A systematic review of the effectiveness of machine learning for predicting psychosocial outcomes in acquired brain injury: Which algorithms are used and why?

Clinicians working in the field of acquired brain injury (ABI, an injury to the brain sustained after birth) are challenged to develop suitable care pathways for an individual client’s needs. Being able to predict psychosocial outcomes after ABI would enable clinicians and service providers to make advance decisions and better tailor care plans. Machine learning (ML, a predictive method from the field of artificial intelligence) is increasingly used for predicting ABI outcomes. This review aimed to examine the efficacy of using ML to make psychosocial predictions in ABI, evaluate the methodological quality of studies, and understand researchers’ rationale for their choice of ML algorithms. Nine studies were reviewed from five databases, predicting a range of psychosocial outcomes from stroke, traumatic brain injury, and concussion. Eleven types of ML were employed with a total of 75 ML models. Every model was evaluated as having high risk of bias, unable to provide adequate evidence for predictive performance due to poor methodological quality. Overall, there was limited rationale for the choice of ML algorithms and poor evaluation of the methodological limitations by study authors. Considerations for overcoming methodological shortcomings are discussed, along with suggestions for assessing the suitability of data and suitability of ML algorithms for different ABI research questions.     

“I can teach what’s in the book”: Understanding the why and how behind teachers’ implementation of a social-emotional learning (SEL) focused curriculum in rural Malawi

Contextualizing the role of teachers in social-emotional learning (SEL) in Malawi, we examine how teachers’ comfort with, commitment to, and perceived school culture toward SEL relate to their actual teaching of it. Using surveys from 432 primary school teachers (20–60 years old), we found teacher comfort and supportive school culture were positively related to integration of SEL into classroom instruction, while commitment had no statistically significant relationship with implementation. We explore plausible explanations for these findings by interviewing 42 teachers. Together, our findings highlight the importance of teacher support systems and cultural compatibility of the curriculum for successful SEL implementation.     

Stigmatisation intériorisée et consommation de substances psychoactives : revue systématique de la littérature

IntroductionSubstance use is a very stigmatized condition all over the world. Moreover, lots of people who use drugs or alcohol tend to internalize these stigmas, which can lead to harmful consequences. Corrigan's progressive model of self-stigma suggest that individuals go through four stages to internalize the stigma (aware, agree, apply, harm) and then undergo a stage of resignation and lack of hope and energy called “why try”. Research seems to be increasingly interested in this phenomenon, so we wonder, where we stand in the comprehension of internalized stigma for substances users?ObjectiveThis work aims to systematically review ten-past years studies about self-stigma in substance addiction in order to assess the status of curr ent works in this area.MethodThis systematic review was led inspired by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statements on the electronic databases PubMed, PsycInfo and PsycArticle. The inclusion criteria were: references published between 2010 and 2020, in French or English language which shows results about self-stigma for psychoactives substances users. A total of 39 studies met the eligibility criteria for inclusion in this review.ResultsSynthesizing findings across the studies revealed some important topics. First, the progressive model seems to be statistically valid among drug and/or alcohol users. Nevertheless, self-stigma of drugs and/or alcohol is not the only condition that entails users. A varieties of other factors (i.e. HIV, sex work) are to be considered in the understanding of stigmatization. In the studies, negative consequences due to self-stigma in substance use were observed such as depression or anxiety symptoms, lower self-esteem and negatives emotions as fear and shame.ConclusionAll these results are to be considered within their limits. In light of these findings, the knowledge acquired will allow professionals to develop new interventions to prevent and to reduce self-stigma of drug and/or alcohol users.