Stat: Suicide Rates Higher For Nurses, Health Care Support Workers, Study Says
Jobs in health care are known to be challenging for workers’ mental health. But the mental health toll can be especially burdensome for registered nurses, health technicians, and health care support workers, who are at a higher risk of suicide compared to the general population, according to a study published on Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association that looked at a nationally representative cohort of about 1.84 million employed people (both within the health care field and outside) observed from 2008 to 2019. (Merelli, 9/26)
The 19th: Suicide Rates Of Teenage Boys Are Skyrocketing Because Of Firearm Access
Suicide rates were 3.2 times higher for teenage boys than teen girls between 2018 and 2020 — with guns increasingly playing an outsize role. Boys and young men represent 80 percent of all youth suicide deaths, and 90 percent of all those who die by suicide using a firearm. (Gerson, 9/26)
ABC News: California's CARE Court Program To Tackle Mental Illness Starts Next Month. What You Need To Know
California's controversial new CARE Court program, meant to address serious mental illness and the state's homelessness crisis, will go into effect next week. Under CARE -- which stands for Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment -- the court, family and others can file a petition in civil court if they believe a loved one is suffering from severe symptoms of an untreated psychotic disorder, such as schizophrenia. (Kekatos, 9/25)
The New York Times: Peace Corps Sued Over Mental Health Policy
Searching online, Ms. Iodice discovered that her experience was not uncommon. For years, comparing notes under anonymous screen names, Peace Corps applicants have shared stories about being disqualified because of mental health history, including common disorders like depression and anxiety. The practice is the subject of a lawsuit filed this week in federal court, accusing the Peace Corps of discriminating against applicants with disabilities in violation of the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits discrimination in programs receiving federal funds. (Barry, 9/27)
The New York Times: A New Approach For People With Severe Mental Illness
Policymakers in California have been trying for years to change longstanding laws and bring people with severe mental illness in from the streets. Roughly a third of the nation’s homeless population is in California, and a substantial proportion suffers from schizophrenia or other serious psychotic disorders. Getting them treatment and medication, the authorities have long maintained, would make a significant dent in the state’s homelessness crisis. (Hubler, 9/29)
Los Angeles Daily News: New Law Says California Schools Must Provide Gender-Neutral Bathrooms
Amid a bevy of parental notification policies appearing in California school districts — policies that compel school staff to inform parents if their child may be transgender — a new law will require the state’s public schools to ensure gender-neutral restrooms are accessible for students in the coming years. (Bahnsen, Darling, Harter and Hofmann, 9/26)
California Healthline: A Decades-Long Drop In Teen Births Is Slowing, And Advocates Worry A Reversal Is Coming
After three decades of declines in teen pregnancies, data shows the rates are starting to plateau. The reversal of "Roe v. Wade," coupled with efforts to suspend sex education in schools and higher rates of youth mental health issues post-pandemic, could culminate in a perfect storm. (Sweeney, 9/26)
KFF Health News: A Decades-Long Drop In Teen Births Is Slowing, And Advocates Worry A Reversal Is Coming
Cicely Wilson’s work doesn’t end when she leaves her day job as a lactation consultant, doula, and child care expert. Wilson founded a nonprofit called Sunnyside Up Youth Pregnancy Services, which connects girls ages 13 to 19 with resources they need to care for their babies. After-hours, she looks for affordable Nashville apartments, books medical appointments, tries to find strollers and other baby supplies, and hosts conversations with pregnant teens about breastfeeding and preparing mentally for childbirth. (Sweeney, 9/26)
Reuters: Biden, US Officials Warn Of Hunger For Millions In A Government Shutdown
U.S. President Joe Biden and one of his top aides warned on Monday that a federal government shutdown could cause widespread suffering, including a rapid loss of food benefits for nearly 7 million low-income women and children. Biden told a meeting on Historically Black Colleges and Universities that failure by Congress to fund the federal government would have dire consequences for the Black community, including by reducing nutritional benefits, inspections of hazardous waste sites and enforcement of fair housing laws. (Holland, 9/25)
The Washington Post: Day-Care Food Program Linked To Better Health Overall In Children
Every day, more than 4.2 million children receive nutritious food and snacks through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), a federally funded, state-administered initiative that reimburses child-care centers and home day cares for providing food to eligible kids. A new analysis suggests the program positively affects not just children but also their families, tying subsidized child-care meals to better child health and lower rates of household food insecurity. (Blakemore, 9/24)
CIDRAP: Type 2 Diabetes Rates In US Youth Rose 62% After COVID Pandemic Began, Study Suggests
Rates of new-onset type 2 diabetes climbed 62%—and type 1 diabetes increased 17%—among US youth after the COVID-19 pandemic began, especially in Black and Hispanic children, according to a study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. For the study, Kaiser Permanente researchers tracked rates of type 1 and type 2 diabetes among health system members aged 0 to 19 years in southern California with no history of diabetes from January 2016 to December 2021. (Van Beusekom, 9/22)
CIDRAP: Study: 75% Of Infants Hospitalized With COVID-19 Born To Unvaccinated Women
This week, studies in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report describe the landscape of COVID-19 vaccination among women of reproductive age and those who are pregnant, showing better outcomes for infants whose mothers were vaccinated during pregnancy. Maternal mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 have been widely recommended by providers for more than 2 years, and now evidence from the Omicron surge shows they were effective in preventing hospitalizations for infants ages 6 months or less. (Soucheray, 9/28)
Politico: HHS Proposes Rule To Protect LGBTQ Foster Kids
HHS proposed a rule Wednesday that would require states’ child welfare agencies to train foster parents in providing for LGBTQ children in their care. The proposal, part of a slate of actions the Biden administration took Wednesday to expand the child welfare system, follows an executive order signed last year amid a rise in anti-LGBTQ state laws. (Cirruzzo, 9/27)
CalMatters: False Narratives Hurt California's Ability To Address Child Poverty
In one year, we went from a record low poverty rate of 7.8% – and child poverty being cut nearly in half to 5.2% – to the largest ever single-year rise and the child poverty rate increasing by a stunning 138%. In California the poverty rate for children under age 18 rose from 7.5% to nearly 17%. (Devon Gray, 9/26)
KFF Health News: What Happens To Health Programs If The Federal Government Shuts Down?
For the first time since 2019, congressional gridlock is poised to at least temporarily shut down big parts of the federal government — including many health programs. If it happens, some government functions would stop completely and some in part, while others wouldn’t be immediately affected — including Medicare, Medicaid, and health plans sold under the Affordable Care Act. But a shutdown could complicate the lives of everyone who interacts with any federal health program, as well as the people who work at the agencies administering them. (Rovner, 9/27)