MedPage Today (11/21, Firth) reports, “Workforce shortages among mental health professionals in the U.S. were linked to increased rates of youth suicide at the county level,” researchers concluded in a study that “used data from all U.S. counties and all youth suicides (ages five to 19) from January 2015 through December 2016 obtained from death certificates through the CDC’s Compressed Mortality File, for which 2016 was the most recently released dataset.” The study “also used publicly available health professional shortage area data from the Health Resources and Services Administration.” The findings were published online Nov. 21 in JAMA Pediatrics.

HealthDay (11/21, Gotkine) also covers the study.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (11/21, Bascom) reports, “One-third of public health workers” (PHWs) “have faced some sort of workplace violence that has affected their mental health,” investigators concluded in a survey study that examined responses from 26,174 PHWs. The study revealed that “26%…experienced stigma due to their public health work, 24%…were bullied or harassed and 12%…received job-related threats.” The findings were published online Nov. 13 ahead of print in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Public health workers face workplace violence that is ‘detrimental’ to mental health “Emma Bascom , Healio, November 21, 2022

mHealth Intelligence (11/18, Melchionna) reported a study “found that despite an overall decline in visit rates throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, high telehealth availability led to better care engagement among Medicaid beneficiaries with mental health conditions treated within federally qualified health centers (FQHCs).” These “results were similar after reviewing data from patients with various diagnoses.” Theresults were published in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Telehealth Availability at FQHCs Linked to Engagement in Mental Healthcare ” Mark Melchionna, mHealth Intelligence, November 18, 2022

Psychiatric News (11/18) reported, “Using cannabis while pregnant may raise the risk of preterm birth,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from 27 studies that measured cannabis use during pregnancy and were published between 1986 and 2022.” The findings of the meta-analysis were published online Oct. 28 in the journal Addiction.

Related Links:

— “Cannabis Use in Pregnancy Linked to Preterm Birth, Psychiatric News, November 18, 2022

The AP (11/18) reported, “Despite an influx of COVID-19 relief money, school districts across the country have struggled to staff up to address students’ mental health needs that have only grown since the pandemic hit.” Among 18 of the “largest school districts, 12 started this school year with fewer” mental health professionals “than they had in fall 2019, according to an analysis by Chalkbeat.” And consequently, “many school mental health professionals have caseloads that far exceed recommended limits, according to experts and advocates, and students must wait for urgently needed help.”

Related Links:

— “Schools struggle to staff up for youth mental health crisis “Annie Ma,Kalyn Belsha,Patrick Wall, The Associated Press, November 18, 2022