- Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and all six of his living predecessors will join Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock for a panel discussion seeking solutions to the national mental health crisis. Watch the recording here.
- Casting a line could reel in a lot more than the catch of the day. A recent study shows that men who enjoy fishing as a hobby may have better mental health. The study, conducted by researchers at Anglia Ruskin University, Ulster University, and Queen’s University found that fishing regularly contributed to a lower risk of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and other mental health conditions. Of the 1,752 male participants polled, those who fished on a regular basis were nearly 17% less likely to experience mental health conditions than those who did not. Read more here.
- Depressed, anxious, or grief-stricken? Go to therapy. However, what if the therapist is grieving or burned out? An August 2023 survey from SimplePractice suggests therapists are overwhelmed and in need of therapy, too. The company, which primarily operates software that assists mental healthcare workers in private practice, surveyed 550 therapists who use their product, including counselors, social workers, psychologists, substance abuse workers, and others, to learn about their overall wellbeing. Read more here.
- Headway, a healthcare tech startup that connects patients and in-network therapists and psychiatrists who can provide insurance-covered care, has told Reuters that they raised $125 million in Series C funding. The round of financing, which valued the company at $1 billion, was led by Spark Capital, with investor participation from Thrive Capital, Accel, and Andreessen Horowitz. Insurance company Health Care Service Corporation also joined. Headway, based in New York, also offers billing and claims software for providers. Andrew Adams, chief executive at Headway, said the startup stands out for its provider-first approach. Read more here.
- Among approximately 1.9 million claims for children and youths with commercial insurance, utilization and spending trends were generally consistent across pediatric mental health diagnoses. Compared to pre-pandemic, in-person pediatric mental health services declined by 42% during the pandemic’s acute phase, while pediatric telehealth services increased 30-fold (3027%), representing a 13% relative increase in overall utilization. By August 2022, in-person services returned to 75% of pre-pandemic levels, with telemental health utilization 2300% higher than pre-pandemic levels. During the post-acute period, we observed a gradual increase in spending rates compared with pre-pandemic for in-person, telehealth, and total visits. Read more here.
- The Air Force said it will review the cases of former airmen who claim the service discriminated against them due to a mental health condition, or being victimized by sexual assault or harassment, by ousting them with an other-than-honorable discharge. Those discharges will receive a fresh look as part of a proposed settlement in Johnson v. Kendall, a class-action lawsuit filed against the Air Force in federal district court in Connecticut in 2021 to challenge the service’s separation practices. Read more here.
The Opioid Crisis and Addiction Issues
- The Stanislaus County District Attorney's office describes their increases in drug-related overdose deaths in recent weeks as unprecedented and showing no signs of slowing down. The agency has released a health alert on social media, warning people to carry naloxone, the overdose reversal drug, and to check in on family members with a history of substance use. Read more here.
- Emergency responders were just four minutes away. “But still four minutes — if they are completely not breathing, it’s four minutes too long,” Foster said. Foster obtained a dose of naloxone, which can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose, and gave it to the student, who revived. At Mitchell High School in Colorado Springs, a student died when officials didn’t have naloxone. Colorado Springs has since joined dozens of state districts in supplying middle and high schools with the medication. Since 2019, Colorado now has a program for schools to obtain the medicine for free or at reduced cost. Read more here.
Gender Affirming Care and LGBTQ Issues
- A substantial proportion of the LGBTQ community reports having been subjected to systematic efforts to deter them from expressing their sexuality or gender identity, according to a major new international review consisting of over a dozen studies. Known as conversion therapy, such treatment has been broadly condemned by psychological and medical organizations and has been banned for minors in 22 states. The study found that transgender people reported a history of conversion therapy at a higher rate than gays and lesbians. Read more here.
Manage Cookie Preferences