Politicians and police may need to step up their crackdown on drug- and alcohol-impaired drivers, targeting repeat offenders with substance-abuse and mental health problems who also are “disproportionately responsible for fatalities,” a leading traffic safety group recommends. As the Wall Street Journal reported of new work by the Governors Highway Safety Association and its consultant….
Continue ReadingMental Illness
How does science advance on brain injuries? One star’s grim diagnosis at a time.
Clinicians drew in a postmortem conference a full portrait of patient K-0623, based on a detailed questionnaire and research they had conducted into his life. They learned all about the deceased’s happy childhood, his early high school graduation, and his athletic prowess, including his stardom in an elite collegiate football program. The neurologists, neuropsychologists, and….
Continue ReadingHospitals’ preventable patient deaths add to big concerns in mental health care
With mental health services stretched thin and failing to fill significant need, it may be more distressing still for the public to confront growing evidence of big problems in existing facilities that try to treat those with serious psychiatric ills. The Los Angeles Times, based on its investigation, has found “nearly 100 preventable deaths over….
Continue ReadingWith data and disclosures, experts, families, and friends battle suicide’s toll
Dogged medical detective work combined with public advocacy to dispel the shame that surrounds suicide — these may be productive ways to attack the public health nightmare of increasing numbers of Americans taking their own lives. This is a crisis that can’t be hidden or allowed to keep going up, with some experts estimating that roughly….
Continue ReadingFor women, medicine can be about miscommunication and mistreatment
Doctors and medical scientists have their hands more than full these days, struggling to get out vital, evidence-based information to benefit the public’s health. They must cope with challenges ranging from battles with the growing problems of infections and vaccine “hesitance” to how to debunk celebrity humbug on diet and well-being. The medical establishment’s communication nightmares,….
Continue ReadingGun violence is a public health crisis. Research and treatment are needed now.
With back-to-back-to-back incidents of mass gun violence killing almost three dozen children, women, and men, can this nation muster the political courage to treat this lethal scourge as a public health menace? Can it, finally, green light and fund rigorous research that could inform public policies that both could protect Americans’ Second Amendment rights while….
Continue ReadingFor cancer patients in online support groups, another grief: illness fakers
For all the benefits that the cyber world has bestowed on billions of users, it also has brought out trolls and bullies aplenty. It also potentially has created a new category of sick people. They use online forums to fake illnesses and gain sympathy and even money. There’s even a new term for it: Munchausen….
Continue ReadingConcern grows over seniors taking their own lives in long-term care facilities
With 3 out of 4 Americans insisting they would prefer to age in place at home, senior care institutions already face stiff headwinds. But an investigation by two media organizations paints a glum picture of a little discussed aspect of elder life: the “lethal planning” some older residents make in nursing homes, assisted living centers,….
Continue ReadingRise in ‘medieval’ ills and other infections should send a big health warning
Americans have battled for at least a decade over the role of government in individuals’ health, specifically through health insurance. But communities across the county may be grappling with the baleful and more direct consequences of society’s ignoring others’ well-being, as a public health crisis erupts over the re-emergence and spread of “medieval diseases.” Say….
Continue ReadingYoung people have rampant stress, anxiety & depression, plus trouble getting help from adults
Recent news reports underscore how the nation’s youth are struggling more than had been believed with stress, anxiety, and depression. The New York Times, based on nationwide polling by the respected Pew Research Center, reported that 70 percent of teenagers surveyed cited mental health concerns as a top issue for them. It ranked ahead of….
Continue Reading