Hispanics, Mental Health, and Suicide: Brief Report

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Brenes
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Hispanic Americans ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Provider Attitudes ◽  
Health Crisis

A global health crisis exists surrounding suicide. In the United States, suicide rates have increased by nearly 30% in most states since 1999. Although the suicide rate among Hispanic Americans is significantly lower than non-Hispanic Whites, reasons for the lower rate are unclear. Current literature suggests that the lower rate may be due to underreporting, a lack of suicide screening and a number of complex social issues, including the stigma surrounding suicide in Hispanic culture. Health care provider attitudes toward suicidal individuals may also negatively affect mental health outcomes. This brief report focuses on suicide as a public health concern, addresses key issues arising from the phenomenon, and provides a perspective on health care providers’ attitudes toward suicide. Recommendations for future research, as well as implications for clinical practice and policy, are suggested.

Discrimination and mental health among lesbian, gay and bisexual adults

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S734-S734
Author(s):  
M.A. Dos Santos
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Mental Health Issues ◽  
And Bisexual

IntroductionMental health care is indispensable, has an essential role in development, but mental health issues are a major public health concern worldwide. Sexual minorities, lesbian, gay and bisexual, suffer from prejudice and it determines health inequities, especially for their mental health.ObjectiveTo show the relation between discrimination and mental health issues in lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people and to increase understanding of this serious neglected public health problem.MethodsThe search was conducted using Science Direct and Scopus, using the following keywords: “discrimination” and “mental health” and “lesbian” and “gay” and “bisexual”. Using the review of literature, documents in English (articles, official documents, editorial, reviews, clinical trials).DiscussionNumerous studies have identified highest risk behavior, as illicit drug use, sexual risk-taking behaviors and mental health issues among LGB people. Some previous studies propose that health and risk disparities between heterosexual and LGB identifying or behaving people are due to minority stress–that is, that the stigma, discrimination, and violence experienced, leading to stress, thus predisposing illness, disease (worse mental and physical health outcomes) and potentially substance use, which may be used to relieve or escape stress.ConclusionHealth professionals and healthcare organizations must cover these unmet mental health needs if they move to more integrated, coordinated models of care. Health educators should attend to the unique needs of each sexual orientation group when presenting sexual health information and health care providers should undergo diversity and sensitivity training to work more effectively with those groups.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his/her declaration of competing interest.

Dying on Hospice in the Midst of an Opioid Crisis: What Should We Do Now?

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 273-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Gabbard ◽  
Allison Jordan ◽  
Julie Mitchell ◽  
Mark Corbett ◽  
Patrick White ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
The Past ◽  
Opioid Crisis ◽  
Prevalence Of Pain

The current opioid crisis in the United States is a major problem facing health-care providers, even at the end of life. Opioids continue to be the mainstay treatment for pain at the end of life, with the prevalence of pain reported in up to 80% of patients and tends to increase as one gets closer toward the end of life. In the past year, 20.2 million Americans had a substance use disorder (SUD) and SUDs are disabling disorders that largely go untreated. In addition, the coexistence of both a mental health and SUD is very common with the use of opioids often as a means of chemical coping. Most hospice programs do not have standardized SUD policies/guidelines in place despite the increasing concerns about substance abuse within the United States. The goal of this article is to review the literature on this topic and offer strategies on how to manage pain in patients who have active SUD or who are at risk for developing SUD in those dying on hospice.

scholarly journals Incorporation of Digital Tools into Community Mental Health Care Settings that Serve Young People: Considerations from Clinicians (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley A Knapp ◽  
Katherine Cohen ◽  
Jennifer Nicholas ◽  
David C Mohr ◽  
Andrew D Carlo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Young People ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Behavioral Health Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Care Providers

BACKGROUND There is incredible public health potential for developing digital mental health tools that can be easily integrated into people’s lives. Such tools have the potential to extend reach and maximize impact. Prior to implementing digital tools into new settings, it is critical to understand what is important to the organizations and individuals who will implement and use these tools. Given that young people are highly familiar with technology and many mental health concerns emerge in childhood and adolescence, it is especially crucial to understand how digital tools can be integrated into settings that serve young people. OBJECTIVE The aims of the current study were to interview community behavioral health care providers working with children and adolescents to learn about their considerations and perspectives on incorporating digital tools into their practices. METHODS We worked with a large community service organization in the United States that provides care to more than 27,000 people annually. Focus groups were conducted with clinical staff members and supervisors from that organization who work with young people. The transcripts were coded using a thematic analysis approach. RESULTS Clinicians first provided insight into the digital tools they were currently using in their treatment sessions with young people, such as online videos and mood tracking apps. They explained that their main goals in utilizing these tools were to help young people build skills, as well as to facilitate learning and monitor symptoms. Benefits, such as engagement of adolescents in treatment, were expressed, along with potential challenges (e.g., accessibility; limited content) and developmental considerations (e.g., digital devices getting taken away as punishment). Clinicians discussed their desire for a centralized digital platform securely connecting the clinician, young person, and caregiver(s). Lastly, they offered several considerations for integration of digital tools into mental health care, such as setting up expectations with clients and also the importance of human support. CONCLUSIONS Consideration of the organization, and individuals within that organization, who will directly implement digital mental health tools is critical in designing tools that can be sustainably incorporated into treatment organizations. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.1007/s10488-019-00979-2

scholarly journals The mental health of health care workers in Oman during the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
pp. 002076402093959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdallah Badahdah ◽  
Faryal Khamis ◽  
Nawal Al Mahyijari ◽  
Marwa Al Balushi ◽  
Hashil Al Hatmi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
World Health ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Care Workers

Background: COVID-19 disease is one of the most destructive events that humanity has witnessed in the 21st century. It has impacted all aspects of life and all segments of populations, including already vulnerable health care providers. Aims: This study sought to detect the prevalence of mental health issues in sample of physicians and nurses working in several health facilities in Oman. Method: We gauged the mental health conditions of 509 physicians (38.1%) and nurses (61.9 %) using the Perceived Stress Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale and World Health Organization Well-Being Index. Results: The study revealed a high prevalence of stress, anxiety and poor psychological well-being, especially among females, young health care workers and those who interacted with known or suspected COVID-19 patients. Conclusion: The outcomes of this study support the handful of studies published during this global health crisis that have found that the mental health of health care workers has been harshly affected and predicted that it will continue, to various degrees, to be affected in the foreseeable future. The results of this study highlight the urgency of providing administrative and psychological support as well as current and accurate information on COVID-19 to health care workers.

scholarly journals Careful Prescribing of Benzodiazepines during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-16
Author(s):  
Ruchita Agrawal
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs ◽  
Prescribing Practice ◽  
Overdose Deaths ◽  
Cognitive Side Effects

Benzodiazepines have been commonly prescribed for the treatment of anxiety and insomnia in the last few decades. There has been a rising concern regarding safety of benzodiazepines due to overdose related deaths, addictions, and cognitive side effects. COVID- 19 pandemic is expected to cause a mental health crisis. Several studies have shown an increase in anxiety and insomnia. This could mean that prescriptions of benzodiazepine could increase due to increase in anxiety and insomnia. We caution health care providers to use best practices and treat patients with psychotherapy as the first line of treatment and not pharmacotherapy. Prescription Drug Monitoring programs (PDMPs) were started due to this concern of overdose deaths, diversion related to opioids and benzodiazepines. PDMPs are mandatory in most states in the United States of America now.We recommend all health care providers to look at their benzodiazepine prescribing practice, monitor PDMP data and make policies to implement changes in order to avoid the next crisis of benzodiazepines after opioids.

The Special Perils of Being Old and Sick in Prison

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 276-284
Author(s):  
William J. Jefferson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Constitution ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Medical Needs ◽  
Access To Medical Care

The United States Supreme Court declared in 1976 that deliberate indifference to the serious medical needs of prisoners constitutes the unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain…proscribed by the Eighth Amendment. It matters not whether the indifference is manifested by prison doctors in their response to the prisoner’s needs or by prison guards intentionally denying or delaying access to medical care or intentionally interfering with treatment once prescribed—adequate prisoner medical care is required by the United States Constitution. My incarceration for four years at the Oakdale Satellite Prison Camp, a chronic health care level camp, gives me the perspective to challenge the generally promoted claim of the Bureau of Federal Prisons that it provides decent medical care by competent and caring medical practitioners to chronically unhealthy elderly prisoners. The same observation, to a slightly lesser extent, could be made with respect to deficiencies in the delivery of health care to prisoners of all ages, as it is all significantly deficient in access, competencies, courtesies and treatments extended by prison health care providers at every level of care, without regard to age. However, the frailer the prisoner, the more dangerous these health care deficiencies are to his health and, therefore, I believe, warrant separate attention. This paper uses first-hand experiences of elderly prisoners to dismantle the tale that prisoner healthcare meets constitutional standards.

Nurse Practitioner Challenges to the Orthodox Structure of Health Care Delivery: Regulation and Restraints on Trade

1985 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-225
Author(s):  
Karla Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Delivery ◽  
Nurse Practitioners ◽  
Nurse Practitioner ◽  
Allied Health ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Allied Health Care

AbstractUntil recently, physicians have been the primary health care providers in the United States. In response to the rising health care costs and public demand of the past decade, allied health care providers have challenged this orthodox structure of health care delivery. Among these allied health care providers are nurse practitioners, who have attempted to expand traditional roles of the registered nurse.This article focuses on the legal issues raised by several major obstacles to the expansion of nurse practitioner services: licensing restrictions, third party reimbursement policies, and denial of access to medical facilities and physician back-up services. The successful judicial challenges to discriminatory practices against other allied health care providers will be explored as a solution to the nurse practitioners’ dilemma.

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