Countries should fight public health threats with the same vigor they use to tackle terrorism, WHO warns in a roundup of the top health challenges of the next decade. Highlights from the list (in no particular order):
The Best Global Health Stories of 2019
At GHN, we read thousands of stories every year. Some of them stick with us even after the headlines fade. The best help us see what had been invisible, reveal a new perspective, and make us think.
Deaths in California's Psychiatric Facilities
A Los Angeles Times investigation into California's psychiatric facilities revealed 100+ preventable deaths in the past decade and a mental health system fraught with opaque record-keeping, breakdowns in care, and families kept in the dark.
Ditch the Fish Oil
The Americans most at risk for developing Alzheimer's/dementia may be trying "useless" prevention methods. Poor health conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes are linked to higher risks. Many respondents reported trying prevention methods like supplements or…
Rewriting the Law
Sierra Leone's history of civil war and Ebola has contributed to widespread mental health problems. 10% of the country's population experiences them. With just 2 practicing psychiatrists in the country, 99% go untreated. International NGOs haven't provided sustainable…
Until recently, there was little research dedicated to understanding nonsuicidal self-injury like cutting.1 in 5 adolescents (particularly girls) report self-harm. For 20% of them, the behavior can become an addiction. Once considered a symptom of…
One Woman Defied Dementia and the Implications are Huge
For decades, a woman in Medellín, Colombia sidestepped the dementia that was an early death sentence for generations of her family, The New York Times
More Than a Game
Gaming advocates in South Korea want the WHO to drop "Internet gaming disorder" from its list of classified diseases, even as the government considers adding it to their own disease roster. Industry advocates say that would undercut South Korea's economy. In 2017…
Post-War Liberia Fights for Services
Liberians are demanding better mental health services a decade after devastating civil wars—and later Ebola—created an extraordinary need for services. Benjamin Harris, one of the only psychiatrists in Liberia, found that 70% of students he interviewed had witnessed people…
Occupational Mental Health
50% of millennials and 75% of Gen Zers have vacated a job for mental-health reasons, Business Insider reports on a new study. Millennials face high rates of burnout—recently declared a WHO-classified syndrome—working longer hours while strapped with student loan debt and…
Bouncing Back
Resilience—the personal resources an individual has to effectively deal with difficult challenges—may be key in mitigating impacts of stress during pregnancy and postpartum depression.
DM for Care
In northeastern Nigeria—"Boko Haram's den"—at least 3 in 10 people suffer from untreated mental illness. Despite high suicide rates and risks of radicalization, care is reserved for treating substance use or disorders like schizophrenia. Nonprofits like NEEM Foundation…
Pollution's Hand in Bipolar Disorder, Depression
Air pollution is significantly associated with the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders, according to a new study published in PLOS Biology.
Subscribe to Mind