Category: mental health

Behavioral Telehealth Loses Momentum Without a Regulatory Boost

As flexible treatment options spurred by the covid pandemic wane, patients relying on medications classified as controlled substances worry that without action to extend the loosened rules, it’ll be harder to get their meds.

In PA County Jails, Guards Use Pepper Spray and Stun Guns to Subdue People in Mental Crisis

An investigation of records from 25 county jails across Pennsylvania showed that nearly 1 in 3 “use of force” incidents by guards involved a confined person who was having a psychiatric crisis or who had a known mental illness.

California Senate’s New Health Chair to Prioritize Mental Health and Homelessness

California state Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman of Stockton has been appointed chair of the Senate’s influential health committee. A licensed social worker, Eggman said she will make mental health care and homelessness front-burner issues.

Lost Sleep and Jangled Nerves: The Rising Onslaught of Noise Harms Mind and Body

Noise pollution is a growing problem that isn’t confined to the ears: It can cause harm throughout the body. California is taking baby steps to address the increasing din from traffic and illegally modified cars, but public health experts urge lawmakers to act more boldly.

Weighing Risks of a Major Surgery: 7 Questions Older Americans Should Ask Their Surgeon

How do older adults know when the potential benefits from surgery are worth the risks? And what questions should they ask as they try to figure this out? Our columnist asks experts for guidance.

Colorado Considers Changing Its Red Flag Law After Mass Shooting at Nightclub

In El Paso County, where five people were killed in a mass shooting at a nightclub in November, officials have filed relatively few emergency petitions to temporarily remove a person’s guns, with scant approvals.

Survivors of Gangs and Gun Violence, These Women Now Help Others Navigate Grief

As teens, these three women lived amid street gangs around East St Louis, Illinois. Now, as adults, they support the families who have lost loved ones to gun violence. And because of their past, some residents trust them more than they do the police.

KFF Health Tracking Poll December 2022: The Public’s Health Care Priorities For The New Congress

This survey looks at the public’s health care priorities for the new Congress, including price transparency, mental health, abortion, Medicaid, and health costs. It also looks at the public’s views of the main health provisions in the Inflation Reducti…

A Montana Addiction Clinic Wants to Motivate People With Rewards. Then Came a Medicaid Fraud Probe.

A complaint was filed with the state against an addiction treatment provider that wants to use rewards — an effective but largely unregulated tool — to help people stay in recovery.

To Combat Gun Violence, This Artist Turns Ammunition Into Art

In a city plagued by gun violence, Mykael Ash is turning ammunition into art. Ash, who lives in East St. Louis, Illinois, frequently walks through parts of the city where bullet shells aren’t hard to find. The shell casings represent a cycle of inequality, Ash says, and the art he makes with it serves as a call to action.