What We're Reading
By Joy Burkhard, MBA
Founder and Executive Director, 2020 Mom
Here are the articles that piqued my interest in September and October. Of note, the study highlighting an increase in pre-pandemic mental health disorders in the U.S. Also of note, is hopeful news, reduction in preterm birth globally, resources to help mental health care organizations become “Learning Organizations” and new Sage Therapeutics oral drug treatment progressing through clinical trials. Let me know what piece most resonated with you and why, by leaving a comment below.
61.2 Million People Age 12 & Older Had Behavioral Health Disorders In 2019, Up 5.9% During 2018
Between 2018 and 2019, the number of people in the United States age 12 and older who had a behavioral health disorder rose by 5.9% to 61.2 million. The majority of the rise was due to an increase in mental health disorders. During 2019, about 51.5 million people had a mental health disorder, representing 20.6% of the total civilian, non-institutionalized population age 12 and older.
Read more here.
Scientists Say A Mind-Bending Rhythm In The Brain Can Act Like Ketamine
In pursuit of treatments for mental illness, researchers are studying all sorts of drugs that affect the brain, including some psychoactive ones like ketamine.
Now researchers have discovered a way to mimic the mind-altering effects of the drug ketamine by inducing a particular rhythm in one area of the brain.
Read more here.
AHRQ Stats: Areas Where Emergency Care Related to Suicide Is Most Common
In 2017, among 5- to 24-year-olds, the rate of emergency department visits related to suicidal ideation or suicide attempt was higher in small to medium metro areas and rural areas, as compared with large metro areas.
Read more here.
Exploring the Microbiome and its Relationship with Infant Health
For the past several years, through the NUTRIMUM study, Te Puna Toiora | UC’s Mental Health and Nutrition Research group has been investigating the effect that micronutrient supplementation, and maternal depression and anxiety can have on infant development. One of the aspects of interest in this research has been the collection of microbiome samples from mothers and infants, in order to see whether the bacteria found in the gut might be an area of further interest in the realm of antenatal and infant mental health.
Read more here.
Realizing the Promise of Learning Organizations to Transform Mental Health Care: Telepsychiatry Care As an Exemplar
To address the global mental health crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, an urgent need has emerged to transform the accessibility, efficiency, and quality of mental health care. The next suite of efforts to transform mental health care must foster the implementation of “learning organizations,” that is, organizations that continuously improve patient-centered care through ongoing data collection.
The concept of learning organizations is highly regarded, but the key features of such organizations, particularly those providing mental health care, are less well defined. Using telepsychiatry care as an example, the authors of this Open Forum concretely describe the key building blocks for operationalizing a learning organization in mental health care to set a research agenda for services transformation.
Read more here.
Consolidation Of Providers Into Health Systems Increased Substantially
The consolidation of hospitals and physicians has been changing the landscape of health care delivery in the United States. Using national data, Michael Furukawa and coauthors examine this consolidation from 2016 to 2018. They also explore how the number of systems and system size changed, and how the landscape of health systems varied by ownership type in 2018.
Read more here.
78% Of Psychiatrists Had Symptoms Of Burnout In 2018
About 78% of psychiatrists who participated in an online survey assessing their well-being in 2018 reported significant burnout with their careers. The following characteristics were associated with higher scores on an assessment of burnout: depressive symptoms, female gender, inability to control one’s schedule, and work setting.
Read more here.
Value-Based Health Care Must Value Black Lives
Value-based health care has had limited impact on reducing racial health disparities, and alternative payment models do not explicitly name disparities reduction as a performance measure. To achieve health equity, hospital systems and payers must reorient value-based care around racial and health justice.
Read more here.
To Design Equitable Value-Based Payment Systems, We Must Adjust For Social Risk
Using social risk adjustment in value-based payment programs would not mask poor quality of care nor would it disincentivize quality improvement. The absence of such adjustment does nothing to address racial inequities in health and health care; if anything, it makes the problems worse.
Read more here.
More Data on the Neuroactive Steroid Zuranolone for Postpartum Depression
While we have heard a lot about brexanolone, marketed by Sage Therapeutics as Zulresso, for the treatment of postpartum depression, an oral version of this novel antidepressant – SAGE 217 or zuranolone – has been finishing up its Phase 3 trials.
Like brexanolone, SAGE-217 is a neuroactive steroid, an analogue of allopregnanolone which is a positive allosteric modulator of the GABA-A receptor. What distinguishes SAGE-217 from brexanolone is that it has much better oral bioavailability and thus does not have to be administered intravenously.
Read more here.
Did Lockdowns Lower Premature Births? A New Study Adds Evidence
Some public health researchers are seeing hints that the coronavirus pandemic might help solve a longstanding puzzle: What causes premature birth?
Studies in Ireland and Denmark this summer showed that preterm births decreased in the spring during lockdowns to stop the spread of the virus in those countries. Anecdotally, doctors around the world reported similar drops. They speculated that reduced stress on mothers, cleaner air or better hygiene might have contributed. A large study from the Netherlands, published on Tuesday in The Lancet Public Health, has yielded even stronger evidence...
Read more here.