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04/03/2023

I-CARE: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Appropriateness of a Digital Health Intervention for Youth Experiencing Mental Health Boarding

Leyenaar JK, Arakelyan M, Acquilano SC, Gilbert TL, Craig JT, Lee CN, Kodak SG, Ignatova E, Mudge LA, House SA, Brady RE. I-CARE: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Appropriateness of a Digital Health Intervention for Youth Experiencing Mental Health Boarding. J Adolesc Health. 2023 Mar 2:S1054-139X(23)00062-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.01.015. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36870901.

A modular digital intervention was developed to facilitate delivery of evidence-based psychosocial skills by non-mental health clinicians for youth with expressed suicidality. The paper describes pilot mixed method findings on the intervention’s effectiveness, feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness. The intervention, I-CARE, consisted of seven modules grounded in cognitive behavior therapy and were delivered via a table computer with videos and practice activities. Licensed nursing assistants provided one-on-one supervision and facilitated the intervention. I-CARE was implemented in a pediatric hospital with 24 patients aged 12-17 years hospitalized due to suicidal ideation or attempt. Clinical outcomes were assessed by self-reported surveys at hospital admission and 24 hours before hospital discharge. Emotional distress significantly decreased after participation (6.3 points on 63-point scale). There were no significant changes in engagement readiness and illness severity. Majority of youth, caregivers and clinicians rated I-CARE as feasible (98%, N=39), acceptable (90%, N=36), and appropriate (78%, N=31). Overall, I-CARE was feasible to implement and acceptable to end-users and demonstrated preliminary positive impact on emotional distress for suicidal young people in psychiatric hospitalization.

 

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ;
03/23/2023

With Gains and Gaps, Mental Health Care Moves Forward

Article Excerpt: According to the state Department of Health and Human Services, one in four New Hampshire residents is experiencing some form of mental health distress. “This is a regional and national crisis for all children and adults,” said Dr. William Torrey, chief of psychiatry at Dartmouth Health, who has spent 38 years in the field. Demand for inpatient and outpatient care currently “exceeds our capacity at all levels,” Torrey said. More people are seeking care, more are acknowledging mental illness and addiction struggles in themselves and loved ones, and more are advocating for mental health care — which is good. “They see the extreme need for services.”

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/msxv2adj

Article Source: Union Leader

Posted in: Regulation & Policy, Uncategorized // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
12/22/2022

The Use of Close Friends on Instagram, Help-Seeking Willingness, and Suicidality Among Hong Kong Youth: Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Study

Chen S, Lam T, Lam K, Lo T, Chao D, Mak K, Lam E, Tang W, Chan H, Yip P. The Use of Close Friends on Instagram, Help-Seeking Willingness, and Suicidality Among Hong Kong Youth: Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Study. J Med Internet Res 2022;24(10):e37695 DOI: 10.2196/37695

This study examined youths’ private social media use via a new Instagram feature, Close Friends, and its relationship with online and offline help-seeking willingness and suicidality. The Close Friends Instagram feature allows private online interaction by permitting invited users only to view private posts. Forty youth participants aged 15-19 years old residing in Hong Kong were recruited. The motivations for using Close Friends and concerns regarding online expression were addressed in focus groups and individual interviews. A quantitative survey was also conducted among a larger sample of 1,676 students aged 15-19 years old in Hong Kong to examine the prevalence of Close Friends usage, online and offline help-seeking willingness, and suicide-related experiences. Focus group and interview data revealed common motives for using Close Friends to include interaction and seeking help from friends, release of negative emotions, and venting and self-expression. Survey results found 71% of youth use Close Friends and 46% use frequently. Overall, seeking help online was associated with higher risk of suicidality (Odds Ratio=1.50, 95% CI 1.04-2.15) and seeking help offline was associated with decreased suicidality (Odds Ratio=0.55, 95% CI 0.39-0.75). Close Friends users were significantly more likely to seek offline support than non-users, but frequent Close Friends users were more likely to seek help online and to be at higher risk of suicidality than non-users. Prevalent use of Close Friends represents an emerging trend for online expression and private conversation among youth. Excessive use of this feature may indicate more limited offline support or less desirable offline support for youth experiencing suicidality. Authors recommend future steps in determining the causal relationship between use of Close Friends and willingness to seek help.

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ;
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

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
12/09/2022

As Student Mental Health Needs Soar, Schools Turn to Telehealth

Article Excerpt: In the southwestern suburbs of Denver, the Cherry Creek school system has been tackling the mental health crisis gripping students here, as in the rest of the country. Social workers and psychologists are based in schools to help. But this month, the district debuted a new option: telehealth therapy for children.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/2js2c9pt

Article Source: The Washington Post

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
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

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
07/01/2022

How Telehealth Can Help Bridge Pediatric Mental Healthcare Gaps

Article Excerpt: The burgeoning mental health epidemic in America is widespread across age groups, but the youth have faced a particularly challenging time amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As the youth mental health crisis reaches new heights, providers are increasingly turning to telehealth to help expand access to behavioral healthcare. In December, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, issued an advisory calling for a coordinated response to combat the crisis. “Mental health challenges in children, adolescents, and young adults are real and widespread. Even before the pandemic, an alarming number of young people struggled with feelings of helplessness, depression, and thoughts of suicide — and rates have increased over the past decade,” said Murthy in a press release. “The COVID-19 pandemic further altered their experiences at home, school, and in the community, and the effect on their mental health has been devastating.”

Full Article: http://tinyurl.com/45k9yfex

Article Source: mHealth Intelligence

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
06/02/2022

On a Mission for Mental Health

Article Excerpt: (Andrew) Campbell, the Albert Bradley 1915 Third Century Professor (at Dartmouth College), thinks about his brother every day in his research on computer science and mental health. Ed suffered his first depressive episode as a freshman at Durham University in the early 1980s. He battled bipolar disorder his entire adult life and died by suicide in 2009, at age 48. “The story about how I got involved in student health all goes back to my brother,” Campbell says. Ed’s family was blindsided by his death. After that, computer science was no longer just an academic interest to his older brother. For Campbell, who earned a PhD at Lancaster University in 1996 and came to Dartmouth in 2006, it became a tool to help those with mental health issues.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/24m64rdd

Article Source: Dartmouth News

Posted in: Methodologies & Analytics // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
05/06/2022

Pandemic Exposed Mental Health Divide Among College Students, Study Says

Article Excerpt: The coronavirus pandemic has revealed a deep divide among college students: Young people with the most amount of concern about the virus tended to struggle more than others with anxiety, depression and low self-esteem, according to researchers at Dartmouth College. “The pandemic has put students on a literal mental health roller coaster, mostly heading downward,” Andrew Campbell, a researcher and computer science professor, said in a news release. Using smartphone data, he and other researchers have been able to track the highs and lows many students experienced over the past two years — from rushing off campus at the start of the pandemic, to feelings of isolation while taking classes online, to returning to campus and having new social interactions.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/2p8hkavz

Article Source: The Washington Post

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;