Category Archives: Mental Health

Associations between daily‐on‐the job hassles with perceived mental exertion and depression symptoms in taxi drivers

Source: Barbara J. Burgel, Rami A. Elshatarat, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, Early View, July 22, 2019
(subscription required)

From the abstract:

Introduction:
Taxi drivers experience frequent hassles that may contribute to mental exertion and depression symptoms.

Aim:
Mental exertion and depression symptoms in taxi drivers are explored in association with hassles, effort‐reward imbalance, job strain, and iso‐strain.

Methods:
Personal interviews were conducted with 130 drivers in San Francisco.

Results:
Mental exertion averaged 4.5 (±2.68) and physical exertion averaged 3.71 (±2.1) on 0 to 10 Borg scales. Based on the Center for Epidemiological Studies‐Depression scale, 38% had depression symptoms. Mental exertion and depression symptoms correlated with job strain, iso‐strain and effort‐reward imbalance in anticipated directions, lending construct validity to the Borg mental exertion scale. Physical exertion, night shift, stressful personal events, and being uninsured for healthcare predicted mental exertion. Lack of respect by dispatchers and stressful personal events predicted depression symptoms.

Conclusion:
Selected hassles may be remedied by communication trainings, emphasizing mutual respect. Recognition and treatment of depression in taxi drivers are important.

Opioid‐related overdose deaths by industry and occupation—Massachusetts, 2011‐2015

Source: Devan Hawkins, Cora Roelofs, James Laing, Letitia Davis, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, Early View, July 26, 2019
(subscription required)

From the abstract:

Background:
Thousands of people in the United States continue to die from opioid overdoses every year. Work‐related injuries and other factors associated with work may increase exposure to opioids and, subsequently, opioid‐related overdose deaths (OROD). This study sought to determine whether OROD rates differed by industry and occupation and explored work‐related factors that might contribute to these differences.

Methods:
We coded industry and occupation information on death certificates for all OROD among Massachusetts residents from 2011 to 2015. We estimated rates of OROD by industry and occupation using Massachusetts employment data. National survey data were used to explore whether work‐related factors known to vary by occupation (occupational injury and illness, job insecurity, and paid sick leave) correlate to observed differences in OROD.

Results:
Several industries and occupation groups had rates of OROD that were significantly higher than the rates for other workers. Construction workers and fishing workers stood out for having OROD rates many times higher than the average for all workers. Occupation groups with high rates of occupational injuries and illnesses, high job insecurity, and low availability of paid sick leave had higher rates of OROD.

Conclusions:
These findings underscore the need for policy and educational interventions to reduce OROD tailored to the needs of high rate worker populations. Interventions should address workplace hazards that cause injuries for which opioids are prescribed, as well as best practices in medical management and return to work following injury, safer prescribing, enhanced access to treatment for opioid use disorders, and overdose prevention education.

Rising Mortality Rates Among Working-Age Americans

Source: Emily Fazio, Regional Financial Review, Vol. 29 no. 9, May 2019
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Mortality in the U.S. is rising. As a result, life expectancy at birth has fallen every year since its peak in 2014. This paper discusses the rise in mortality and the influence of increased rates of suicide and fatal drug overdoses. It also looks at geographic differences in mortality. Third, this paper considers the impact of economic conditions on changes in mortality, suicide rates, and fatal drug overdoses.

California’s Behavioral Health Services Workforce Is Inadequate for Older Adults

Source: Janet C. Frank, Kathryn G. Kietzman, and Alina Palimaru, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, Health Policy Brief, January 2019

The Workforce Education and Training component of California’s Mental Health Services Act, which passed in 2004, has infused funding into the public mental health system. However, funding has not kept pace with an existing behavioral health workforce shortage crisis, the rapid growth of an aging population, and the historical lack of geriatric training in higher education for the helping professions. This policy brief draws on recent study findings, state planning documents, and a review of the literature to describe gaps and deficiencies in the behavioral health workforce that serves older adults in California. The brief offers recommendations to the following specific audiences for improving workforce preparation and distribution: state policymakers and administrators; educational institutions, accrediting bodies, and licensing boards; and county mental health/behavioral health departments and their contracted providers…..

The Effect of Public Insurance Expansions on Substance Use Disorder Treatment: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act

Source: Johanna Catherine Maclean, Brendan Saloner, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Volume 38, Issue 2, Spring 2019
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
We examine the effect of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on substance use disorder (SUD) treatment utilization and financing. We combine data on admissions to specialty facilities and Medicaid‐reimbursed prescriptions for medications commonly used to treat SUDs in nonspecialty outpatient settings with an event‐study design. Several findings emerge from our study. First, among patients receiving specialty care, Medicaid coverage and payments increased. Second, the share of patients who were uninsured and who had treatment paid for by state and local government payments declined. Third, private insurance coverage and payments increased. Fourth, expansion also increased prescriptions for SUD medications reimbursed by Medicaid. Fifth, we find suggestive evidence that admissions to specialty treatment may have increased one or more years post‐expansion. However, this finding is sensitive to specification and we observe differential pretrends between the treatment and comparison groups. Thus, our finding for admissions should be interpreted with caution.

Opioid settlement to benefit Oklahoma State University, local governments

Source: Adebola Kushimo, Susan I Fitzgerald, Leonard Jones, Moody’s, Sector Comment, April 5, 2019
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The agreement will bolster research funding in a growing area and position the university to enhance its brand and boost philanthropic support. In addition, it will benefit Oklahoma cities and counties, which will split $12.5 million as they grapple with a growing social risk.

Tracking Federal Funding to Combat the Opioid Crisis

Source: Bipartisan Policy Center, March 2019

From the summary:
In 2017, more than 70,000 people in the United States died from a drug overdose, with almost 50,000 of these deaths involving an opioid. The United States is facing a devastating opioid epidemic, and the federal government has responded by investing billions of dollars into prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts over the past two years. This includes efforts to curb the supply of both illicit opioids and unnecessary prescription opioids and to improve access to evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder. Despite these actions, addiction policy experts believe that the end of the epidemic is not yet in sight.

Considerable attention has focused on the drivers of the opioid epidemic. However, less attention has been paid to whether the federal investments to address the issue are being effectively targeted to the communities most affected and to those with the highest overdose deaths. An effective response requires policymakers to know how resources are allocated and to use that information to minimize duplication and maximize the efficiency of limited resources. The federal government has not previously produced or made available a document that provides this information to the public or policymakers.

Officers’ Physical and Mental Health and Safety: Emerging Issues and Recommendations

Source: Strategic Applications International, COPS-W0862, released: November 2018

From the abstract:  
The OSW Group’s April 2018 meeting expanded on previous discussions of ways to support officers’ emotional health and organizational wellness. This meeting focused particularly on line-of-duty deaths in felonious assaults as well as in accidents, mental health and suicide, and crisis hotlines and other programs. Families, community members, and others can contribute to the important work that is needed in this area by supporting officer safety and wellness, participating in conversations and programming, and working to reduce the negative stigma surrounding mental health issues.