News

Smoking is on the decline in the United States. In the 1960s, about 42 percent of American adults smoked; in 2015, the percentage had decreased significantly to about 15 percent were smokers. The reduction has saved millions of lives and led to a massive reduction in smoking-related cancer.

Public health campaigns emphasized education, highlighting the dangers of smoking to your lungs and the risks of developing cancers. The effects of secondhand smoke on others compelled smoking bans in restaurants, bars and public settings. Among high-income families, smoking use plummeted 62 percent in three and a half decades as campaigns and education efforts skyrocketed. In comparison, among low income families, there was only a 9 percent decrease. While the educated and wealthier Americans have left smoking behind for the most part, the poor and uneducated are still smoking. 

Read more on CADCA.org.

To highlight life experiences of Black gay/same gender loving/bi-sexual/self-identified trans men, the Black AIDS Institute has launched an Instagram storytelling series “In The Life.” Featured daily through 30 Days of HIV, these stories aim to defy the stereotypes surrounding men of color and highlight their lives in their own words.

Participant Criteria

• 18 years and older
• Black
• Male/Trans Male/Male Identified
• Gay/same gender loving, bisexual
• Open to staff and volunteers of community-based organizations, federal/state government, other organizations serving Black communities
• Living in the United States
• Consent to have image and story, or video, shared on the Black AIDS Institute’s digital platforms, primarily, though not limited to, Instagram
• Not required to be HIV+ or disclose your HIV status

Submit your story between May 27-June 27, 2017. 

Learn more about the guidelines for submission on BlackAIDS.org. Follow Black AIDS on Instagram.

Since April 2016, Bay View Middle School in the Howard-Suamico School District has had licensed therapists working in the school from the American Foundation of Counseling Services. Having therapists based inside schools can help students overcome five major barriers that can otherwise prevent them from getting good mental health care. The counseling agency’s submission below is part of the Kids in Crisis series. The authors asked readers to tell them in their own words about their experiences with youth mental health.

Throughout the program’s first year, we have seen the benefits of school-based counseling as it helps students overcome many barriers in accessing mental health care. Here are five barriers school-based counseling can help address:

Lack of insurance, or inadequate insurance coverage: In addition to being covered by most insurance plans, the agency’s sliding scale fee gives families the ability to afford therapy even if insurance does not cover the expense.

Struggling to take time off from work and school to attend sessions: Having therapists at the school allows students to have sessions during the school day, without the need for parents to take time off to get them to sessions.

Anxiety of going to a counseling agency or clinic: Therapists meet students in a private, discreet room at the school, keeping a more familiar, comfortable atmosphere for students.

Hesitance from families to put their children into therapy: For most parents, agreeing to put their children in therapy is a big step. One of our counselors is on a loop with her students, staying with one class from seventh through eighth grade. Being with the students and their families for two years allows her to journey with them through transitions and new developments.

Limited communication surrounding the student’s progress: Communication among parents, school staff and therapists creates a whole community of care for students. While updates during treatment help ease parents’ fears, it can also lead to faster improvements for the student.

Read more on PostCrescent.com.

Montana has launched a media campaign to spread awareness about suicide prevention. Developed by state health officials in collaboration with the Montana Broadcasters Association, the campaign is airing in radio and television spots across the state. Public service announcements focus on firearms safety, recognizing the signs of suicide, and addressing suicide risk among veterans and youth. They also include contact information for the Crisis Text Line and National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. In a press release, National Alliance on Mental Illness Montana Executive Director Matt Kuntz emphasized the importance of educating the public about how to identify and assist people who are struggling. “It’s so important that we not only become familiar with the signs of suicide, but also that we take action and help those who [need it],” he said.

Read more on NBCMontana.com. Watch the television public service announcements.

The inaugural Supporting the Well-Being of System-Involved LGBTQ Youth Certificate Program will run from Oct. 17-20, at Georgetown University, in partnership with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Impact Justice. The curriculum will focus on the challenges faced by LGBTQ youth in child-serving systems (including juvenile justice, child welfare, education, and behavioral health) as well as strengths and protective factors common to the population, and will highlight effective policy and practice reforms that promote positive youth development and take a holistic approach to addressing their needs. Applications are due by July 7, 2017.

Read more about the program.

Dr. Anna Miller sits with her legs pulled up, boots kicked off, in an exam chair at Cherokee Nation W.W. Hastings Hospital. She’s waiting for her first Suboxone patient of the day. She knows the odds are stacked against these patients struggling to get off opioids. She’s seen firsthand how crooked the path to recovery can be. She also knows she has a few singular advantages, unique to Indian Country, in tackling the crisis.

But those advantages are double-edged — and all too swiftly can turn into obstacles. There is, for instance, the fact that health care is free to members of Cherokee Nation, as it is for most Native Americans under longstanding treaties with the US government. “The great advantage is that I basically have socialized medicine,” Miller said, though she’s quick to point out the care didn’t come without a cost: “Free is not the right word to use. It’s something that was earned by their ancestors in a treaty.”

At the same time, providers said, because there’s no cost, it can be hard to get patients to fully commit to sticking with the long process of recovery. They don’t lose a lot of money if they decide to drop out.

Then there’s the close-knit nature of the tribe. That can be a huge help to doctors — the medical staff knows exactly which neighbors or relatives to call to track down a patient who hasn’t shown up for his Suboxone strips. But the strong connections binding the community can also drag down individuals trying to overcome addiction. It’s hard to break habits when you’re surrounded by so many friends with the same cravings for opioids.

The rate of drug-related deaths among American Indian and Alaska Native people has almost quadrupled since 1999, according to the Indian Health Service. It’s now double the rate in the US as a whole. Oklahoma — home to the 120,000 citizens of Cherokee Nation — leads the country in prescription painkiller abuse.

“It’s a problem for the entire country,” said Chuck Hoskin, the secretary of state for Cherokee Nation. “But we are up against it in Cherokee Country.” About half of participants in Suboxone programs nationally reduce their prescription painkiller abuse over the three-month treatment. But once they stop taking Suboxone, the success rate has been shown to fall to just under 9 percent.

Despite the long odds, Miller and the only other doctor in the Suboxone program, Dr. Charity Holder, find the work worthwhile. “When people really start to realize the enormity of the problem,” Miller said, “they realize maybe it’s not that these are bad people. It’s that they have a disease that needs treatment.”

Read more on StatNews.com.