Mental Health Weekly最新文献

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), on Nov. 1 announced it is finalizing new policies in the calendar year 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule to strengthen primary care, expand access to preventive services, and further access to whole-person care for services such as behavioral health, oral health and caregiver training, an HHS news release stated. The final rule reflects the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to protecting and expanding Americans' access to quality and affordable health care.

The International Association for Suicide Prevention is hosting the inaugural Pan-American Conference Nov. 19-22 in Minneapolis, Minn. For more information, visit https://www.iasp.info/minneapolis2024.

Virginia leaders have publicly released a free resource designed to shift the conversation about mental health toward the social factors that drive both wellness and illness. Those who are promoting the Virginia Wellbeing Dashboard hope their efforts will ultimately encourage more funding support for initiatives targeting social determinants of health.

Concerns about the effects of crimes on local communities have convinced California voters to approve a rollback of a criminal justice initiative they had backed in 2014, in a vote that is expected to have a significant impact on mental health funding streams. With just over half of votes counted, Proposition 36 last week appeared headed for an overwhelming victory, standing at just over 70% support. The measure will reclassify as felonies some nonviolent offenses that had been reduced to misdemeanors when the state's voters approved Proposition 47 in 2014. Savings from the 2014 initiative's reduction in incarceration were directed to investment in mental health and related services (see “California ballot item could reduce major mental health funding source,” MHW, Oct. 14, 2024; https://doi.org/10.1002/mhw.34205). California Gov. Gavin Newsom had spoken out strongly against the new initiative, but voters appeared swayed by the effects of thefts, drug crimes and related acts on local communities' quality of life. Under the earlier act's funding formula, 65% of the state's savings from reduced incarceration were directed to mental health, substance use and diversion programs.

Mondays and New Year's Day have the highest suicide risk according to new research, “Association of holidays and the day of the week with suicide risk: multi-country, two-stage, time series study,” published in The BMJ Oct. 23, according to a news release. An international research team used an advanced statistical technique called standardized two-stage time series analysis to investigate suicide risk patterns. They analyzed data from 740 locations across 26 countries, gathered from the Multi-country Multi-city Collaborative Research Network database. This dataset comprised 1.7 million suicide cases, including daily suicide counts along with daily mean temperature data spanning from January 1971 to December 2019. The results revealed that suicide risk was highest on Mondays across all countries, though the effect of weekends varied. New Year's Day was associated with an increase in suicide risk in all countries, while Christmas showed a mixed pattern. Although there was an overall decreasing trend in suicide risk on other national holidays, the risk tended to increase after these holidays in most countries. Notably, the findings also showed that men are more vulnerable to variations related to the day of the week and New Year's Day compared to women. Researchers hope that this large-scale study can lead to timely interventions, potentially saving countless lives.

Observing that hospital emergency departments may be missing signs of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in Black and Hispanic youth, boys and preteens, researchers of a new study published in JAMA Open Network are calling for improved detection of suicidality in this population and the need to address these disparities.

As the nation “falls back” to standard time, Americans are twice as likely to say their mood declines in the winter (41%) as they are to say it improves (22%), according to the latest Healthy Minds Monthly Poll from the American Psychiatric Association (APA). However, when spring comes around, 61% of respondents reported feeling better, an APA news release stated. When asked about what behaviors and feelings they noticed during the winter, Americans reported sleeping more (41%), feeling fatigued (28%), feeling depressed (27%), feeling moody (23%), losing interest in things they like (20%), eating more sweets (21%), and problems sleeping (14%). When asked to select which activities were most likely to boost their mood in the winter, those polled were most likely to select eating good food (46%); reading, watching TV or engaging in other indoor habits (42%); or spending time with family and friends at the holidays (40%). When asked which activities helped them cope with winter weather, respondents were most likely to select talking with friends and family (46%), sleeping more (35%), and going outside (35%). Generally, women reported more behavioral changes related to the change of season, such as feeling moody, and were less likely to report feeling happier (15% of women versus 21% of men).

An ambitious five-year initiative funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will intensify the effort to narrow the chasm between what's known about effective mental health practice and what providers are able to implement successfully.

A large analysis of autism spectrum disorder diagnoses over more than 10 years finds significant increases in young adults, women, and children in some racial or ethnic groups. Led by Kaiser Permanente researchers, the study was published in JAMA Network Open. The analysis covered the years 2011 to 2022 at 12 integrated delivery sites of the eight health systems that participate in the Mental Health Research Network, covering up to 12 million people, Kaiser's Division of Research reported Oct. 30. The study found increases in autism diagnosis across the study period for all groups, and faster increases among certain groups. The autism diagnosis rate was highest among 5- to 8-year-olds and rose during the study period, from 2.3 per 1,000 in 2011 to 6.3 per 1,000 in 2022. Increases in diagnosis in children by ethnicity were higher among Hispanic children (315% increase) than non-Hispanic children (146%). By race, increases were greater among Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (428%), Black/African American (307%), and Asian (259%) children compared to white children (161%). Among adults, increases in diagnosis rates from 2011 to 2022 were greater among white adults (275%) than any other group. The study authors said the findings likely reflect both increased screening for autism along with other potential factors that should be explored in future research.

For people in low-income countries who have major depressive disorder, treatment for depression can also help improve their physical health and their household members' well-being, demonstrating that mental health treatments can be cost effective, according to the findings of a new RAND study, published last week, according to a RAND news release. Researchers examined a program in the sub-Saharan nation of Malawi that builds off the infrastructure of the country's HIV care system and trains local people in rural communities to help treat those who suffer from depression.