "It Is Difficult to Keep up With the Digital Age …".Public health nursing (Boston, Mass.)Nine older adults in Türkiye said digital health apps were either easy or hard, often because steps were confusing, they feared mistakes, or they lacked training. Only three used services alone. Nurses cannot assume older patients can use appointment systems independently.
• RNSystematic Review2025A systematic review of psychosocial screening tools for identification of postpartum mental health status beyond depressive symptoms.MidwiferyPostpartum screening beyond depression, especially anxiety and PTSD tools, can find cases missed by depression screening alone. But most studies did not show that screening led to more treatment or better symptoms, so referral pathways must be ready.
• RNSystematic Review2025Effectiveness of Group Interventions With Socially-Assistive Robots for Older Adults: A Systematic Review.Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of NursingRobot-assisted group sessions often engaged older adults and increased conversation, but cognition, agitation, and depression showed no clear difference from control groups.
• RNRCT2025Efficacy of Family Health Conversations on Mental Health, Family Wellbeing, and Family Functioning for Parents of Infants Requiring Mechanical Respiratory Support During Neonatal Intensive Care.Journal of family nursingFamily Health Conversations did not improve parents’ family functioning more than usual NICU care. Anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms fell over time in both groups, and family wellbeing and functioning stayed stable.