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Mental health services wane as insurers appear to skirt parity rules during pandemic

Therapists and other behavioral health care providers cut hours, reduced staffs and turned away patients during the pandemic as more Americans experienced depression symptoms and drug overdoses, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

30 Apr 2021

Study finds higher risk of overdose in patients treated with opioids to reduce dental pain

When they go to the dentist to get a tooth pulled or another procedure, patients might not think that the prescription they receive to ease their pain could put them or their family at risk of an opioid overdose.

29 Apr 2021

Study finds factors contributing to drug abuse among disadvantaged, rural youth

Having grown up poor in a rural village in Zimbabwe, Wilson Majee saw firsthand as a child the lack of educational opportunities that were easily accessible and how that impacted the youth in his village.

27 Apr 2021

COVID-19 survivors have increased risk of death for at least six months

As the COVID-19 pandemic has progressed, it has become clear that many survivors - even those who had mild cases - continue to manage a variety of health problems long after the initial infection should have resolved.

23 Apr 2021

Opioid use is linked with other forms of substance misuse, mental health problems

Opioid use has dramatically increased in the 21st century, especially among young adults. A new study from the University of Illinois provides insights on usage patterns among Illinois high school students to help inform prevention and treatment strategies.

19 Mar 2021

Habitual gamblers use already proven strategies to maximize rewards

In their pursuit of maximum reward, people suffering from gambling disorder rely less on exploring new but potentially better strategies, and more on proven courses of action that have already led to success in the past.

18 Mar 2021

Study examines effects of problematic internet use on older adolescents

Most teenagers don't remember life before the internet. They have grown up in a connected world, and being online has become one of their main sources of learning, entertaining and socializing.

9 Mar 2021

Study shows potential benefits from meditation-based teacher development program

Teachers who participated in a meditation-based teacher development program utilizing the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique for four months, had significant improvements in emotional exhaustion (the leading factor in burnout), resilience, perceived stress, fatigue, and depression according to a new randomized controlled trial published today in Frontiers in Education.

5 Mar 2021

COVID-19 lockdown has significantly increased loneliness, social issues among women

Social distancing guidelines have reduced the spread of COVID-19, but lockdowns and isolation also have created or aggravated other well-being concerns, reports new research.

4 Mar 2021

Regular screening and early intervention needed to prevent pediatric diabetes

Type 2 diabetes, once considered an adult disease, is increasingly causing health complications among American youth.

2 Mar 2021

UNH receives $2.97 million in grants to investigate the effectiveness of wilderness therapy

The University of New Hampshire's Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Center receives $2.97 million in grants to conduct a first-of-its-kind randomized study looking at the effectiveness of outdoor behavioral health (OBH), or wilderness therapy, a prescriptive treatment for teens struggling with depression, anxiety and substance use disorders.

26 Feb 2021

New California law makes it easier to get care for mental health and substance abuse

Karen Bailey's 20-year-old daughter has struggled with depression and anxiety for years. Since 2017, she's been in three intensive group therapy programs and, each time, the family's insurer cut her coverage short, says Bailey.

26 Feb 2021

A roadmap for critical care societies to address burnout among health care professionals

A new paper published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society provides a roadmap that critical care clinicians' professional societies can use to address burnout.

25 Feb 2021

UH receives funding from Gilead Sciences to fight against HIV/AIDS epidemic

A University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work research center working to eradicate the underlying serious and systemic challenges that contribute to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Southern United States has received $5 million in renewal funding from biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, Inc. to facilitate the continuation of its impactful work.

22 Feb 2021

UNH's new report on child maltreatment shows mixed trends

A new report from the University of New Hampshire's Crimes against Children Research Center, using data collected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, showed a marked increase in the share of child maltreatment cases resulting in fatalities as well as a decline in cases of physical abuse and neglect in 2019.

19 Feb 2021

How have COVID-19 pandemic school closures impacted the health of children globally?

A new study by researchers in the US and the UK explores the damage caused by school closures to educational progress, health, and well-being in children and young people globally.

18 Feb 2021

Mental illness in early life linked with poorer health and advanced aging in adulthood

A new pair of studies from a Duke research team's long-term work in New Zealand make the case that mental health struggles in early life can lead to poorer physical health and advanced aging in adulthood.

17 Feb 2021

Pandemic-fueled alcohol abuse creates wave of hospitalizations for liver disease

As the pandemic sends thousands of recovering alcoholics into relapse, hospitals across the country have reported dramatic increases in alcohol-related admissions for critical diseases like alcoholic hepatitis and liver failure.

10 Feb 2021

As demand for mental health care spikes, budget ax set to strike

When the pandemic hit, health officials in Montana's Beaverhead County had barely begun to fill a hole left by the 2017 closure of the local public assistance office, mental health clinic, chemical dependency center and job placement office after the state's last budget shortfall.

5 Feb 2021

CHiPS program reduces unwanted sexual contact among U.S. Air Force cadets

Sexual assault and sexual harassment are significant problems in the U.S. military and military service academies in the United States.