Background: There is increasing interest in the use of telemedicine as a means of health care delivery especially in circumstances of pandemics. This is partly because technological advances have made the equipment less expensive and simpler to use and partly because increasing health care costs and patient expectations have increased the need to find alternative modes of health care delivery. Introduction: Telemedicine and telepsychiatry, in particular, are rapidly becoming important delivery approaches to providing clinical care and information to patients in cases wherein the medical resources and the patients are very hard to be brought together with respect to rules of behavior in case of epidemics. The reliance on technology to bridge the obstacles between the patients (consumers) and medical resources (providers) can create problems that impact service delivery and outcomes, but in cases such as this (COVID-19 pandemics), this is virtually the only tool for providing clinical care and information to patients. Materials and Methods: A client satisfaction survey was undertaken in a daily hospital (a part of University Clinic of Psychiatry in Skopje). The anonymous modified self-report questionnaire (short form patient satisfaction questionnaire [PSQ-18]) covering demographic, gender, and age variables was endorsed by 28 participants. The mean age of the subjects was 40.25-22 years, with a small majority of men (18 participants) versus women (11 participants). Results: Overall satisfaction with psychiatric care was high (80.22%). None of the demographic or other variables correlated significantly with satisfaction. Discussion: We had to reduce rate and time length of our face-to-face contacts with patients as a result of pandemics but they were able to reach their doctors virtually at all times. Conclusions: Many mental health professionals are using widely available, commercial software downloaded from the internet to provide care directly to a patient's home.

The functioning of the human body is regulated by the rhythmical change between rest and activity. The SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus) is responsible for the central control of the biorhythm and the genetic prediction of the individual chronotype, whereas peripheral time cues such as light, social contacts and times of meals modulate the rhythmical activity of the body. Shift workers suffer from a disruption of the sleep-wake rhythm, insomnia and a lack of melatonin. These factors might trigger the development of breast cancer in female shift workers. The growing amount of data which indicate the high risk of breast cancer in female shift workers demonstrates the need for the implementation of prevention strategies against insomnia in shift workers. These strategies include regular sleep education courses on the prevention of sleep disorders in companies. The individual chronotype could be an important predictor for the adaptability to shift work.

The sleep-related problems of shift workers usually occur as transient phenomena related to the timing of work. Sleep disorders, related to sleep deprivation, have a major impact on the quality of life and health status of healthcare workers. Reduced quantity and quality of sleep negatively affects the activities of shift workers, particularly in terms of their social functioning, quality of life and health. However, it seems that health authorities and the medical staff are negligent when it comes to the negative effects on health caused by work in night shifts. Recently published studies in this field suggest that appropriate public health preventive programs dealing with sleep disorders successfully contribute towards the quality of life of workers.

Eight community mental health care centres (initiated by the South-Eastern Europe Stability Pact) in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro and Romania were evaluated. Characteristics of patients, patient reported outcomes and patient views of care were assessed in 305 psychiatric patients. Patient characteristics varied across centres, with most patients having long term psychotic disorders. Treatment satisfaction and therapeutic relationships were rated favourably. Subjective quality of life mean scores were rather low, with higher satisfaction with health and dissatisfaction with the financial and employment situation. Being unemployed was the only factor associated with poor quality of life and lower treatment satisfaction. Most developing centres target patients with persistent psychotic disorders. Care appears highly valued by the patients. The findings encourage establishing more centres in the region and call for employment schemes for people with mental illnesses.

Purpose of review The aim of this scoping review was to identify and map the available evidence on recent innovations in community mental healthcare across the globe. Recent findings This review highlights the different innovative approaches and strategies being currently used in the field of community mental health. Key approaches found in the reviewed studies include collaborative care with the inclusion of peer workers, growing use of e-health and telepsychiatry, improved reforms on national mental health policies and de-institutionalization, modification of outreach models and mental health promotion in the community. The studies reviewed here suggest that continued innovation and implementation of new models and strategies have the potential to reduce the burden of disease and increase the quality of life for patients with mental health issues. Summary Growing body of evidence shows that integrative care is the new standard of care for people with mental illnesses, with necessity of continuity of care from emergency department to community mental health services. Social determinants of rehabilitation and recovery, and peers support remain a new main topic of research in area of treatment of people with severe mental illnesses. E-health tools are becoming prevalent in the processes of promotion, prevention and treatment in mental healthcare.