- I'd never felt unsafe in medicine, even after that incident, because it wasn't a targeted assault -- I was just a victim of his pathology. But he was a victim of it too: scared and responding to both internal and external stimuli, he wasn't a perpetrator, he was just a patient. But times have changed. Punching, kicking, slapping, spitting, scratching, throwing, grabbing, yelling, biting -- I've personally been on the receiving end of all of those in the past couple years. People are angrier, in healthcare and in the world. Read more here.
- As students return to their dorms and to full class loads this fall, North Carolina universities, health officials and legislators are continuing efforts to address mental health concerns on campus. Providing young people with the mental health resources they need is crucial, said Dan Marlowe, associate dean and chair of Behavioral Health at Campbell University, during an Aug. 24 town hall on mental health at the school. Read more here.
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is associated with a higher incidence of depression, anorexia or post-traumatic stress disorder as well as the risk of suicide attempts, a new study found. A neurodevelopmental condition, ADHD is a pattern of hyperactivity, inattention and impulsive behavior that interferes with daily functioning or development. People with ADHD were 30% more likely to attempt suicide and 9% more likely to develop major depression, according to the study, which could only show associations and not prove a direct cause and effect. Read more here.
- While most of us have heard about the "Freshman 15" — the stereotypical first-year weight gain among college students — a growing share of young adults are experiencing quite the opposite. Some 10% to 20% of females and 4% to 10% of males in college suffer from an eating disorder, according to estimates from the National Eating Disorder Association. JD Ouellette, a California-based eating disorder expert at Equip, a virtual counseling service, agreed that the rates of disordered eating have been increasing for some time among this age group, a trend the pandemic accelerated. Read more here.
- In the midst of an undeniable teen mental health crisis — with soaring rates of anxiety, depression and suicide — a dramatic shortage of psychiatrists in North Carolina and across the country is making it harder for children to get the treatment they need before they go into crisis. The problem stems largely from an aging workforce and the relatively low pay psychiatrists receive — far less than other doctors. It’s contributing to the surge of adolescents with mental health problems landing in hospital emergency rooms, where they sometimes wait for days or weeks for an available bed at an inpatient psychiatric facility. Read more here.
- Since the pandemic, emergency departments in North Carolina and across the country have been overwhelmed by adolescents in crisis. Many end up stuck there for days or weeks waiting for a spot in an inpatient facility. Although there is widespread agreement that a hospital ER is not an ideal place for a child in mental health distress, the state doesn’t have enough mental health providers, outpatient treatment programs and inpatient psychiatric facilities to treat all the kids who need help. For parents worried they can’t keep their kids safe at home, that leaves the ER. Read more here.
- All seven living former Veterans Affairs Secretaries are joining with a coalition of advocacy groups to call for all Americans to participate in National Warrior Call Day this November in an effort to help prevent veteran suicides. The event — set for Nov. 12, the day after national Veterans Day ceremonies — is designed to highlight the estimated 17 veterans a day lost to suicide and prompt members of the public to take a role in reaching out to veterans. Read more here.
- In recent years, the opioid epidemic has been worsened by the advent of street fentanyl, an illicit version of a powerful prescription painkiller. But experts now warn that the threat posed by fentanyl may ultimately pale in comparison to the emergence of an even more dangerous type of synthetic opioid that's now tainting the illegal drug supply: nitazenes. That's because a new investigation finds nitazenes are 1,000 times more potent than morphine, which makes them 10 times more power than fentanyl. Read more here.
- To improve access to crisis services, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline converted from a 1-800 number to a 3-digit dialing code in July 2022 and ramped up its capacity to handle calls. Since this transition, the new 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, where the old 1-800 number is now rerouted, has fielded more calls, texts, and online chats, and has responded to them more quickly. But despite such improvements, some states struggle with keeping up answer rates, and many people aren’t aware of the services provided—assuming they even know 988 exists. Read more here.
- This summer, daytime temperatures topped 100 degrees for a full month in Phoenix. In northwest China, temperatures soared above 125 degrees. Southern Europe withstood waves of 100-plus degree days. Wrapped together, heat waves illustrate a sobering reality: human-driven climate change is making extreme heat worse worldwide. But health-threatening heat isn't the only outcome of record-breaking weather: air pollution spikes when the temperatures rise according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization. Read more here.
Social Isolation and Mental Health
- In this era that places such high value on personal engagement, interpersonal support, and community involvement, it is quite surprising to learn that a large and growing number of Americans are living alone. Recent information from the Census Bureau shows that almost one-third of US households only have a single member. From 8% in 1940, the number of households with “solitaries” has more than tripled to an estimated 29% in 2022. This represents more than 36 million households at present. Read more here.
- A new research letter in JAMA notes that, compared with 3 months after patient intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by COVID-19, at 1 year family members had lower levels of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, or depression. Moreover, ARDS caused by COVID-19 compared to ARDS caused by other illnesses was not associated with any greater psychological distress among family members. Read more here.
- The Biden administration released a proposed rule Friday morning that would mandate minimum staffing in nursing homes, but it fell short of what advocates had long been pushing for. The long-awaited proposed rule would mandate each resident receive at least three hours of direct care per day, with 33 minutes of that care coming from registered nurses. That standard falls below what the average nursing home already provides, according to experts. But the government said Friday 75 percent of nursing homes would have to increase staffing to comply with the proposed standard. Read more here.
- The Biden administration's new proposed nursing home staffing minimums may be friendlier to industry than providers' loud protests suggest. The big picture: The first-ever national staffing standard for nursing homes, issued just before Labor Day weekend, came in on the lower end of what federal officials previously analyzed, and it stops short of what patient advocates pushed for. Read more here.
- The Biden administration wants states to control and lower their health care spending through a new Medicare experiment that takes a page from Maryland's unique hospital payment system. The big picture: The latest attempt at transforming how America pays for health care builds on states' work to improve care quality while managing health care costs for all payers, including Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers. Read more here.
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