State policies allowing same-sex marriage in the US are associated with a 7% reduction in adolescent suicide attempts, according to a new JAMA study by researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Harvard universities and Boston Children’s Hospital.
February 16, 2017
Deaths from dementia and Alzheimer’s have more than doubled since 2000, pushing the diseases up the WHO’s rank of the 10 top causes of death. While advancements in drugs have pushed HIV/AIDS down the list, pharmaceutical companies are failing to produce treatments to slow…
February 6, 2017
94 South African psychiatric patients died of negligence last year after being transported to new facilities in Gauteng Province, according to a report published Wednesday by the South African government.
January 24, 2017
Ebola has exacted a huge mental health toll in Sierra Leone. But the stigma attached to visiting a “place for crazy people” has kept those in need of treatment away from the country’s lone psychiatric hospital. “People are used to understanding mental illness in their own…
January 5, 2017
The use of lay counselors is a proven method of treating depression, especially in poorer communities that might not otherwise receive care.
November 28, 2016
Gun control laws that allow for the temporary, legal transfer of firearms away from the home of someone suffering a mental health crisis are needed to prevent suicide, argues new research in JAMA Internal Medicine. While tighter gun regulations—including universal…
October 4, 2016
As Venezuela’s economy crumbled, so did its health system—making meds hard to come by. Around 85% of psychiatric medicines are now unavailable in Venezuela, and it has proved devastating to thousands of mental health patients who once lived normal lives under treatment.…
September 20, 2016
A suicide attempt caught on video in Uganda’s capital has ignited conversation about barriers to mental health treatment. A country of over 37 million people, Uganda has only 32 licensed psychiatrists and just 1 national mental health hospital. This insufficient capacity—…
September 15, 2016
An event at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health will explore the many dimensions to eating disorders, including their biological roots, risk factors, treatment options and legislation. Panelists include S. Bryn Austin, a professor at the Chan School and Alison…
September 8, 2016
A week after Hillary Clinton announced her mental health care plan, Clinton adviser and Indiana University sociologist Bernice Pescosolido spoke to Pacific Standard about the proposal and Americans’ attitudes toward mental health issues. Pescosolido touts the proposal’s…