USA Today (8/19, Dastagir) reports, “During the pandemic, people are talking a lot about children.” However, “what has received far less attention, child development experts say, is the impact the pandemic is having on the youngest children: babies, toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners.” Research shows that “birth to age five is a critical time for child development…and new data from the Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development Early Childhood Household Survey Project (RAPID-EC Project) shows caregiver distress is cascading down to young children in ways science shows can be toxic in the short- and long-term.”

Related Links:

— “During the pandemic, are the little kids all right? Survey shows COVID is taking a toll now and will in the future., “Alia E. Dastagir, USA TODAY, August 19, 2020

TIME (8/19, Mansoor) reports Americans “who struggle with drug addiction have turned to syringe services programs (SSPs) for decades – not only to exchange used needles for clean ones but also as a first step towards treatment.” However, the coronavirus pandemic “has made it more difficult for participants to get clean needles as sites shut down or reduce their operating hours.” As the pandemic “continues, the nation’s drug overdose crisis appears to be worsening.”

Related Links:

— “‘A Pandemic Upon an Epidemic.’ Syringe Services Struggle to Provide Care to Those Battling Drug Addiction Amid COVID-19, “Sanya Mansoor, TIME, August 19, 2020

TIME (8/19, Mansoor) reports Americans “who struggle with drug addiction have turned to syringe services programs (SSPs) for decades – not only to exchange used needles for clean ones but also as a first step towards treatment.” However, the coronavirus pandemic “has made it more difficult for participants to get clean needles as sites shut down or reduce their operating hours.” As the pandemic “continues, the nation’s drug overdose crisis appears to be worsening.”

Related Links:

— “‘A Pandemic Upon an Epidemic.’ Syringe Services Struggle to Provide Care to Those Battling Drug Addiction Amid COVID-19, “Sanya Mansoor, TIME, August 19, 2020

STAT (8/18, Isselbacher) reports a survey conducted by “the Trevor Project, a national organization focused on suicide prevention among LBGTQ teenagers and young adults,” found “that while the majority of LGBTQ young people want access to mental health treatment, many don’t receive that care.” The survey included “more than 40,000 young LGBT people ages 13 to 24, 84% of whom said they would like to access mental health care.” STAT adds, “Among the 84% who wanted care but couldn’t access it, more than half said that cost was a prohibitive factor,” while “one-third said that they didn’t want to ask permission from their parents – which many states require to provide medical care to a person under 18.”

Related Links:

— “LGBTQ youth say cost, parental permission pose major barriers to mental health care, “Juliet Isselbacher, STAT, August 18, 2020

Healio (8/18, Gramigna) reports, “People with depression were at increased risk for cannabis use,” researchers concluded after collecting and then analyzing “data of 16,216 adults aged 20 years to 59 years who responded to the annual, cross-sectional National Health and Nutrition Examination survey.” The findingsof the “repeated cross-sectional study” were published online in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Individuals with depression more likely to use cannabis, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, August 18, 2020