What We’re Reading
By Joy Burkhard, MBA
Founder and Executive Director, 2020 Mom
Here are the articles that crossed my desk in September. Of note, one mental health revolutionary and his thoughts on how the tsunami of referrals really didn’t come, and that the lessons of the pandemic should be to look after young people, those who lose income and parents. Also of note, is new research pointing to the opportunity for organizations like 2020 Mom, to continue drafting and advocating for state laws requiring universal screening for maternal mental health disorders as a means for reducing underuse of counseling services, particularly women of color. Read on to see all that caught my attention, below.
Richard Bentall: The Man Who Lost His Brother - Then Revolutionised Psychology
Bentall’s compassionate approach includes a greater consideration of poverty, racism and childhood trauma – and of the role of debt or marriage counselling, for example, in helping to treat mental illness. He sees clinical psychology as an exercise in public health. “Arguably, the biggest cause of human misery is miserable relationships … conducted in miserable circumstances,” he has written.
Viewing mental illness as biological tempts us to categorise people as either mentally well or ill – and to assume that each of us is either doomed or impervious …“The psychological lessons of the pandemic are to look after people who lose their incomes, young people and parents – particularly women – who are at home with young kids,” he says.
Opportunities For States To Minimize Postpartum Coverage Loss When The Public Health Emergency Ends
Medicaid’s role for postpartum coverage changed during the pandemic under the continuous enrollment requirement. As a result, many in the postpartum period will begin to lose Medicaid coverage and become uninsured, which, in turn, could reduce their access to care during a time when they are most vulnerable. This article highlights actions Medicaid agencies and state legislatures can take to facilitate continuous coverage for postpartum people once the public health emergency ends.
Can the Path to Equitable Healthcare Avoid Insurers?
A growing number of startups are looking at ways to address shortcomings in standards of care through tech (outside the traditional health care system -which is paid for through insurers). The question: is a fresh start the way, or do we need to meet patients where they are?
Kids Whose Mothers Were Depressed During Pregnancy More Likely to Be Depressed: Study
A new study found that children whose mothers experience depression during and soon after pregnancy are more likely to experience depression themselves. This new finding reinforces the urgent need to identify and treat depression among pregnant women -- not just for their sake, but potentially for the sake of their child as well.
Prenatal Exposure To Antipsychotics Does Not Increase Risk Of Child Development Issues
In a study of more than 300,000 mother-child pairs, researchers found that prenatal exposure to antipsychotics did not significantly increase the risk for ADHD, autism spectrum disorder however, they did find an increased risk for ADHD or ASD in children of women with a psychiatric disorder, regardless of prenatal use of antipsychotics, emphasizing the need for careful monitoring of mother and child by a trusted mental health provider throughout the perinatal period.
Insulin Resistance May Be Linked With a Higher Risk Of Depression
Insulin resistance (when the body doesn’t respond to insulin, so glucose builds up in the blood) sometimes follows a diagnosis of major depression. A new study looks at the association in the opposite direction, asking if insulin resistance, a precursor of type 2 diabetes, could predict depression.
‘Health Equity Tourists’: How White Scholars are Colonizing Research on Health Disparities
A STAT investigation shows a disturbing trend: a gold rush mentality where researchers with little or no background or training in health equity research, often white and already well-funded, are rushing in to scoop up grants and publish papers. STAT has documented dozens of cases where white researchers are building on the work of, or picking the brains of, Black and brown researchers without citing them or offering to include them on grants or as co-authors.
An Equity Agenda for the Field of Healthcare Quality Improvement
A new National Academy of Medicine Perspectives discussion paper outlines an agenda that puts equity at the center of discussions on healthcare quality improvement. The publication identifies equity, particularly racial equity, as the most urgent concern for the field and notes “change is needed everywhere—from the bedside to the boardroom, to how payers pay for care.”
Blog: Integrating Mental Health and Substance Use Services with Primary Care Can Reduce Disparities for Communities of Color
Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) face larger barriers to accessing mental health and substance use services than their white counterparts. This blog discusses some of the disparities BIPOC experiences and how recommendations from BPC’s Behavioral Health Integration Task Force can address them.
Racial Inequities In the Course of Treating MMH Disorders: Results From Listening to Mothers In California
Black women experience higher rates of prenatal depressive symptoms and significantly lower use of postpartum counseling services and medications than White women. There’s evidence for those advocating for state laws requiring universal screening for depressive symptoms to reduce inequities and help address the underuse of counseling services among all women with depressive symptoms, particularly women of color.
What Not to Say to Someone Who Has Suicidal Ideations
There’s an under-discussed gray area where people are struggling with their mental health to the point where they don’t want to deal with it anymore; they don’t have a plan in place, but they don’t feel very invested in living, either. And more people live in that gray area than you might think.
Can a Payment System Overhaul Save Primary Care?
Everyone seems to agree we need a better way of paying for primary care, but little is being done by most health plans to improve primary care payments. We need to align prices, services, and quality before it's too late.
Trait Anxiety and Unplanned Delivery Mode Enhance the Risk For Childbirth-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms In Women With and Without Risk of Preterm Birth
Childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder occurs in 3–7% of all pregnancies, and about 35% of women after preterm birth meet the criteria for the acute stress reaction. Known risk factors are trait anxiety and pain intensity, whereas planned delivery mode, medical support, and positive childbirth experience are protective factors. This study showed that women with planned delivery mode reported a more positive birth experience and the importance of involving the patients in the decision process.
States Have Money to Spend On Mental Health, But It May Not Last
Health officials in those states hope the influx of cash will be a game-changer. They're planning to spend everything from mental health awareness campaigns to mobile crisis teams and bonuses for psychiatric hospital staff.
Identifying Urban Built Environment Factors In Pregnancy Care and Maternal Mental Health Outcomes
In an urban setting, multi-purpose and walkable communities were found to be associated with a lower risk of postpartum depression. These findings may inform urban design policies and provide awareness for care providers on the association of patients’ residing neighborhoods and healthy pregnancy.
Study: FDA Has 'No Tradition or Structure to Ensure Consistency' in Decisions
How should the FDA approach drug approval decisions when the evidence for a product's efficacy isn't overwhelming? One place to start would be a rigorous examination of past decisions to bring some consistency and predictability to the process -- which the agency currently doesn't do and couldn't if it wanted to, researchers said in a blistering critique of the agency's processes.