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Tag: prevention
05/02/2023

When Naloxone Isn’t Enough: How Technology Can Save Lives when People Use Drugs Alone

Article Excerpt: Researchers from Brown and Rhode Island Hospital are working with Rhode Island community members to understand how apps, monitors and other emerging technologies can help prevent opioid overdose deaths.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/b47n7373

Article Source: News from Brown

04/18/2023

Translating Violence Prevention Programs from Research to Practice: SafERteens Implementation in an Urban Emergency Department

Carter PM, Cunningham RM, Eisman AB, Resnicow K, Roche JS, Cole JT, Goldstick J, Kilbourne AM, & Walton MA. (2022). Translating Violence Prevention Programs from Research to Practice: SafERteens Implementation in an Urban Emergency Department. The Journal of Emergency Medicine, 62(1), 109–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2021.09.003

This study examined the translation of SafERteens, an evidence-based violence prevention program, into clinical care. Implementation of the program was piloted in an emergency department (ED) hospital setting with youth (14-18 years old) who screened positive for recent aggression during an ED visit. Youth participants were randomized to SafERteens (delivered remotely by study therapists or in-person by hospital staff) or enhanced usual care. The SafERteens intervention is a 30–45-minute brief behavioral intervention that integrates motivational interviewing for cognitive behavioral strategies. Participants also received an optional 2-month tailored text messaging program on self-efficacy, reminders on their goals, and tools to avoid violence. Data was collected from hospital staff on implementation facilitators and barriers using the RE-AIM framework. SafERteens completion rate was found to be 77.6% for remote delivery and 49.1% for in-person delivery. The SafERteens and tailored text messaging demonstrated high acceptability among youth; 84.9% of participants found it helpful. After the intervention, participants reported increased self-efficacy to avoid fighting and decreased pro-violence attitudes compared to baseline. Hospital staff reported a number of barriers to implementation such as limited staff availability and lack of reimbursement for staff time to conduct intervention delivery. Remote delivery of SafERteens can be a promising strategy to overcome resource limitations. Results demonstrate that policymakers should continue to expand reimbursement mechanisms in hospitals for violence screening and interventions.

03/23/2023

Spotting Opioid Overdoses Before They Happen, With AI

Article Excerpt: A Stony Brook University computer professor with an AI algorithm that detects substance abuse through language has refocused the impressive prediction technology on opioids – with startling results. Associate Computer Science Professor H. Andrew Schwartz is the senior author of a new study detailing the use of artificial intelligence to predict opioid mortalities. The work builds on Schwartz’s earlier success identifying high- and low-risk alcohol abuse via an AI application that interpreted language used in Facebook posts. This time, Schwartz and four other authors – including lead author Matthew Matero, an SBU computer-science student, and National Institute on Drug Abuse Data Scientist Salvatore Giorgi – hope to create some desperately needed “location-specific aid for the U.S. opioid crisis,” according to the abstract of an article published last week by the peer-reviewed open-access journal Npj Digital Medicine.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/6m4jwpd4

Article Source: Innovate LI

01/06/2023

Deep Learning Algorithm Can Hear Alcohol in Voice

Article Excerpt: La Trobe University researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that could work alongside expensive and potentially biased breath testing devices in pubs and clubs. The technology can instantly determine whether a person has exceeded the legal alcohol limit purely on using a 12-seconds recording of their voice.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/4uhjh4kn

Article Source: Neuroscience News

12/12/2022

Researchers to Develop Smartwatch Device to Address Youth Mental Health Crisis

Article Excerpt: With the goal of addressing a growing mental health crisis among teenagers, Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) partnered with Analog Devices, Inc (ADI) to develop a wearable smartwatch device to serve as an early detector of suicidality or depression. According to federal data, suicide is the second-leading cause of death among youth aged 10 to 17. The data also shows that youth suicide rates in the US increased from 6.8 per 100,000 in 2007 to 10.7 per 100,000 in 2018, according to the press release. On top of this, thoughts related to suicide are common, with 18.8 percent of high school students in the US having reported suicide consideration. This high demand for mental healthcare among the youth often exceeds the number of mental health beds available, forcing patients to wait in the emergency department for days.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/ac6jjft5

Article Source: mHealth Intelligence

11/21/2022

Technology a Powerful Tool in The Fight Against Tobacco

Article Excerpt: At the recent World Health Summit in Berlin, the WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the launch of the Tobacco Cessation Consortium. A mechanism set up to engage the private sector and other non-governmental actors, the Consortium hopes to unlock financing and enhance accessibility for support services for smokers around the globe, especially in developing countries where tobacco use is rising. As Dr Ghebreyesus highlighted, all possible tools must be brought to bear in the fight against tobacco—and advanced technologies are set to play a particularly important role.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/46ksdsnp

Article Source: Analytics Insight

09/30/2022

Can Smartphones Help Predict Suicide?

Article Excerpt: A unique research project is tracking hundreds of people at risk for suicide, using data from smartphones and wearable biosensors to identify periods of high danger — and intervene… In the field of mental health, few new areas generate as much excitement as machine learning, which uses computer algorithms to better predict human behavior. There is, at the same time, exploding interest in biosensors that can track a person’s mood in real time, factoring in music choices, social media posts, facial expression and vocal expression.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/4ay346zn

Article Source: The New York Times

09/07/2022

Medicare’s Annual Wellness Visits Fail to Meet Needs of Older Adult, Study Says

Article Excerpt: Medicare annual wellness visits do not adequately meet the wellness needs of the diverse population of U.S. adults, according to research conducted at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Physicians at the medical school weighed the opportunities gained and lost through the one-size-fits-all approach to Medicare annual wellness visits, according to a Sept. 6 news release. Annual medical visits address disease prevention and the promotion of health and wellness and are an important part of medical care for older adults. Medicare initiated annual wellness visits as part of the program 10 years ago. John Batsis, MD, associate professor in the division of geriatric medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said there is a missed opportunity to use the Medicare annual wellness visit in a manner to optimize quality of life and physical function among the millions of older adults in the United States.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/3yhzpx7d

Article Source: Becker’s Hospital Review

09/06/2022

Expanded Telehealth Helped Patients Treated for Opioid Use Disorder in COVID-19 Pandemic

Article Excerpt: Expanding telehealth services for opioid use disorder (OUD) can help keep patients in treatment longer and reduce risks of overdosing. The findings were part of a new study that compared telehealth usage for 105,240 OUD patients before the COVID-19 pandemic and for 70,538 who began treatment during the pandemic. At that time, federal regulators supported broader use of telehealth services and relaxed policies on prescribing methadone and buprenorphine for OUD treatment, said the study published Aug. 31 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/yeyjntd3

Article Source: Medical Economics