The New York Times (6/6, Rojas, Ghorayshi) reports U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida Judge Robert Hinkle “issued a scathing assessment on Tuesday of the state’s ban on gender transition care for minors” and “issued a preliminary injunction in response to an emergency request by the families of” three children. Hinkle “ruled specifically that three transgender children can be prescribed puberty blockers despite the new state law, which also adds new hurdles for adults who seek similar care.” The injunction “does not apply to other aspects of the far-reaching legislation, which also bars gender-transition surgery for minors, alters child custody statutes to treat transition care as equivalent to child abuse, and forbids the use of state funds to pay for transition care.”

Related Links:

— “Judge Sides With Families Fighting Florida’s Ban on Gender Care for Minors,” , The New York Times Rick Rojas and Azeen Ghorayshi, June 6, 2023

NPR (6/6, Neuman) reports, “Gun deaths in the United States reached an all-time high in 2021 for the second year in a row, with firearms violence the single leading cause of death for children and young adults, according to” findings (PDF) from research “released by Johns Hopkins University.” The study, which “relies on data from the” CDC, “reported a total of 48,830 Americans lost their lives to gun violence in 2021. The latest data works out to one gun death every 11 minutes.” Additionally, “the report found 26,328 suicides involving a firearm took place in 2021 and 20,958 homicides.” The Hill(6/6, Fortinsky) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Gun deaths hit their highest level ever in 2021, with 1 person dead every 11 minutes,” Scott Neuman, NPR, June 6, 2023

Healio (6/6, Adams) reports, “In a survey of psychiatrically hospitalized youth, more than half of participants reported their most recent suicide attempt occurred in the evening and night,” leading researchers to conclude that “the diurnal variation in suicidal ideation points to the need for increased support in the later hours of the day to decrease youth suicide risk.” Included in the study were a sample of “61 participants with a mean age of 13 years who were recruited mostly from a partial hospital setting” and another sample of “165 youth with a mean age of 14 years who were on the inpatient units of the psychiatric hospital.” The findings were presented at the SLEEP meeting. Medscape (6/6, Brooks, Subscription Publication) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “,” Healio, June 6, 2023

The AP (6/6, Schoenbaum) reports the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) “declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. on Tuesday and released a guidebook pointing to laws it deems discriminatory in each state, along with ‘know your rights’ information and resources to help people relocate to states with stronger LGBTQ+ protections.” The “nation’s largest organization devoted to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans said travel advisories aren’t enough to help people already living in states where lawmakers have targeted LGBTQ+ people.”

The Hill (6/6, Migdon) reports, “At least 525 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced this year in 41 states, [HRC] said in its warning, including more than 220 pieces of legislation that explicitly target transgender people.” Over “76 anti-LGBTQ bills have become law this year by HRC’s count, more than doubling last year’s number, which was previously the worst year on record.”

Related Links:

— “LGBTQ+ Americans are under attack, Human Rights Campaign declares in state of emergency warning,” Hannah Schoenbaum, Associated Press, June 6, 2023

— “Human Rights Campaign declares national state of emergency for LGBTQ people,” Brooke Migdon, The Hill, June 6, 2023

According to HealthDay (6/5, Murez), despite the fact that “U.S. gun deaths and injuries in children have risen at astronomical rates,” research indicates that “among kids on Medicaid, only about two of every five children who get shot receive mental healthcare within six months of these traumatic incidents.” Investigators came to this conclusion after analyzing “Medicaid data on more than 2,600 kids, aged five to 17, who suffered a nonfatal firearm injury between 2010 and 2018.” The study revealed that “just 37% had received mental health services within six months after the injury.” The findings were published online June 5 in the journal Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Many Kids Wait Too Long for Mental Health Care After Gun Injury,” Cara Murez, HealthDay, June , 2023

MedPage Today (6/5, Putka) reports, “Of all mental health facilities that serve youth in the U.S., only 28% offered LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer)-specific mental health services in 2020, a small increase from 25% in 2014, according to data from the National Mental Health Services Survey” published online June 5 in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics.

The survey data revealed that “per capita, all 50 states had fewer than 10 youth-serving facilities with LGBTQ-specific services per 100,000 children, with services more available in coastal states and less available in rural ones.”

Additionally, “for-profit facility status was associated with higher odds of offering LGBTQ-specific services compared with nonprofit status…while public facility status was associated with lower odds.”

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Bloomberg (6/3, Yee, Subscription Publication) reported, “An ‘unprecedented’ mental health crisis is overwhelming US cities, which lack adequate resources to address growing challenges, according to a new report released…by the US Conference of Mayors.” The “survey of mayors of 117 cities in 39 states” indicated that “in recent years, the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated mental health issues, particularly involving substance abuse.” The survey found that “97% of mayors said requests for mental health services increased in their city in the past two years, but 88% lack resources to address the crisis.”

Related Links:

— “ “Amy Yee, Bloomberg, June 3, 2023

HCPlive (6/2, Walter) reported that researchers have found that “both Telehealth Collaborative Care and Telehealth Enhanced Referral programs enable psychiatrists and psychologists to treat patients effectively over a virtual setting.” The research included more than 1000 “adult patients who screened positive for posttraumatic stress disorder…and/or bipolar disorder from 24 primary care clinics without onsite psychiatrists or psychologists.” The findings were presented during the 2023 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting.

Related Links:

— “Telehealth Platforms Enable Psychiatrists to Best Treat Patients With Complex Disorders “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, June 2, 2023

Healio (6/2, Herpen) reported, “Telepsychiatry may be a safe and effective tool to treat bipolar disorder in adolescents and adults, but deeper research is needed, according to a poster at the American Society of Psychopharmacology annual meeting.” The “literature review of telemedical assistance for bipolar disorder found telepsychiatry effective to treat BD in adolescents and adults, but more research is needed, given the increase in utilization due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors.”

Related Links:

— “Telepsychiatry effective for bipolar disorder, more research required “Robert Herpen, Healio, June 2, 2023

NBC News (6/2, Lovelace) said, “Women are more likely than men to skip, delay or take less medication than was prescribed because of cost, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.” The conclusion stemmed from the CDC’s yearly National Health Interview Survey, which “found that in 2021, 9.2 million adults ages 18 to 64 – about 1 in 10 – reported skipping, delaying or using less medication than prescribed over the past year to save money.” Regarding “this nonadherence,” the percentage for women came out to 9.1% while the share for men came out to 7%.

Related Links:

— “Women more likely than men to skip or delay medications due to cost, CDC report finds,” Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, June 2, 2023