Enhancing Australian Mortality Data to Meet Future Health Information Demands

The Australian mortality data are a foundational health dataset which supports research, policy and planning. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the need for more timely mortality data that could assist in monitoring direct mortality from the virus as well as indirect mortality due to social and economic societal change. This paper discusses the evolution of mortality data in Australia during the pandemic and looks at emerging opportunities associated with electronic infrastructure such as electronic Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (eMCCDs), ICD-11 and automated coding tools that will form the foundations of a more responsive and comprehensive future mortality dataset.

Salutogenesis in Prison

This chapter concludes Part VII, with a focus on salutogenesis in prisons. In this chapter, the authors present and debate how prison health rhetoric, policy and practice are influenced by a pathogenic view of prisoner “health.” The authors comment that there is a growing recognition of a salutogenic approach to prison health policy and practice, to help tackle the root causes of health, criminality and inequality. This chapter emphasises that while the health of prisoners is influenced by material and social factors beyond their control, a salutogenic approach offers an alternative way of delivering public health and health promotion in prisons. The chapter concludes noting that the application of salutogenesis in prisons is in its infancy. They call for research, policy and practice framed by a salutogenic orientation, leading to sustained and effective measures to improve the health of people in criminal justice settings, and reducing health inequalities in prisons.

Caring About (COVID-19 Related) Social Issues Signals Trustworthiness: Direct and Conceptual Replication of Zlatev (2019)

With three convenient samples (n = 1,087) and one sample representative for the German population in terms of age and gender (n = 210), we replicate research by Zlatev (2019) showing that perceived benevolence-based and perceived integrity-based trustworthiness increase with a target’s level of caring about a social issue. We show that these results generalize to various issues ranging from environmental issues (i.e., installation of wind turbines in the North Sea) to issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., online teaching to prevent the spread of the virus). Furthermore, we provide initial behavioral evidence for this effect by showing that transfers in a trust game increase with a target’s caring about a social issue. All results are robust for age, gender, and social issue. To provide best estimates for the effect of a target’s level of caring on perceived trustworthiness, we report results of three mini meta-analyses including our findings as well as the findings of the original research. Policy implications are discussed.

A Case of the Tail Wagging the Dog: The Medicare Mental Health Coverage Gap and Its Impact on Providers and Beneficiaries

Nearly one in four Medicare beneficiaries have been diagnosed with mental health or substance use disorders, and research indicates this population responds well to mental health treatment. However, Medicare policy omits licensed mental health counselors (LMHCs) and licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFTs) as approved providers, exacerbating an existing national provider shortage. Emerging research demonstrates that the provider omission, referred to as the Medicare mental health coverage gap (MMHCG), profoundly impacts excluded providers and the communities they serve. This paper represents a synthesis of the most current scholarship on Medicare research, policy, and advocacy. In particular, we explore three ways the MMHCG impacts providers and beneficiaries alike: limiting provider choices, thwarting continuity of care, and creating challenging decisions for beneficiaries and providers. Our aim is to help mental health counselors better understand and navigate the MMHCG and aid in advocacy efforts for legislation to include LMHCs and LMFTs as approved Medicare providers.

The EPA’s Commitment to Children’s Environmental Health: History and Current Challenges

Children’s environmental health (CEH) has a 25-year history at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), during which the agency has advanced CEH through research, policy, and programs that address children’s special vulnerability to environmental harm. However, the Trump administration took many actions that weakened efforts to improve CEH. The actions included downgrading or ignoring CEH concerns in decision-making, defunding research, sidelining the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee, and rescinding regulations that were written in part to protect children. To improve CEH, federal environmental statutes should be reviewed to ensure they are sufficiently protective. The administrator should ensure the EPA’s children’s health agenda encompasses the most important current challenges and that there is accountability for improvement. Guidance documents should be reviewed and updated to be protective of CEH and the federal lead strategy refocused on primary prevention. The Office of Children’s Health Protection’s historically low funding and staffing should be remedied. Finally, the EPA should update CEH data systems, reinvigorate the role of the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee, and restore funding for CEH research that is aligned with environmental justice and regulatory decision-making needs. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(1):124–134. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306537 )