The Wall Street Journal (11/29, Mosbergen, Subscription Publication) reports the rate of gun-related deaths in the U.S. in 2021 hit a 28-year high, with a total of 48,953 deaths, according to researchers who evaluated CDC data from 1990 to 2021. The results published in JAMA Network Open show more than 1.1 million have died in firearm-related incidents since 1990.

The AP (11/29, Stobbe) reports researchers found both homicide and suicide rates “rose 8% last year, each hitting levels not seen since the early 1990s.” The researchers also found that “gun deaths began to steadily increase in 2005, but the rise accelerated recently, with a 20% jump from 2019 to 2021.”
CNN (11/29, McPhillips) reports, “The researchers found that firearm homicides were highest among Black men, and firearm suicide rates were highest among senior White men.”

Related Links:

— “Gun Death Rate Nears Three-Decade High, With Men at Most Risk “Dominique Mosbergen, The Wall Street Journal, November 29, 2022

PatientEngagementHIT (11/29, Heath) reports, “Six in 10 patients had a bad healthcare experience in the past year, leaving the door open for organizations to get a bad reputation or even lose market share, according to the latest The Beryl Institute-Ipsos PX Pulse, a quarterly report that examines the patient experience.” The report, based on “over 1,000 patient responses to the Ipsos KnowledgePanel, showed that 60 percent of patients had a poor healthcare experience in the past three months and very few (14 percent) could say they’ve had a positive healthcare experience in the past three months.”

Related Links:

— “Healthcare Orgs Face Imperative to Rebuild Good Healthcare Experience “Sara Heath, PatientEngagementHIT, November 29, 2022

The New York Times (11/29, A1, Newman, Fitzsimmons) reports New York City Mayor Eric Adams “announced a major push on Tuesday to remove people with severe, untreated mental illness from the city’s streets and subways.” Adams, “who has made clearing homeless encampments a priority since taking office in January, said the effort would require involuntarily hospitalizing people who were a danger to themselves, even if they posed no risk of harm to others, arguing the city had a ‘moral obligation’ to help them.”

Reuters (11/29, Borter) reports, “Adams said the city would immediately provide training for emergency personnel, hospital staff and other outreach workers on how to provide ‘compassionate care’ while removing someone from the streets who is undergoing a mental health crisis.”

Related Links:

— “New York City to Involuntarily Remove Mentally Ill People From Streets ” Andy Newman and Emma G. Fitzsimmons, The New York Times, November 29, 2022

Psychiatric News (11/28) reports, “A strong placebo response contributes significantly to the perception of pain reduction observed in clinical trials of cannabis-based therapies, according to” the findings of a 20-study, 1,459-adult patient systematic review and meta-analysis published online Nov. 28 in JAMA Network Open. Additionally, the research “suggests that media coverage of cannabis trials may promote high expectations of pain relief in clinical trial participants, thus increasing the placebo effect.”

Related Links:

— “Media Coverage, Placebo Response Linked to Pain Relief Seen in Cannabinoid Trials, Psychiatric News, November 28, 2022

USA Today (11/28, Ryu) reports, “Schizophrenia is a lifelong, psychotic disorder that affects fewer than 1% of the U.S. population, but is one of the most stigmatized mental illnesses,” affecting “how people think, feel and act.” While “people have also associated it with mass violence or shootings,” mental health clinicians “warn the relationship between schizophrenia and violence is often oversimplified and rarely ever causal.” Even though “it’s true that some may exhibit aggression or unpredictability when their symptoms go untreated or when combined with substance use, research has supported that most are not actually violent.” In fact, “serial killers are more likely to exhibit antisocial personality disorders (such as sociopathy or psychopathy), according to the American Psychiatric Association, and those with schizophrenia are at increased risk of becoming victims, rather than perpetrators, of violence.”

Related Links:

— “Do you really know what schizophrenia is? Most people don’t. “Jenna Ryu, USA Today, November 28, 2022