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Micro-finance self-help groups empower caregivers to indulge in productive activities based on the local availability of resources to reduce their financial burden. The purpose of this paper is to assess the need for and feasibility of initiating micro-finance groups for the caregivers of persons with mental disability in a rural socio-economically backward community of Karnataka, India.

The design of the study was a cross-sectional survey, with mixed methodology design out of the eight localities where the Mental Health Public Health Centres (PHC) were running successfully in Konandur area, Thirthahalli Taluk, Karnataka, one PHC was selected using simple Random Sampling Design and a 5 kms radius from Konandur town was selected as the area of the survey (190 households). During door-to-door survey, if the family indicated that a particular member is mentally unwell, the GHQ-5 and Symptoms and Others checklist were administered on him/her and the women caregiver was interviewed using qualitative needs assessment schedule and Perceived Social Support Scale.

Ten persons/households with mental illness (5.26 per cent) were identified in the community. Themes of financial needs, capacity of the caregiver, community resources, need for the microfinance self-help groups, informational needs, social support, burn out, and stigma elicited in the interview were depicted in the form of a conceptual framework to understand the inter-connectedness between the various themes.

This study is the first initiative in the field of micro-finance self-help groups for the persons with mental illness and families. The design of the study was a cross-sectional survey, which is found globally to be the most suited in conducting prevalence studies, as it provides accurate results for future studies as well as it is the first step to obtain accurate baseline values to later plan a prospective follow up study. The study used mixed methodology design. Though the sample size was small, the information collected from the participants in qualitative and quantitative method was triangulated and conceptual frameworks were developed. As this study is one of the first of its kind in the country, the results of this study from the stated sample can be considered as an important pilot for future longitudinal and cross-sectional studies to be planned in the community.

There is hardly any scientific literature which talks about the need for Micro-finance self-help groups for Persons with Disability, especially with person with mental disability. In order to initiate any Micro-finance SHG activities, it is essential to first undertake the need for and feasibility of initiating such micro-finance group activities in any given area. This study will be an important milestone in initiating any self-help group activity for caregivers of persons with mental disability, as it would help us understand the financial needs of the community, based on which a draft proposal to initiate micro-finance self-help group activities can be drawn up.

This paper aims to explore the relevant literature available regarding the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) as a mode of treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); to evaluate the evidence to support the use of rTMS as a treatment option for OCD.

The authors electronically conducted data search in five research databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, Psych INFO, SCOPUS and EMBASE) using all identified keywords and index terms across all the databases to identify empirical studies and randomized controlled trials. The authors included articles published with randomized control designs, which aimed at the treatment of OCD with rTMS. Only full-text published articles written in English were reviewed. Review articles on treatment for conditions other than OCD were excluded. The Covidence software was used to manage and streamline the review.

Despite the inconsistencies in the published literature, the application of rTMS over the supplementary motor area and the orbitofrontal cortex has proven to be promising in efficacy and tolerability compared with other target regions such as the prefrontal cortex for the treatment of OCD. Despite the diversity in terms of the outcomes and clinical variability of the studies under review, rTMS appears to be a promising treatment intervention for OCD.

The authors of this scoping review acknowledge several limitations. First, the search strategy considered only studies published in English and the results are up to date as the last day of the electronic data search of December 10, 2020. Though every effort was made to identify all relevant studies for the purposes of this review per the eligibility criteria, the authors still may have missed some relevant studies, especially those published in other languages.

This review brought to bare the varying literature on the application of rTMS and what is considered gaps in the knowledge in this area in an attempt to evaluate and provide information on the potential therapeutic effects of rTMS for OCD.