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Aim First use of opioids often happens in adolescence and an increasing number of opioid overdoses are being reported among youth. The purpose of this narrative review was to present the treatment approaches for youth with high‐risk opioid use, determine whether the literature supports the use of opioid agonist treatment among youth and identify evidence for better treatment outcomes in the younger population. Methods A search of the literature on PubMed using MeSH terms specific to youth, opioid use and treatment approaches generated 1436 references. Following a screening process, 137 papers were found to be relevant to the treatment of high‐risk opioid use among youth. After full‐text review, 19 eligible studies were included: four randomized controlled trials, nine observational studies and six reviews. Results Research for the different treatment options among youth is limited. The available evidence shows better outcomes in terms of retention in care and cost‐effectiveness for opioid agonist treatment than abstinence‐based comparisons. Integrating psychosocial interventions into the continuum of care for youth can be an effective way of addressing comorbid psychiatric conditions and emotional drivers of substance use, leading to improved treatment trajectories. Conclusions From the limited findings, there is no evidence to deny youth with high‐risk opioid use the same treatment options available to adults. A combination of pharmacological and youth‐specific psychosocial interventions is required to maximize retention and survival. There is an urgent need for more research to inform clinical strategies toward appropriate treatment goals for such vulnerable individuals.

Background In Egypt, the shortage of mental health services, particularly for adolescents and young adults, is apparent. Electronic mental health (EMH) has been proposed as a solution to bridge the gap and better address the needs of young people. However, EMH is new to Egypt and its acceptability among target populations is crucial to its implementation and success. Objective The objective of this study is to explore the interest of Egyptian youth in EMH, identify perceived barriers to EMH, and inform the design of EMH tools to best address the needs of youth. Methods A web-based cross-sectional survey was distributed among medical students at Tanta University in Egypt. Chi-square and one-way analysis of variance tests were performed for inferential analyses using a significance level of .05. Results Of the 707 individuals who completed the survey (90.9% response rate), 60.5% (428) were female, 62% (438) lived in urban and suburban areas, and the mean age of the sample was 20.5 (SD 1.8) years. The vast majority of participants (522/707, 73.8%) had already used the internet to find information about mental health problems, but the information was unsatisfactory for about half of them (386/707, 54.6%). Almost all students reported that they would prefer web-based therapy if EMH were available through a trustworthy national web-based platform for youth mental health (601/707, 85%). Students believed that emotional difficulties, social support, and coping strategies were the main topics that EMH should help with. The most common perceived barriers for EMH use in Egypt were concerns about privacy (382/707, 54%) and a lack of technology literacy and unfamiliarity with EMH (352/707, 50%). Conclusions EMH is a promising strategy for addressing gaps in the mental health care for young people. To construct and implement a digital system of care that addresses the unique needs and preferences of youth, adolescents and young adults should be involved in the co-development and design.

Introduction: Given the increasing global burden of mental illness, the existing shortage of psychiatrists internationally is a concerning development with a deteriorating trajectory. In 2016, only 5% of US medical students considered a career in psychiatry, and the situation is similar in other areas (e.g., European countries). Attracting medical students to the field of psychiatry is evidently necessary. This paper investigates European medical students’ attitudes towards psychiatry, their intentions to pursue psychiatry as a career, and the role of different factors such as personal experience and education on their interest in psychiatry. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was analyzed from 799 medical students in two European countries. Data was collected in 2016. Participants completed a survey on their attitudes towards psychiatry, their medical education regarding psychiatry, and personal experiences. Cross tabulations with chi-square tests were performed for inferential analyses using a significance level of 0.05. Results: The number of years spent in medical school, the students’ personal experiences, and the perceived quality of education was significantly associated with specialty choice and ranking of psychiatry relative to other specialties. Students’ exposure to internships, psychiatric placements, and their view on psychiatric instructors also played a significant role in choosing psychiatry as a profession. Conclusions: The systematic evaluation of students’ attitudes towards psychiatry and motivational factors for pursuing psychiatry as a specialty, such as psychiatric education in medical school and personal experience, can inform necessary changes in the recruitment of students to the field. Efforts must address the worldwide shortage of psychiatrists to effectively reduce the burden of disease associated with mental health and substance use.

BACKGROUND In Egypt, the shortage of mental health services, particularly for adolescents and young adults is apparent. Electronic mental health (EMH) solutions have been brought forward as solutions to bridge the gap and better address the needs of young people. However, EMH is new to Egypt and crucial to its implementation and success is the acceptability, access and appropriateness for the tar-get populations OBJECTIVE Our objective was to utilize an online cross-sectional survey to identify key areas that need to be addressed in order for Electronic mental health (EMH) solutions to be implemented to the youth population in Egypt. METHODS An online cross-sectional survey was distributed among medical students at Tanta University in Egypt. Of the 707 individuals who completed the survey (90.9% response rate), 60.5% were fe-male, 62.0% lived in urban and suburban areas, and the mean age of the sample was 20.5 (±1.8) years old. RESULTS The vast majority of participants had already used the internet to find information about mental health problems (73.8%), but the information was unsatisfactory for about half of them (45.6%). Almost all students reported that they would prefer internet-based therapy if EMH were available through a trustworthy national internet platform for youth mental health (85%). Students believed that emotional difficulties, social support, and coping strategies were the main topics that EMH should help with. The most common perceived barriers for using EMH in Egypt were concerns about privacy (54%) and a lack of technology literacy and unfamiliarity with EMH (50%). CONCLUSIONS EMH is a promising strategy addressing gaps in mental health care for young people, who are open to it. To implement a digital system of care and engage youth they should be involved in co-development and design. Universities are a very good place to start such a development for the country.