Health Conditions Linked to Psoriasis: Heart Disease & More – ADDitude magazine

Not available March 19? Dont worry. Register now and well send you the replay link to watch at your convenience.

Learn about psoriasis and other health conditions, or comorbidities, often linked to it in this webinar hosted by WebMD. Nehal N. Mehta, M.D., will explain how these conditions are related to inflammation, which can affect different parts of your body. Hell discuss how treating your psoriasis, and following specific prevention steps, can help protect you from developing other health issues when you live with psoriasis.

In this WebMD webinar, you will learn about:

Have a question for the expert? There will be an opportunity to post questions for the presenter during the live webinar.

Click here to view the full list of on-demand and upcoming WebMD webinars.

Nehal Mehta, M.D., a renowned expert and researcher on psoriasis and related conditions, is a clinical professor of medicine at George Washington University and adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He was founding chief of Inflammation and Cardiometabolic Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and served as principal Investigator of the largest cohort study examining psoriasis impacts on cardiometabolic diseases from 2012 to 2022. Hes a board member of the American Society of Preventive Cardiology and an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation. Hes the inaugural recipient of the Lasker Clinical Scholar Award. He received lifetime achievement awards for his work in the psoriasis community from two international foundations in 2021 and 2023.

Follow ADDitudes full ADHD Experts Podcast in your podcasts app: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Google Play | Amazon Music | RadioPublic | Pocket Casts | iHeartRADIO | Audacy

See the original post:

Health Conditions Linked to Psoriasis: Heart Disease & More - ADDitude magazine

Frontline Forum Part 1: Challenges and Opportunities to Enhance Psoriasis Management – Dermatology Times

As the understanding of psoriasis continues to evolve, the imperative of personalized care has gained prominence, reshaping the traditional paradigms of treatment. In the recentDermatology Timescustom video series Advancements in Psoriasis Care: Navigating Emerging Therapies and Guidelines, experts in the management of skin conditions discussed the latest developments in plaque psoriasis management. The panel discussion included Linda Stein Gold, MD, of Henry Ford Health in Detroit, Michigan; Mona Shahriari, MD, of Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut; Michael Cameron, MD, of Cameron Dermatology in New York, New York; Leon Kircik, MD, of Derm Research, PLLC, in Louisville, Kentucky; and George Han, MD, of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. The conversation shed light on the evolving paradigms, evidence-based approaches, and need for individualized care in managing thiscondition (Table).

Stein Gold emphasized the challenges posed by complex treatment regimens and said, The use of complex regimens with multiple topical agents can lead to lower adherence and less effective treatment. This sentiment underscores the critical need to streamline treatment approaches to enhance patient adherence and optimize treatment outcomes.

The panelists also highlighted the impact of treatment complexity on patient adherence, with Cameron noting, The more complex the regimen is, the lower the adherence, which means were less effectively [managing] the disease. This insight underscores the direct correlation between treatment complexity and patient adherence, emphasizing the need for streamlined andpatient-friendly regimens.

Furthermore, Shahriari said, Its really a matter of simplifying the treatment regimen. This sentiment underscores the need to reevaluate treatment approaches and streamline regimens to enhance patient adherence andtreatment efficacy.

In the realm of psoriasis management, the emergence of steroid phobia and evolving patient preferences has sparked critical discussions among health care professionals. Kircik highlighted the growing trend of steroid phobia among patients, stating, There is now this trend that nobody wants to be on steroids. This observation underscores the shifting attitudes toward steroid-based treatments and the impact on patient-provider discussions regarding treatment options.

The panelists also addressed the concerns surrounding patient preferences for nonsteroidal treatment options, with Stein Gold emphasizing the need to consider alternative therapies, stating, I think of steroids as a short-term solution to a long-term problem. Its really a Band-Aid. This sentiment underscores the evolving perspectives on steroid-based treatments and the need to explore nonsteroidal alternatives to address patient preferences and concerns. Additionally, Cameron provided insights into the prevalence of steroid phobia, saying, I find that [for] most of my patients, whether they [have] mild, moderate, or severe [disease], I dont want them using steroidslong term.

Psoriasis management guidelines serve as a critical resource, providing evidence-based recommendations for the management of psoriasis. Stein Gold addressed the limitations of current treatment guidelines and said, The problem is the guidelines are not for psoriasis. Theyre being done for atopic dermatitis right now. This observation sparked a conversation about the need for updated and comprehensive guidelines that align with the evolving landscape ofpsoriasis management.

The panelists also addressed the implications of treatment guidelines on patient care, with Kircik emphasizing the need for individualized treatment approaches, stating, We are looking for new topicals that are steroid freeor nonsteroidal.

Shahriari expressed the importance of defining disease severity in treatment guidelines and noted, I think we need to talk more about the definitions of mild, moderate, [and] severe psoriasis. This perspective highlights the need for clear and comprehensive definitions of disease severity to guide treatment approaches and optimize patient outcomes.

The panel noted that guidelines are often used against providers by attorneys and insurance companies and can be prescriptive rather than informative. The entire panel agreed that guidelines should be based on a review of the literature and provide a comprehensive overview of available treatments rather thanspecific recommendations.

See more here:

Frontline Forum Part 1: Challenges and Opportunities to Enhance Psoriasis Management - Dermatology Times

Boeing Whistleblower’s Attorneys Say They "Didn’t See Any Indication" of Suicide Risk – Futurism

After Boeing whistleblower John Barnett's tragic death during his deposition against the company, the man's attorneys are speaking out about his alleged suicide.

The 62-year-old Louisiana-based whistleblower had traveled to Charleston, South Carolina to finally be deposed for his 2017 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) complaint against his ex-employer when, as his attorney Brian Knowles told the Corporate Crime Reporter blog, he failed to show up to one of the sessions over the weekend.

Knowles and his co-counsel, Rob Turkewitz, were unable to reach Barnett by phone and thus contacted the hotel he was staying at which was when the retired Boeing worker's body was found in his car.

In an initial autopsy report, as local and national news indicates, the Charleston County Coronoer's Office said that the 32-year Boeing employee appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound but his lawyers, Knowles and Tukewitz, are urging investigators to take a closer look.

"John was in the midst of a deposition in his whistleblower retaliation case, which finally was nearing the end," the attorneys toldFuturism in an emailed statement. "He was in very good spirits and really looking forward to putting this phase of his life behind him and moving on."

"We didn't see any indication he would take his own life," the statement continues. "No one can believe it."

Although Barnett did indicate that his time at Boeing, where he spent 32 years in quality control and multiple decades as a manager, resulted in stress after his superiors began retaliating against him for raising safety concerns at the company's SC plant, previous reports have not suggested that he had deeper mental health issues or experienced suicidal ideation.

To be fair, people who plan to end their lives don't always show visible signs of risk. But given that Barnett was, as his attorneys pointed out, nearing the end of his protracted battle, the circumstances surrounding his untimely death do indeed seem eyebrow-raising.

In statements to theBBC and other media outlets, Boeing offered condolences on Barnett's death and said its "thoughts are with his family and friends." We've reached out to the company to ask if it has a response to the lawyers' latest statement.

Charleston police, meanwhile, have said that they're "actively investigating this case and are awaiting the formal cause of death, along with any additional findings that might shed further light on the circumstances" of Barnett's death, as sergeant Anthony Gibson told local broadcaster WCSC.

The whistleblower's attorneys said in their statement that they urge investigators to look into Barnett's death "fully and accurately," adding that "no detail can be left unturned."

"We are all devasted," Knowles and Turkewitz wrote. "We need more information about what happened to John."

More on Boeing:Pilot Lost Control of Boeing Jet Because Gauges Went Blank," Causing Nosedive

Read the original:

Boeing Whistleblower's Attorneys Say They "Didn't See Any Indication" of Suicide Risk - Futurism

NASA will retire the ISS soon. Here’s what comes next. – NPR

The International Space Station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly around of the orbiting lab on Nov. 8, 2021. NASA hide caption

The International Space Station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly around of the orbiting lab on Nov. 8, 2021.

Since its first modules launched at the end of 1998, the International Space Station has been orbiting 250 miles above Earth. But at the end of 2030, NASA plans to crash the ISS into the ocean after it is replaced with a new space station, a reminder that nothing within Earth's orbit can stay in space forever.

NASA is collaborating on developing a space station owned, built, and operated by a private company either Axiom Space, Voyager Space, or Blue Origin. NASA is giving each company hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and sharing their expertise with them.

Eventually, they will select one company to officially partner with and have them replace the ISS. NASA says this will help them focus on deep space exploration, which they consider a much more difficult task.

Progress photos showing the Axiom Space station being built. ENRICO SACCHETTI/Axiom Space hide caption

Progress photos showing the Axiom Space station being built.

But any company that is able to develop their own space station, get approval from the federal government and launch it into space will be able to pursue their own deep space missions even without the approval of NASA.

Phil McCalister, director of the Commercial Space Division of NASA, told NPR's Morning Edition that NASA does not want to own in perpetuity everything in low-Earth orbit which is up to 1,200 miles above Earth's surface.

"We want to turn those things over to other organizations that could potentially do it more cost-effectively, and then focus our research and activities on deep space exploration," said McCalister.

McCalister says the ISS could stay in space longer, but it's much more cost-effective for NASA to acquire a brand new station with new technology. NASA would then transition to purchasing services from commercial entities as opposed to the government building a next-generation commercial space station.

The ISS was designed in the 80s, so the technology when it was first built was very different from what is available today.

"I kind of see this as like an automobile. When we bought that automobile in 1999, it was state of the art. And it has been great. And it serves us well and continues to be safe. But it's getting older. It's getting harder to find spare parts. The maintenance for that is becoming a larger issue," McCalister said.

A new, private space station will have a lot of similarities and some differences from the current ISS.

Robyn Gatens, director of the International Space Station, says that despite it aging, not all the technology on the ISS is out of date.

"We've been evolving the technology on the International Space Station since it was first built. So some of these technologies will carry over to these private space stations," said Gatens. "We've upgraded the batteries, we've upgraded and added solar arrays that roll out and are flexible, we've been upgrading our life support systems."

The view from NASA spacewalker Thomas Marshburn's camera points downward toward the ISS on December 2, 2021. Thomas Marshburn/NASA hide caption

The view from NASA spacewalker Thomas Marshburn's camera points downward toward the ISS on December 2, 2021.

Paulo Lozano is the director of the Space Propulsion Laboratory at MIT and an aerospace engineer. He said, "NASA has already changed the solar panels at least once and switched them from these very large arrays that produce relatively little power, to these smaller arrays that produce much more power. All the computer power at the beginning is nothing compared to what can be done today."

Gatens says the structure of the space station which is the size of a football field is what can't be upgraded and replaced. And something of that size is costly for NASA to maintain.

"The big structure, even though it's doing very well, has a finite lifetime. It won't last forever. It is affected by the environment that it's in. And every time we dock a vehicle and undock a vehicle, the thermal environment puts stresses and loads on that primary structure that will eventually make it wear out," said Gatens.

Gatens says we can expect a new space station to be designed a little more efficiently and right sized for the amount of research that NASA and its partners are going to want to do in low-Earth orbit.

NASA astronaut Megan McArthur doing an experiment on the ISS on May 26, 2021. NASA hide caption

NASA astronaut Megan McArthur doing an experiment on the ISS on May 26, 2021.

The structure of the ship is also extremely important to the people who work there.

The ISS carries scientists who perform research that can only be done in the weak gravity of space, like medical research. In space, cells age more quickly and conditions progress more rapidly, helping researchers understand the progression of things like heart disease or cancer more quickly.

Researchers on the ISS also work to understand what happens to the human body when it's exposed to microgravity. This research is aimed at helping develop ways to counteract the negative effects of being in space and let astronauts stay there longer something essential to getting a human on Mars.

Gatens says a new space station will have updated research facilities.

"I'm looking forward to seeing very modern laboratory equipment on these space stations. We say the International Space Station has a lot of capability, but it's more like a test kitchen. I'm looking forward to seeing the future commercial space stations take these laboratory capabilities and really develop them into state-of-the-art space laboratories," said Gatens.

Expedition 60 crewmembers Luca Parmitano, Christina Koch, Andrew Morgan, and Nick Hague in the ISS cupola photographing Hurricane Dorian on August 30, 2019. NASA hide caption

Expedition 60 crewmembers Luca Parmitano, Christina Koch, Andrew Morgan, and Nick Hague in the ISS cupola photographing Hurricane Dorian on August 30, 2019.

On top of having modern research facilities, new space stations will likely be designed to provide a cleaner environment for researchers.

"If you see pictures of the station, you'll think 'how can they work there?' It looks cluttered, it looks messy," Astronaut Peggy Whitson told NPR. She's spent more time in space than any other woman and is the first woman to command the ISS. Whitson is now Director of Human Spaceflight and an astronaut at Axiom Space, one of the companies funded by NASA to develop a space station.

Whitson said the reason there are cables all over the place is because the structure of the station wasn't designed for some of the systems it has now. She thinks having a method for making a station even more adaptable to new technology will be important in terms of user experience.

Whitson doesn't know what technology will be available five years from now. But she said Axiom Space will want to take advantage of whatever they can get their hands on, ideally without wires everywhere.

Peggy Whitson in the ISS's cupola. AXIOM SPACE/Axiom Space hide caption

Peggy Whitson in the ISS's cupola.

"I would like all that cabling and networking to be behind the panels so that it's easier for folks to move around in space," Whitson said. "Having and building in that adaptability is one of the most critical parts, I think, of building a station for low-Earth orbit."

Paulo Lozano says many of the electronic components on the ISS are bulky. But now that electronics are smaller, she expects the interior of future stations might be a bit different.

At the current ISS, there is one small inflatable module. That structure flies up, collapsed, and then expands as it gets filled with air once it's attached to the primary structure of the station with it literally blowing up kind of like a balloon. Gatens says they are looking at multiple elements of a new space station being inflatable.

Whitson told NPR that on the space station Axiom Space is developing, they will have windows in the crew quarters and a huge cupola, what she describes as an astronaut's window to the world. On the ISS, they have a cupola you can pop your head and shoulders into and see 360-degree views of space and look down at the Earth.

On the proposed Axiom space station, Whitson said the cupola is so large that astronauts will be able to float their whole body in there and have it be an experience of basically almost flying in space.

NASA hopes that by handing responsibility of an ISS replacement over to private companies, it will allow the agency to develop technology more quickly and focus on their next goal of putting a station beyond low-Earth orbit for the first time. Current proposed low-Earth orbit stations include the Lunar Gateway, which is NASA's planned space station on the moon.

"What the space stations of today are doing is just paving the way for humans to actually explore deeper into space, which is going to be a significantly harder challenge to accomplish. The space stations of today are essential stepping stones towards that goal," said Lozano.

Gatens says one piece of technology that is being developed at Blue Origin is a big rotating space station that, when finished, would have artificial gravity.

For long trips in space, the lack of gravity is a main issue for the human body, causing bone-loss and other health issues. "If you could recreate that in space, that will be very beneficial," Gatens said.

Lozano says that a space station beyond low-Earth orbit would need new technology that is radically different from what's been used in the ISS. And both NASA and Lozano don't think it is possible to venture deeper into space, and eventually get a human on Mars, with U.S. government funding alone.

"I don't think we're very far away in terms of technology development. I think we're a little bit far away in terms of investment, because space technology is quite expensive and sometimes a single nation cannot really make it work by itself. So you need international cooperation." Lozano said.

Treye Green edited the digital version of this story.

More:

NASA will retire the ISS soon. Here's what comes next. - NPR

Project ECHOs digital prescription for rural health disparities – University of Nevada, Reno

Whether they were finding funding for telecom systems, reaching out to build the program's network, or helping providers navigate new technology, one of the hurdles that Project ECHO Nevada faced before Zoom became a household name was how to connect health care providers in rural communities to the telementoring program.

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital learning methods and created an environment that broke down virtual connection barriers amid social distancing measures and stay-at-home mandates.

We were always a virtual telehealth platform, Mordechai Lavi, M.D., medical director of Project ECHO Nevada, said. We connect and create virtual communities of learning where we amplify best practices and share knowledge. These types of communities can helpespecially in rural communities.

In Nevada, where more than two out of three people live in a primary care Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA), according to the Physician Workforce in Nevada: A Chartbook, providing educational and support resources in rural areas is critical.

Through telementoring, rural clinicians can stay updated with the latest medical practices and treatments, which can directly translate into improved patient care and outcomes. This is especially vital for rural communities where accessing specialized medical training and resources may otherwise require extensive travel or be entirely out of reach.

As ECHO expands primary care physicians' knowledge base, patients benefit by reducing health care-related travel, long waits and costs. They receive quality care within their own communities when physicians can work together to solve medical problems.

In the years following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Project ECHO continues to serve some of the most rural communities in the Silver State and demonstrate the value of its outreach. Rural health care and public health professional participation in the program grew by more than 26% from 2019 to 2022. During the same time, participation from all state organizations grew by 180%. And in 2023, the program experienced a 98% increase of case reviews conducted across all ECHO sessions from pre-COVID operations.

One of the cornerstone programs of Project ECHO is teleECHO programs, during which health care professionals across the state review patient cases with a multidisciplinary team of subject matter experts to collaborate on treatment using multi-point video technology. The case review process increases the impact of a session by providing the reviewing provider with recommendations about their case and offering other participants new skills and training.

A physician in Ely may have had a similar experience as a physician in Yerington and be able to share advice or recommend resources, Dr. Lavi said.

With interdisciplinary teams and shared experiences, ECHO sessions become a community of learning. Issues sometimes relate to navigating the vast health care system network, like prior authorization, income barriers or functional deficits, affecting whether a patient gets the care they need.

We can create that community of learning that Project ECHO is known for, Dr. Lavi said. It helps us connect so we can learn from each other.

In this way, the ECHO model is not traditional telemedicine where the specialist assumes patient care but instead a guided practice model where the primary care provider retains responsibility for managing the patient.

Providers practicing in rural areas have similar workforce shortages and fewer resources, such as social workers or therapists, and these sessions have allowed for innovative solutions, Troy Jorgensen, senior program manager for Project ECHO Nevada, said.

By enabling specialists to serve as mentors and train community providers in clinical areas previously outside their expertise, primary care providers can operate with increased independence as their skills and self-efficacy grow.

According to post-session evaluations since 2017, 91.9 percent of ECHO participants either strongly agree or agree that their participation has decreased their sense of professional isolation.

These sessions can help providers feel not so alone in what can be a really lonely environment, Dr. Lavi said. It lets them know other people are dealing with the same challenges in other communities.

Housed within the Office of Statewide Initiatives, Project ECHO Nevada connects everyone that works in health care from primary care providers and specialists to community health workers and administrative partners. Dr. Lavi said the program is proving particularly impactful in rural areas.

The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med) proactively addresses these health care challenges by retaining medical school graduates and recruiting medical residents to work in Nevada. Among the initiatives aimed at filling the health care void is Project ECHO.

ECHO is giving physicians and other providers direct access and support to a specialist where they can consult on cases and feel connected to a larger community, Dr. Lavi said.

Thats the vision that Sanjeev Arora, M.D., founded the virtual program on nearly 20 years ago. Now Project ECHO director at the University of New Mexico, Dr. Arora would see patients from rural areas, some suffering from diseases in advanced stages that could have been treated sooner.

These experiences led Dr. Arora to develop Project ECHO. The virtual program adheres to four guiding principles:

As physicians and other providers participate in ECHO, they get feedback and reinforcement about their practice, Dr. Lavi said. These are conversations physicians often dont get to have after residency due to time, workload or proximity to other health care providers.

As Project ECHO continues to grow and evolve, UNR Med remains committed to improving access to health care and enhancing the quality of life for individuals in rural Nevada. In 2024, the program plans to add more learning sessions on topics such as diabetes, pediatrics and rheumatology and increase its outreach and impact.

Ultimately, we're really trying to make improve health at the population level, meaning patients health is improving, Dr. Lavi said. That takes changing providers practices, and ECHO is the force multiplier that we can use to make those changes.

Learn more about Project Echo

View post:

Project ECHOs digital prescription for rural health disparities - University of Nevada, Reno

Spillover effects from private equity acquisitions in the health care sector – Brown University

The health care sector is witnessing a significant transformation as private equity (PE) firms step up their acquisition of physician practices. This trend reflects a broader shift within the health care industry of corporate investors acquiring health care providers, driven by the allure of short-term profitability and efficiency gains. It also raises questions about the implications for health care quality, accessibility and the overall impact on the U.S. health care system.

A new study led by Yashaswini Singh, assistant professor of health services, policy, and practice and a member of Browns Center for Advancing Health Policy Through Research, will explore this phenomenon and the effects of PE acquisitions on health care accessibility. Funded by the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation, the study, Spillover Effects of Private Equity Acquisitions of Physician Practices on Local Market Competitors: Implications for Access to Care, represents a pioneering investigation into a critically under-examined area.

Singhs prior research shows that PE acquisitions of physician practices often lead to increased health care spending and utilization, changes in workforce composition and a reshaping of services based on profitability. Yet the extended impact of these changes, especially the spillover effects on competing practices within the same locale, remains largely unexplored.

Singhs new study will consider a core concern: the propensity of PE firms to prioritize short-term financial gains, potentially at the expense of offering comprehensive care. This strategy may lead to the curtailment or discontinuation of less lucrative services, disproportionately burdening independent medical practices, as they may have to accommodate an increased demand from patients turned away from PE-owned offices.

Singh and her study co-author, Durgar Borkar, assistant professor of ophthalmology at Duke University, are focusing on the field of ophthalmology, merging hand-collected data on PE ownership with longitudinal medical claims data. Their work is set to make a significant contribution to the field, providing the first policy-relevant empirical evidence on the market-wide effects of PE acquisitions.

We spoke to Professor Singh about her upcoming study.

Over the last decade, theres been a rapid increase in institutional investors, such as private equity funds, acquiring physician practices, primarily through consolidation. Private equity aims to generate approximately 20% annual returns over short investment periods of three to seven years. This raises concerns about whether private equitys financial incentives can coexist with physician incentives to deliver affordable, accessible, high-value care for patients.

In the past five years, acquisitions have occurred in several specialties, including dermatology and ophthalmology, and more recently, primary care. A growing body of literature is examining the impact of these acquisitions on health care spending, quality and access outcomes, which is the focus of my research and this grant.

Thats in the ballpark, indicating a rapid trend in corporate consolidation in the last five to ten years. However, specific numbers are hard to confirm due to the private nature of these transactions. Private equity companies are exempt from Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure requirements, and most physician practice acquisitions go unreported to antitrust authorities like the Federal Trade Commission.This lack of transparency is a key policy issue, making it hard for researchers, policymakers, physicians and patients to understand the real magnitude of these trends.

Read more:

Spillover effects from private equity acquisitions in the health care sector - Brown University

‘Behind the Times’: Washington Tries to Catch Up With AI’s Use in Health Care – KFF Health News – Kaiser Health News

By Darius Tahir February 13, 2024

Lawmakers and regulators in Washington are starting to puzzle over how to regulate artificial intelligence in health care and the AI industry thinks theres a good chance theyll mess it up.

Its an incredibly daunting problem, said Bob Wachter, the chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California-San Francisco. Theres a risk we come in with guns blazing and overregulate.

Already, AIs impact on health care is widespread. The Food and Drug Administration has approved some 692 AI products. Algorithms are helping to schedule patients, determine staffing levels in emergency rooms, and even transcribe and summarize clinical visits to save physicians time. Theyre starting to help radiologists read MRIs and X-rays. Wachter said he sometimes informally consults a version of GPT-4, a large language model from the company OpenAI, for complex cases.

The scope of AIs impact and the potential for future changes means government is already playing catch-up.

Policymakers are terribly behind the times, Michael Yang, senior managing partner at OMERS Ventures, a venture capital firm, said in an email. Yangs peers have made vast investments in the sector. Rock Health, a venture capital firm, says financiers have put nearly $28 billion into digital health firms specializing in artificial intelligence.

One issue regulators are grappling with, Wachter said, is that, unlike drugs, which will have the same chemistry five years from now as they do today, AI changes over time. But governance is forming, with the White House and multiple health-focused agencies developing rules to ensure transparency and privacy. Congress is also flashing interest. The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing Feb. 8 on AI in health care.

Along with regulation and legislation comes increased lobbying. CNBC counted a 185% surge in the number of organizations disclosing AI lobbying activities in 2023. The trade group TechNet has launched a $25 million initiative, including TV ad buys, to educate viewers on the benefits of artificial intelligence.

It is very hard to know how to smartly regulate AI since we are so early in the invention phase of the technology, Bob Kocher, a partner with venture capital firm Venrock who previously served in the Obama administration, said in an email.

Kocher has spoken to senators about AI regulation. He emphasizes some of the difficulties the health care system will face in adopting the products. Doctors facing malpractice risks might be leery of using technology they dont understand to make clinical decisions.

An analysis of Census Bureau data from January by the consultancy Capital Economics found 6.1% of health care businesses were planning to use AI in the next six months, roughly in the middle of the 14 sectors surveyed.

Like any medical product, AI systems can pose risks to patients, sometimes in a novel way. One example: They may make things up.

Wachter recalled a colleague, as a test, assigning OpenAIs GPT-3 to write a prior authorization letter to an insurer for a purposefully wacky prescription: a blood thinner to treat a patients insomnia.

But the AI wrote a beautiful note, he said. The system so convincingly cited recent literature that Wachters colleague briefly wondered whether shed missed a new line of research. It turned out the chatbot had made it up.

Theres a risk of AI magnifying bias already present in the health care system. Historically, people of color have received less care than white patients. Studies show, for example, that Black patients with fractures are less likely to get pain medication than white ones. This bias might get set in stone when artificial intelligence is trained on that data and subsequently acts.

Research into AI deployed by large insurers has confirmed that has happened. But the problem is more widespread. Wachter said UCSF tested a product to predict no-shows for clinical appointments. Patients who are deemed unlikely to show up for a visit are more likely to be double-booked.

The test showed that people of color were more likely not to show. Whether or not the finding was accurate, the ethical response is to ask, why is that, and is there something you can do, Wachter said.

Hype aside, those risks will likely continue to grab attention over time. AI experts and FDA officials have emphasized the need for transparent algorithms, monitored over the long term by human beings regulators and outside researchers. AI products adapt and change as new data is incorporated. And scientists will develop new products.

Policymakers will need to invest in new systems to track AI over time, said University of Chicago Provost Katherine Baicker, who testified at the Finance Committee hearing. The biggest advance is something we havent thought of yet, she said in an interview.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFFan independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

This story can be republished for free (details).

We encourage organizations to republish our content, free of charge. Heres what we ask:

You must credit us as the original publisher, with a hyperlink to our kffhealthnews.org site. If possible, please include the original author(s) and KFF Health News in the byline. Please preserve the hyperlinks in the story.

Its important to note, not everything on kffhealthnews.org is available for republishing. If a story is labeled All Rights Reserved, we cannot grant permission to republish that item.

Have questions? Let us know at KHNHelp@kff.org

See more here:

'Behind the Times': Washington Tries to Catch Up With AI's Use in Health Care - KFF Health News - Kaiser Health News

Genome-wide association study identifies human genetic variants associated with fatal outcome from Lassa fever – Nature.com

Merson, L. et al. Clinical characterization of Lassa fever: a systematic review of clinical reports and research to inform clinical trial design. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis. 15, e0009788 (2021).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Kenmoe, S. et al. Systematic review and meta-analysis of the epidemiology of Lassa virus in humans, rodents and other mammals in sub-Saharan Africa. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis. 14, e0008589 (2020).

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

McCormick, J. B. & Fisher-Hoch, S. P. Lassa fever. Curr. Top. Microbiol. Immunol. 262, 75109 (2002).

CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Okogbenin, S. et al. Retrospective cohort study of Lassa fever in pregnancy, southern Nigeria. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 25, 14941500 (2019).

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Happi, A. N. et al. Increased prevalence of Lassa fever virus-positive rodents and diversity of infected species found during human Lassa fever epidemics in Nigeria. Microbiol. Spectr. 10, e0036622 (2022).

Article PubMed Google Scholar

Gire, S. K. et al. Epidemiology. Emerging disease or diagnosis?. Science 338, 750752 (2012).

Article ADS CAS PubMed Google Scholar

McCormick, J. B., Webb, P. A., Krebs, J. W., Johnson, K. M. & Smith, E. S. A prospective study of the epidemiology and ecology of Lassa fever. J. Infect. Dis. 155, 437444 (1987).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Lassa Fever (CDC, 2019); https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/lassa/index.html

Radoshitzky, S. R. & de la Torre, J. C. Human pathogenic arenaviruses (Arenaviridae). in Encyclopedia of Virology 507 (Elsevier, 2019).

Lassa Fever Annual Epidemiological Report for 2019 (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 2021); https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/lassa-fever-annual-epidemiological-report-2019

Okokhere, P. et al. Clinical and laboratory predictors of Lassa fever outcome in a dedicated treatment facility in Nigeria: a retrospective, observational cohort study. Lancet Infect. Dis. 18, 684695 (2018).

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Andersen, K. G. et al. Clinical sequencing uncovers origins and evolution of Lassa virus. Cell 162, 738750 (2015).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Chapman, S. J. & Hill, A. V. S. Human genetic susceptibility to infectious disease. Nat. Rev. Genet. 13, 175188 (2012).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative. Mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19. Nature 600, 472477 (2021).

Article Google Scholar

Tian, C. et al. Genome-wide association and HLA region fine-mapping studies identify susceptibility loci for multiple common infections. Nat. Commun. 8, 599 (2017).

Article ADS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Sabeti, P. C. et al. Genome-wide detection and characterization of positive selection in human populations. Nature 449, 913918 (2007).

Article ADS CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Andersen, K. G. et al. Genome-wide scans provide evidence for positive selection of genes implicated in Lassa fever. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 367, 868877 (2012).

Article CAS Google Scholar

Jae, L. T. et al. Deciphering the glycosylome of dystroglycanopathies using haploid screens for Lassa virus entry. Science 340, 479483 (2013).

Article ADS CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Kunz, S. et al. Posttranslational modification of alpha-dystroglycan, the cellular receptor for arenaviruses, by the glycosyltransferase LARGE is critical for virus binding. J. Virol. 79, 1428214296 (2005).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Raabe, V. & Koehler, J. Laboratory diagnosis of Lassa fever. J. Clin. Microbiol. 55, 16291637 (2017).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Ackerman, H. et al. A comparison of casecontrol and family-based association methods: the example of sickle-cell and malaria. Ann. Hum. Genet. 69, 559565 (2005).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Hill, A. V. S. Aspects of genetic susceptibility to human infectious diseases. Annu. Rev. Genet. 40, 469486 (2006).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Bowen, M. D. et al. Genetic diversity among Lassa virus strains. J. Virol. 74, 69927004 (2000).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Siddle, K. J. et al. Genomic analysis of Lassa virus during an increase in cases in Nigeria in 2018. N. Engl. J. Med. 379, 17451753 (2018).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Boisen, M. L. et al. Field validation of recombinant antigen immunoassays for diagnosis of Lassa fever. Sci. Rep. 8, 5939 (2018).

Article ADS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Johnson, K. M. et al. Clinical virology of Lassa fever in hospitalized patients. J. Infect. Dis. 155, 456464 (1987).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Cummins, D. et al. Acute sensorineural deafness in Lassa fever. JAMA 264, 20932096 (1990).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

McCormick, J. B. et al. A casecontrol study of the clinical diagnosis and course of Lassa fever. J. Infect. Dis. 155, 445455 (1987).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Monath, T. P. Lassa fever: review of epidemiology and epizootiology. Bull. World Health Organ. 52, 577592 (1975).

CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Shaffer, J. G. et al. Lassa fever in post-conflict Sierra Leone. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis. 8, e2748 (2014).

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Klingstrm, J. & Ahlm, C. Sex, gender, and hemorrhagic fever viruses. in Sex and Gender Differences in Infection and Treatments for Infectious Diseases (eds Klein, S. L. & Roberts, C. W.) 211230 (Springer International, 2015).

McCormick, J. B. Epidemiology and control of Lassa fever. Curr. Top. Microbiol. Immunol. 134, 6978 (1987).

CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Webb, P. A. et al. Lassa fever in children in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. 80, 577582 (1986).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Zhou, W. et al. Efficiently controlling for casecontrol imbalance and sample relatedness in large-scale genetic association studies. Nat. Genet. 50, 13351341 (2018).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Tucker, G., Price, A. L. & Berger, B. Improving the power of GWAS and avoiding confounding from population stratification with PC-Select. Genetics 197, 10451049 (2014).

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Kanai, M., Tanaka, T. & Okada, Y. Empirical estimation of genome-wide significance thresholds based on the 1000 Genomes Project data set. J. Hum. Genet. 61, 861866 (2016).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Eeles, R. A. et al. Multiple newly identified loci associated with prostate cancer susceptibility. Nat. Genet. 40, 316321 (2008).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Deeb, R., Veerapandiyan, A., Tawil, A. & Treidler, S. Variable penetrance of AndersenTawil Syndrome in a Caucasian family with a rare missense KCJN2 mutation (P3.450). Neurology 90, Number 15_supplement (2018).

Howe, K. L. et al. Ensembl 2021. Nucleic Acids Res. 49, D884D891 (2021).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Sakabe, S., Witwit, H., Khafaji, R., Cubitt, B. & de la Torre, J. C. Chaperonin TRiC/CCT participates in mammarenavirus multiplication in human cells via interaction with the viral nucleoprotein. J. Virol. 97, e0168822 (2023).

Article PubMed Google Scholar

Sugita, S. et al. A stoichiometric complex of neurexins and dystroglycan in brain. J. Cell Biol. 154, 435445 (2001).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Mittal, R., Kumar, A., Ladda, R., Mainali, G. & Aliu, E. Pitt Hopkins-like syndrome 1 with novel CNTNAP2 mutation in siblings. Child Neurol. Open 8, 2329048X211055330 (2021).

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Song, J.-M. et al. Pathogenic GRM7 mutations associated with neurodevelopmental disorders impair axon outgrowth and presynaptic terminal development. J. Neurosci. 41, 23442359 (2021).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Wang, J. et al. SARS-CoV-2 uses metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 2 as an internalization factor to infect cells. Cell Discov. 7, 119 (2021).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Wang, J. et al. Metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 2 is a cellular receptor for rabies virus. PLoS Pathog. 14, e1007189 (2018).

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Rogoz, K. et al. Identification of a neuronal receptor controlling anaphylaxis. Cell Rep. 14, 370379 (2016).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Klotz, L. & Enz, R. MGluR7 is a presynaptic metabotropic glutamate receptor at ribbon synapses of inner hair cells. FASEB J. 35, e21855 (2021).

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Mateer, E. J., Huang, C., Shehu, N. Y. & Paessler, S. Lassa fever-induced sensorineural hearing loss: a neglected public health and social burden. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis. 12, e0006187 (2018).

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Christianson, J., Oxford, J. T. & Jorcyk, C. L. Emerging perspectives on leukemia inhibitory factor and its receptor in cancer. Front. Oncol. 11, 693724 (2021).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Tewhey, R. et al. Direct identification of hundreds of expression-modulating variants using a multiplexed reporter assay. Cell 165, 15191529 (2016).

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

1000 Genomes Project Consortium et al. A global reference for human genetic variation. Nature 526, 6874 (2015).

Jia, X. et al. Imputing amino acid polymorphisms in human leukocyte antigens. PLoS ONE 8, e64683 (2013).

Article ADS CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Gourraud, P.-A. et al. HLA diversity in the 1000 genomes dataset. PLoS ONE 9, e97282 (2014).

Article ADS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

See the rest here:

Genome-wide association study identifies human genetic variants associated with fatal outcome from Lassa fever - Nature.com

Update: High bacteria count notification canceled for Onekahakaha Beach swimming area in Hilo – Big Island Now

January 31, 2024, 3:15 PM HST * Updated January 31, 4:15 PM

Playing in :00

Update at 4:15 p.m. Jan. 31: The Hawaii Department of Health has canceled the high bacteria notification for the Onekahakaha Beach swimming area in Hilo. Water sample retesting results show that enterococci levels no longer exceed the threshold level.

Original post: The Hawaii Department of Health is notifying the public about a high bacteria count at a Big Island beach.

The department is retesting waters at the Onekahakaha Beach swimming area in Hilo after bacteria levels of 2,005 per 100 mL were detected during routine beach monitoring.

The Health Department is uncertain about the representativeness of the first sample, as the beach has historically met the acceptable threshold level and there is no known source of fecal contamination.

Therefore, another sample was collected and the Health Department is retesting the site.

The department will update the notification based on the results of the retesting.

For more information, click here and here.

Continued here:

Update: High bacteria count notification canceled for Onekahakaha Beach swimming area in Hilo - Big Island Now

JN.1 is Canadas new dominant COVID-19 subvariant. Heres what to know – Global News

A new COVID-19 subvariant, known as JN.1, has emerged and is now the prevailing strain across Canada, prompting health experts to caution that it may be more infectious and could even have extra symptoms.

Currently, the subvariant makes up the highest proportion of all COVID-19 variants, accounting for more than half (51. 9 per cent) of all infections in Canada, according to the latest data from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

JN.1 was first detected in Canada on Oct. 9, and since then has rapidly increased.

If this virus continues to circulate at high levels, that means more virus, which means more mutations and more evolution, which means more of this same kind of issue happening repeatedly, warned Ryan Gregory, a professor of integrative biology at the University of Guelph, and evolutionary biologist.

Story continues below advertisement

1:54 Low vaccine uptake fuels spike in respiratory illnesses: health officials

On Dec. 10, the JN.1 subvariant made up 26.6 per cent of all COVID-19 variants in Canada, but was not the dominant strain. At that time, HV.1 still made up 29 per cent of all subvariants, according to PHAC data. By Dec. 17, JN.1 made up the highest percentage (38.5 per cent) of all subvariants across Canada. Meanwhile, HV.1 fell to 24.4 per cent.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Dec. 19 added JN.1 to its list of variants of interest, its second-highest level of monitoring. Despite the categorization, the health organization said JN.1 poses a low additional public health risk.

Two days later, on Dec. 21, PHAC labelled it as a variant of interest in Canada.

As the subvariant continues to circulate, here is what we know so far about JN.1.

Story continues below advertisement

The JN.1 subvariant is a sublineage of BA.2.86 that emerged in Europe in late August 2023. It is another Omicron variant, according to PHAC. Gregory explained that JN.1 is a grandchild of BA.2.86. The original BA.2.86 probably evolved within a single person with a long-term infection over a year, he added.

So, somebody was infected. The virus continued to replicate and change within their body and then it reentered the rest of the population, he said. Once it gets back into the main population, its now evolving at the level of among hosts.

This in turn created the more competitive and successful JN.1. It featured a single alteration in the spike protein, enhancing its ability to effectively bind to cells, according to Gregory.

6:14 Holiday health update: Navigating the flu, RSV and COVID

It has massively managed to compete with the existing things that were out there, which suggests that its either very good at transmitting, and escapes immunity that is otherwise conferred by prior infection or previous vaccination, he said. So in other words, its different enough that your immune system, having been trained on older variants, doesnt recognize it as well.

Story continues below advertisement

He also believes JN.1 may be the starting point for subsequent evolutions, much like the XBB variant. The XBB variant, another sublineage of Omicron, started circulating the world in late 2022. In 2023, some of its descendents, such as XBB.1.5 and EG.5, became dominating COVID-19 infections.

It is currently not known whether JN.1 infections produce different symptoms from other variants, health experts say.

The typical symptoms of COVID-19 according to the government are:

Additionally, Gerald Evans, an infectious disease specialist at Queens University in Kingston, Ont., said he has heard more people report gastrointestinal (GI) issues, such as diarrhea.

Story continues below advertisement

The one thing I have been hearing about, they have GI symptoms, and these are not new, these have been recorded since COVID came out, he said. But anecdotally, the number of people having GI symptoms seems to be slightly higher, but you have to be careful with that because its an observational bias. But it does strike me that its becoming a bit more of a theme in the last month.

Gregory agreed with this observation but added that it may still be too early to tell if this is a hallmark symptom of the JN.1 variant.

He added that it is difficult to determine which symptoms go with what variant, especially when so many are circulating and there is less testing for COVID-19.

Trending Now

Due to JN.1s fast growth, experts like Gregory say its either more transmissible or better at evading our immune systems. However, PHAC said in an email to Global News on Dec. 19, there is no evidence of increased severity associated with this variant.

Story continues below advertisement

The WHO also stated last month that it is anticipated that this variant may cause an increase in COVID-19 cases amid a surge of infections of other viral and bacterial infections, especially in countries entering the winter season.

Since the spike protein is also the part that existing vaccines target, current vaccines should work against JN.1 and other lineages of BA.2.86, explained Evans. Preliminary evidence shows that protection by the XBB recombinant vaccine also guards against JN.1, he added. However, he cautioned, If it has been a year since your last vaccine or COVID infection, you may be more susceptible.

Personal protective measures are effective actions to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, PHAC stated. They include things like staying home when sick, properly wearing a well-fitted respirator or mask, improving indoor ventilation and practicing respiratory etiquette and hand hygiene.

Story continues below advertisement

These measures are most effective when layered together, PHAC stated in an email.

Laboratory studies also suggest that the current therapeutic antiviral options, such as Paxlovid, available in Canada are expected to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 sub-lineages, PHAC added.

In some parts of the country, COVID-19 cases have been steadily increasing since the fall, yet the numbers appear to be stable now, according to Evans. However, while infection numbers remain stable, they are still very high and very steep, he warned, well beyond influenza, RSV and all the other viruses.

4:50 Kingston pharmacist urging residents to get vaccinated to avoid getting sick this winter season

He believes there may have been a holiday spike in COVID0-19 infections for several reasons, but most importantly noting that the uptake COVID-19 vaccine has been very poor.

Story continues below advertisement

As of Dec. 8, PHAC reported that 14.6 per cent of eligible Canadians have received the updated vaccines targeting XBB.1.5.

The second reason, of course, is were in the middle of the respiratory virus season, Evans said. And although there are still a fair percentage of people who are being careful, there are a lot of people really have just gone back to what life was like before 2020. And. Thats, of course, a moment of opportunity for all these viruses to kind of take off.

Here is the original post:

JN.1 is Canadas new dominant COVID-19 subvariant. Heres what to know - Global News

Covid Has Resurged, but Scientists See a Diminished Threat – The New York Times

The holidays have come and gone, and once again Americans are riding a tide of respiratory ailments, including Covid. But so far, this winters Covid uptick seems less deadly than last years, and much less so than in 2022, when the Omicron surge ground the nation to a halt.

Were not seeing the signs that would make me think that were heading into another severe wave, said Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. So far, were in relatively good shape.

Still, there are few masks in sight, and just a fraction of the most vulnerable people have received the latest Covid shots, she noted.

Its not too late, Dr. Rivers added. We have not even reached peak yet for Covid, and once you reach peak, you still have to get down the other side. That leaves plenty of time for the vaccine to provide some protection.

Federal officials are relying on limited data to measure this years spread. After the end of the public health emergency in May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped tracking the number of Covid infections. The agency now has only partial access to information from states about vaccination rates.

But trends in wastewater data, positive tests, emergency department visits, hospitalization rates and deaths point to a rise in infections in all regions of the nation, according to the C.D.C. These patterns have prompted many hospitals to reinstate mask policies, after initially resisting a return to them this fall.

As in previous years, the numbers have steadily been rising all winter, and are expected to increase further after holiday travel and get-togethers.

Many of the infections are caused by a new variant, JN.1, which has rapidly spread across the world in recent weeks. I think that theres no doubt its helping drive, pretty substantially, this winter wave, said Katelyn Jetelina, a public health expert and author of a widely read newsletter, Your Local Epidemiologist.

Unfortunately, its coming at the same exact time as us opening up our social networks due to the holidays, she said, so theres kind of a perfect storm going on right now.

Some scientists have pointed to rising levels of the virus in sewage samples as an indicator that infections are at least as high this year as they were at this time last year. But Dr. Rivers urged caution in interpreting wastewater data as a proxy for infections and said hospitalizations were a more reliable metric.

In the week that ended on Dec. 23, hospitalizations rose by nearly 17 percent from the previous week. There were about 29,000 new hospital admissions, compared with 39,000 the same week last year and 61,000 in 2021.

And weekly hospitalizations are increasing more slowly than in previous years, Dr. Rivers said.

Covid is still claiming at least 1,200 lives per week. But that number is about one-third the toll this time last year and one-eighth that in 2021.

We are in this pretty big infection surge right now, but whats really interesting is how hugely hospitalizations have and continue to decouple from infections, Dr. Jetelina said.

She said she worried most about hospitals buckling under the weight of multiple epidemics at once. Even in years before the pandemic, outbreaks of just influenza and respiratory syncytial virus could strain hospitals; rising Covid rates now overlap both illnesses, adding to the burden.

The C.D.C. estimates that so far this season, there have been at least 7.1 million illnesses, 73,000 hospitalizations and 4,500 deaths from the flu.

While Covid tends to be mild in children and young adults, influenza and R.S.V. are most risky for young children and older adults. All three diseases are particularly dangerous for infants.

Emergency department visits for Covid are highest among infants and older adults. While R.S.V. has leveled off in some parts of the country, hospitalization rates remain high among young children and older adults.

The JN.1 variant accounts for nearly half of all Covid cases in the United States, nearly six times the prevalence just a month ago. The variant has one mutation that gives it a greater ability to sidestep immunity than its parent, BA.2.86, which was limited in its spread.

JN.1 may in fact be less transmissible than previous variants. But its immune evasiveness, coupled with the disappearance of preventive measures like masks, may explain its exponential growth worldwide, said Dr. Abraar Karan, an infectious disease physician and postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University.

Still, JN.1 does not appear to cause more severe illness than previous variants, and the current vaccines, tests and treatments work well against all of the current variants.

Experts urged all Americans including those not at high risk of severe illness to opt for vaccines against both Covid and flu, to use masks and air purifiers to prevent infections, to be tested and treated and to stay home if they become ill.

Even those who do not become severely sick run the risk of long-term complications with every new viral infection, researchers noted.

Im not at high risk, to be honest Im young and vaccinated, Dr. Rivers said. But I continue to take precautions in my own life because I do not want to deal with that disruption, and the risk that I could develop a longer-term illness.

But few Americans are following that advice. As of Dec. 23, only 19 percent of adults had received the latest Covid vaccine, and about 44 percent had opted for the annual flu shot. Just over 17 percent of adults aged 60 and older had received the vaccine for R.S.V.

Even among those 75 and older, who are at highest risk from Covid, only about one in three have received the latest shot, according to the C.D.C.

Many people dont realize that shots that protect against the newest variants are available, or that they should be vaccinated even if they are not at high risk, said Gigi Gronvall, a biosecurity expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

Even if the Covid vaccine does not prevent infection, it can shorten the duration and severity of illness, and minimize the risk of long-term symptoms, including brain fog, fatigue, movement problems and dizziness collectively known as long Covid.

Im sure also there are plenty of people who are actively hostile to the idea, but most of the people I encounter, they just dont even know about it, Dr. Gronvall said.

Poor availability of the shots, particularly for children and older adults, has also limited the vaccination rates.

Dr. Gronvall struggled to find a Covid vaccine for her teenage son. Dr. Jetelina has yet to find any for her young children. She said her grandparents, who are both in their mid-90s, also had an incredibly challenging time.

One of them is in a nursing home and still hasnt been immunized because she happened to be sick the one day the vaccines were offered.

Many nursing home residents and staff members remain unvaccinated, because the staff doesnt understand the benefits, said Dr. Karan, who worked with nursing facilities in Los Angeles County.

Financial incentives can improve vaccine coverage, but the lack of awareness about the benefits is a major problem, he said.

Experts also urged people who develop symptoms to take a test and ask for antiviral drugs Tamiflu for influenza, Paxlovid for Covid especially if they are at high risk of complications.

Paxlovid is still available free of charge to most people, but many patients and even doctors avoid it out of a mistaken belief that it causes Covid symptoms to rebound, experts said. Recent studies did not find a relationship between antiviral drugs and symptom rebound.

For many viruses, including the flu, we know that earlier use of antivirals is going to be beneficial, Dr. Karan said. You stop viral replication quickly, you have less of an immune dysregulation thereafter.

Continue reading here:

Covid Has Resurged, but Scientists See a Diminished Threat - The New York Times

Four years on, long covid still confounds us. Here’s what we now know. – The Washington Post

Many people now view covid-19 as an almost routine inconvenience, much like flu, RSV and other seasonal infections. But four years after reports surfaced of a new respiratory illness, prompting a massive response among researchers, the diseases aftereffects commonly called long covid continue to confound doctors and patients alike.

We know a lot about this particular coronavirus, said Francesca Beaudoin, chair of the department of epidemiology at Brown University. That does not translate into an understanding of the long-term consequences of infection.

As many as 7 percent of Americans report having suffered from a slew of lingering symptoms after enduring covid-19, including fatigue, difficulty breathing, brain fog, joint pain and ongoing loss of taste and smell, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But there is still no clearly defined cause of, or cure for the syndrome.

The costs of our lack of understanding are vast, Beaudoin and others say, creating a huge new burden on the health-care system, as people report limitations in their daily activities including being able to work.

Read the original:

Four years on, long covid still confounds us. Here's what we now know. - The Washington Post

Catholic parishes in Tonawandas put wine chalice on shelf to ward off flu, Covid, other viruses – Buffalo News

Some area Catholic churches have temporarily shelved their Holy Communion wine cups to help keep seasonal viruses at bay.

Citing an increase of various illnesses in our community, priests of the family of Catholic parishes in the Town of Tonawanda and cities of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda agreed this week to suspend distribution of wine in the chalice during Holy Communion.

The move was temporary and will be revisited as we get through this time of year when illnesses seem to rise, the priests said in a joint statement posted on Facebook.

We know many devoutly receive from the cup, but this is for the health of the community, the Facebook post noted.

The suspension applies to six parishes that make up Family #18: St. Amelia, St. Andrew Kim Mission and St. Christopher in the Town of Tonawanda; St. Francis of Assisi in the City of Tonawanda; and St. Jude the Apostle and Our Lady of Czestochowa in the City of North Tonawanda.

St. Gregory the Great is the biggest Catholic parish in the Buffalo Diocese, but the Rev. Leon Biernat says while many parishioners were enthusiastic about returning to the building worship, others were not due to worries about the coronavirus.

It had been brought up to me by a couple parishioners are we considering it? said the Rev. Michael Lamarca, pastor of the family of parishes.

Lamarca said he mentioned it Wednesday at a weekly meeting with fellow priests and it was unanimous right off the bat that weve all noticed more and more people getting sick.

Theres just so much out there, so we said, Lets just do it temporarily and well revisit it as we get through flu and Covid and RSV season, he added.

The Buffalo Diocese has not issued a directive and, so far, has left it up to pastors to decide. A diocese spokesman said officials were not aware of the communal wine chalice being removed for public health reasons at other parishes across the eight counties of the diocese.

Catholics believe bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the celebration of the Eucharist, and Holy Communion reception of the Eucharist is a central sacrament of the faith. The ritual dates back centuries.

Bishop Michael Fisher and three other bishops in the state this weekend lifted dispensations from obligatory Mass attendance that had been in place since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Body of Christ, in the form of an unleavened bread wafer, will continue to be offered at Communion in the Tonawanda parishes, and Catholic teaching promotes that receiving either the body or blood of Christ is as if receiving both.

Offering the Blood of Christ in the form of wine in a shared cup was halted during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the behest of bishops, the practice began returning to most parishes by fall 2022.

The rim of the communal chalice is wiped with a cloth after each recipient. It receives a wash in soapy water after the Mass.

Withholding the chalice during high respiratory virus season is a quite reasonable way to reduce some risk of disease transmission, said Dr. Thomas Russo, professor and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Respiratory viruses such as Covid-19, flu and RSV spread through respiratory droplets and secretions, and oral secretions potentially have infectious particles, he said.

Removing the chalice also can help limit exposure to norovirus, an extraordinarily infectious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea and can peak in the winter, Russo said.

On the other hand, assuming the person handing out Holy Communion is not infected, receiving it in wafer form should present little risk, he said.

The bigger concern is crowded churches with poor ventilation, said Russo, who recommended that people with high-risk conditions wear masks to cut down on exposure to airborne viruses.

This applies not just to church, he said, but any venue thats indoors, particularly if the ventilation is poor, if its crowded and other people arent wearing masks and youre high-risk. That would be a setting where you would want to wear a mask to protect yourself. Masking isnt perfect, but its not bad. Its better than no mask.

Lamarca said he wasnt sure exactly when the shared cup would return.

We didnt want to put a timeline on it, he said, because we wanted to see how things play out.

Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter.

Follow this link:

Catholic parishes in Tonawandas put wine chalice on shelf to ward off flu, Covid, other viruses - Buffalo News

General Information About At-Home OTC COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests – FDA.gov

Abbott Diagnostics Scarborough, Inc.: BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test

Abbott Diagnostics Scarborough, Inc.: BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Self Test

Access Bio, Inc.: CareStart COVID-19 Antigen Home Test

Alternate brand name:

ACON Laboratories, Inc: Flowflex COVID-19 Antigen Home Test

Alternate brand name:

Aptitude Medical Systems Inc.: Metrix COVID-19 Test

Celltrion USA, Inc.: Celltrion DiaTrust COVID-19 Ag Home Test

CTK Biotech, Inc.: ImmuView COVID-19 Antigen Home Test

Cue Health Inc.: Cue COVID-19 Test for Home and Over The Counter (OTC) Use

Ellume Limited: Ellume COVID-19 Home Test

Genabio Diagnostics Inc.: Genabio COVID-19 Rapid Self-Test Kit

iHealth Labs, Inc.: iHealth COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test

Alternate brand name:

InBios International Inc: SCoV-2 Ag Detect Rapid Self-Test

Immunostics Inc.: Swab-N-Go Home Test COVID-19 Ag

PfizerInc: Lucira CHECK-IT COVID-19 Test Kit

Maxim Biomedical, Inc.: MaximBio ClearDetect COVID-19 Antigen Home Test

Mologic, Inc.: COVI-Go SARS-CoV-2 Ag Self-Test

OraSure Technologies, Inc.: InteliSwab COVID-19 Rapid Test

OSANG LLC: OHC COVID-19 Antigen Self Test

Alternate brand name:

PHASE Scientific International, Ltd.: INDICAID COVID-19 Rapid Antigen At-Home Test

Quidel Corporation: QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 Test

Alternative Brand Names:

SD Biosensor, Inc.: Pilot COVID-19 At-Home Test

FDA Safety Communication - Recall of Certain Lots

Siemens Healthineers: CLINITEST Rapid COVID-19 Antigen Self-Test

Watmind USA: Speedy Swab Rapid COVID-19 Antigen Self-Test

Xiamen Boson Biotech Co., Ltd.: Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Test Card

SEKISUI Diagnostics, LLC.: OSOM COVID-19 Antigen Home Test

Beijing Hotgen Biotech Co., Ltd.: Hotgen COVID-19 Antigen Home Test

CorDX, Inc.: CorDx COVID-19 Ag Test

Azure Biotech Inc.: Fastep COVID-19 Antigen Home Test

Oceanit Foundry LLC: ASSURE-100 Rapid COVID-19

Advin Biotech Inc.: Advin COVID-19 Antigen Test @Home

GenBody Inc.: GenBody COVID-19 Ag Home Test

Azure Biotech, Inc.: Azure FaStep COVID-19 Antigen Pen Home Test

Pfizer Inc.: Lucira by Pfizer COVID-19 & Flu Home Test

Princeton BioMeditech Corp: Status COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test for Home Use

Nano-Ditech Corporation: Nano-Check COVID-19 Antigen At-Home Test

BioTeke USA, LLC: Bio-Self COVID-19 Antigen Home Test

3EO Health, Inc.: 3EO Health COVID-19 Test

Read the original here:

General Information About At-Home OTC COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests - FDA.gov

The New CEO of Sofitel and MGallery Hotels Says Deliberate Hedonism Plus Mindful CSR Are What Todays Luxury Is Made Of – Travel + Leisure Southeast…

The Reimagined Lobby at Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit, Thailand

FOR YEARS, there was one choice along Bangkoks buzzing Sukhumvit strip for those looking for a contemporary luxury homebase. Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit had it all: great location, French sophistication, a rooftop bar with all the views yet none of the faff, a verdant lazy-days photo-worthy pool, and the sumptuous rooms and suites wed come to rely on from this storied brand including the famous Sofitel MyBed.

Sensing that not just the hotel but also the neighborhood needed some exciting new life, Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit underwent a massive renovation that maintained all the elements we always loved but supercharged them. Rooms and suites are brighter and softer, there are two exciting new restaurant and bar concepts off the stunningly soaring lobby upping the F&B game, and theres a new skybridge offering direct walking access to the BTS and the heart of the city. The hotel has reemerged as the neighborhood grande dame it used to be, version 2.0: an anchor, a hub and a nurturing cocoon. You might say the same about the Sofitel brand overall, these days. And for that, much credit is due to Maud Bailly, who took over as CEO of Sofitel, MGallery and Emblems brands worldwide in January 2023, just as Accor solidified a strategic reshuffle.

Quick primer for you hotel nerds: Accor is now divided into two empowered divisions supported by corporate functions and a shared platform. First, the Premium, Mid-scale & Economic Division, whose properties are organized by region. Second, the Luxury & Lifestyle Division, organized by brand, in which the former is represented by Orient Express, Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel/Sofitel Legend, MGallery and Emblems, and the latter includes Ennismore.

Sofitel, MGallery and Emblems find themselves in the same umbrella under Bailly because, despite having different styles, they each offer guests collections of unique places to find luxury that incorporate local soul while affirming their French roots. We asked Bailly, featured on the cover of Forbes France this July as one of 40 influential women shaping France, to share her vision of the Sofitel and MGallery brands (which comprise 240 hotels in 58 countries), what exciting evolutions lie ahead for them in Asia (there are 10 properties in Thailand alone!), and some packing tips because we can never get enough travel advice from women always on the go.

Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia: Whats your interpretation of the Sofitel DNA? What was exciting about the brand when it launched 60 years ago? Why does it matter now? And where is it going?

Maud Bailly: Sofitel is the only French global brand, the second-largest brand in the luxury hospitality industry with 123 hotels, about 31,000 rooms, and 49 countries by the end of 2023. We have a large diversity of top locations, from urban historic centers like Sofitel Barcelona Skipper, to airport locations, to mind-blowing romantic resorts, and six gems of Sofitel Legend hotels like the one we opened this year Sofitel Casco Viejo in Panama.

In a luxury world with very similar codes,we believeSofitel brand can differentiate itselfby a specific positioning on quiet and committed luxury,reconciling quality and discretion, with a very recognizable signature: the French zest for life that is based on four brand markers that we are deploying across our entire network:

Pool at Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo, Panama

Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo, Panama

The Sofitel promise also stands in its logo, the symbol of cultural link: two interlocking rings, reflecting the encounter of the French and the local culture of each hotel. All Sofitel hotels embody this union of two cultures, proving that they are also, and maybe first, places meant for their local communities.

And finally, the last and the most important brand marker: Sofitel is meant to be heartful, it should lead the way in sustainable luxury, with a strong CSR commitment.

T+L SEA: What CSR activities are you most passionate about?

Maud Bailly:

1. Promoting diversity and inclusion

2. Giving back to local communities by strengthening local anchorage and solidarity

3. Fighting against food waste especially by leveraging AI

To change the perception of a sector that can sometimes be perceived as a predator we developed a demanding CSR roadmap. Our ambition is to demonstrate that our brands can be sustainable places and can have a positive impact on the local communities, that we can combine beauty, experience and eco-responsibility.

Our 7-pillar roadmap is:

Im convinced that the power of a brand, no matter how fascinating it is, is no longer enough. We decided to stand for a committed luxury, inclusive, diversity-promoting, luxury that gives back to our local communities and serves something bigger than ourselves.

It has to be rooted in a genuine purpose, a value system and a positive societal impact. For me, this is the most powerful lever of attraction and retention.

T+L SEA: Glad you brought up RiiSE. The hospitality industry has long been dominated by men, but more and more women are becoming luxury GMs and taking on other important leadership roles. How is Accor/Sofitel working on gender parity?

Maud Bailly: The group has been a pioneer on the diversity and inclusion subject, long before Rixain French law appeared in 2021. With 300,000 people working all around the world, diversity is obviously at the heart of our DNA. Diversity of cultures, backgrounds, educations, skills, jobsthere are 138 different kinds of jobs in hotels, where you can find up to 25 different nationalities, and this is a real gift. And we value diversity as an immense lever of collective intelligence, with strong KPIs to monitor it, notably through our RiiSE diversity network, with 20,000 members all around the world.

I am against quotas, but for quotas until we dont need them anymore. I believe the sum of individualities is greater than collective individualities.

When I started this new role on the first of January, we were counting 26% of women as general managers in our hotels; they are now 29.5% and we hope to reach 32% by the end of the year.

With RiiSE we are also fighting against all forms of violence and are very involved with several NGOs to help women victim of violence: finding them a place to stay with their children, conducting webinars with testimonies, and even training our teammates within Accor to detect early indicators of violence.

Finally, I am very involved in mentorship to help women both within and outside of Accor. I am trying to help every woman to embrace their sensitivity as a form of freedom and truth towards others. As Gustave Flaubert said, I am endowed with an absurd sensitivity; what scratches others tears me apart. Being a woman in this industry and more globally is finding the right balance between intellectual and emotional quotients, which is a combination for success.

T+L SEA: Wellness is huge right now. What new, interesting things are Sofitel and MGallery in Asia doing to meet guest needs in spa, health and wellbeing?

Maud Bailly: We are always listening to our guests, and studies have shown that 80% wish to focus on their wellbeing. Guests are now seeking more personalization, as well as a reconnection to oneself and others. Desires for nature intertwine with a strong attraction to new technologies, and, hence, to sustainable results. This is how our new holistic wellness concept The Purist Retreat & Spa was born. An innovative offering centered around four pillars of wellbeing: care, sleep, nutrition, and movement. It provides a means to live better, find balance, and establish new lifestyle habits.

The very first The Purist Retreat & Spa is opening its doors in December 2023 within the MGallery in Trouville, Normandy, in France, an ideal destination for its fresh air and seawater. Here, the offering is reinvented, modernized, and tailored to a guest seeking a holistic experience. The treatment menu has been enriched with exclusive novelties and complemented by a 360 wellness offering.

The Purist Retreat & Spa is intended to be deployed worldwide, in each case emphasizing the expert hands of our teams and strong CSR commitments. In our spaces, guests regain control of their health, learn to understand themselves (better), and take daily self-care.

Globally, all Sofitel hotels have a dedicated luxury spa. We are also dedicated to the Art of Sleep, from jet-lag kits, to our pioneering Sofitel MyBed, to sleep rituals.

Our MGallery hotels offer signature treatments and local know-how in the wellness space, using local products inspired by the destination and ancestral techniques (for example, the farm within the hotel serving all organic ingredients at the restaurant in Legacy Yen Tu, herbs from the garden used in the spa treatments, etc). And we highlight outdoor experiences, from sunrise in Sapa at Hotel de la Couple, to mountain hiking at Veranda Chiang Mai, to personal wellness gurus at V Villas Phuket.

T+L SEA: What innovations should we be looking out for in Sofitel and MGallery food and beverage in Asia?

Haute Croissanterie at Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk

Haute Croissanterie at Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk

Maud Bailly: The French zest in all our hotels starts at breakfast! Sofitel will soon introduce a project around the art of the croissanta century-old true symbol of the French breakfast around the world. From mastering the traditional pur beurre croissant to perfection following the French pastry guidelines, to creating a cultural link in styling the croissant, Sofitel Croissants will let the guests taste the essence of different places, celebrating the diversity of global cuisine where unique flavors come together, ultimately linking the French culture with other cultures around the world.

At MGallery we aim to turn our hotels into lively destination places for locals with one of the brand pillars being Memorable. Memorable stands for memorable moments, design and mixology. We are creating a signature cocktail to tell the story of each hotel, its creativity, savoir-faire and local anchorage.

T+L SEA: Whats your favorite destination in Asia-Pacific?

Maud Bailly: Vietnam.

T+L SEA: How often per month do you travel? And can we get your most important packing tips, please?

I am traveling three to six times a month! My life could be summarized this way: from checked bag to carry-on, I became a worldwide expert of under 100mlbeautyproducts.

Travel tips: drink a lot of water, no alcohol, sleep as much as you can each time you can, dont eat too much on a plane, take some high hydration masks, and never forget yourflightsocks!

T+L SEA: What did you want to be when you grew up?

Maud Bailly: A hand surgeon!

T+L SEA: Haha! Wed say were surprised but actually you came to this job from operations in a totally different industry. How does running the Paris Metro Montparnasse station equip you to run one of the worlds most prestigious luxury hotel brands?

Maud Bailly: A principle has always driven me: to fully embrace each experience, whether its spending six months on the field at SNCF learning to couple TGV carriages, overseeing missions for NGOs in inspection, envisioning tomorrows solutions within Manuel Vallss economic and digital cell at Matignon, or over the past six years at Accor, alongside my wonderful teams.

Throughout all my experiences, I have remained true to who I am, my values, my drive to build powerful teams through diversity, my desire to empower those around me, and my commitment to the cause of women.

The expectations of the new generations have evolved significantly in their approach to work, that is why we are very focused on the purposehow we are serving something bigger than ourselves. I am deeply involved in the transformation of the hotel industry to make it more environmentally friendly by eliminating plastic usage, making our buildings cleaner, thereby reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, and minimizing food waste.

I am always guided by Ren Chars quote: There are only two ways to live your life: as though nothing is a miracle, or as though everything is a miracle.

The general manager of Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit, Oliver Schnatz, introduces us to his newly spruced-up grande dame The renovation of the hotel did not only cover all of our 345 guest rooms and suites, but we also have a put a very strong focus on enhancing all the public spaces in the hotel. This includes the bridge that was built to connect the Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit directly with the Asok BTS station, the Sukhumvit MRT station, and Terminal 21 shopping mall.

When we conceptualized the new food and beverage outlets for the hotel one of the key objectives was to create venues that would appeal to the community as much as they would appeal to our in-house guest. Judging by the number of local residents we are now welcoming on a daily basis, it seems that we were able to achieve this and become a meeting spot for the community.

Our soul is in providing exceptional and personalized service.

There are indeed many new hotels coming into the market on a regular basis and with our renovated product we can definitely compete with them. But ultimately it is the service culture in a hotel that creates these memories that make you want to return. I truly believe that we have a very caring and passionate team and they are the ones creating the opportunities to set us apart from many other luxury hotels.

To find out more about the lovely new look and feel at Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit, read here.

Article Sponsored by Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit. Images courtesy of Sofitel, unless otherwise noted.

Read this article:

The New CEO of Sofitel and MGallery Hotels Says Deliberate Hedonism Plus Mindful CSR Are What Todays Luxury Is Made Of - Travel + Leisure Southeast...

The liberal arts’ role in mental health (opinion) – Inside Higher Ed

I began my role as dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Georgetown University shortly after we emerged from the instructional Zoom world of the pandemic. When Ifirst began informally meeting with students on campus, they told me that one of the hardest things they dealt with was the perceived stress culture, which they defined as a constant state of seeing who could be the most stressed out.

This cannot be a healthy culture for learning. And students at Georgetown arent alone.

America is experiencing an escalating mental-health crisis among college-age youth. Almost three-fourths of students report experiencing moderate or serious psychological distress, according to a recent survey from the American College Health Association.

Most Popular

The alarm bells are sounding. It is imperative that we listen and respond.

It is not a coincidence that this mental health crisis is happening at precisely the same time we are devaluing intellectual exploration and a liberal arts education. In 2020, just 4percent of college graduates majored in English, foreign languages and literatures, history, or philosophy.

The increasingly public push against a liberal arts education is separating students from their intrinsic motivations for learning and pushing them toward purely extrinsic factors in their choice of major. A wealth of research demonstrates that intrinsic motivation is a catalyst for learning; it is associated with deeper engagement, perseverance and a greater understanding of new material.

A liberal arts education, with its commitment to exposing students to disciplines across the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences, is rooted in the practice of discernment, embracing intellectual exploration and knowledge in a highly personal and meaningful manner. Discernment is the process of seriously pondering and reflecting upon whom you are supposed to be and what you are supposed to do. It is fundamentally about searching for your personal path and purpose in life.

I went to Yale University as an undergraduate with lots of financial aid, work-study jobs and a full dose of impostor syndrome. Back then, my immigrant parents did not understand how I would go to a university for four years and not graduate as somethinga doctor or a lawyer. At 18, I explained to my parents that this was the American educational system. Today, as the dean of a liberal arts college, I am a firm advocate for this educational system that provides students with the freedom to explore their intellectual interests and career options in law and medicine, and also in the multiplicity of fields and careers that many 18-year-olds may not know exist.

Fortunately, our students are smart and creative and, when confronted with the resistance to the liberal arts, they push back. It is what they are doing when they double major and minor in the humanities next to their ostensibly high-paying primary majors. Many students tell me that they are majoring in a field, like economics, for their parents and to prepare themselves for a high-paying job after they graduate.

However, these same students double major or minor in classics, English, French or Spanish. In the College of Arts & Sciences at Georgetown, about 76percent of our undergraduates have a second major or a minorthey often define these as what they study for themselves, to satisfy their curiosity, interests and passions. These second majors and minors are where their personal and intrinsic motivations lead them.

Attacks on liberal arts education are nothing less than roadblocks, prohibiting discernment and inhibiting young people from finding their own values, interests and purpose in lifefactors that lead to happiness, well-being and a life filled with meaning and balance. Thus, liberal arts colleges are not a problem; rather, they are very much part of the solution to a rising epidemic tide of mental health problems among college-age youth.

There is a litany of factors affecting undergraduate mental healthrising social media usage, precarious world events and, of course, the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic that upended the routines, educational paths and lives of todays college students. Yet even before the pandemic, college-age students were grappling with deteriorating mental healthnearly half reported they had felt so depressed that it was difficult to function within the last 12 months in the 2019 National College Health Assessment survey.

By encouraging students to pursue the breadth and reach of a liberal arts education, not only do we help tackle the mental health crisis spreading across college campuses, but we also better prepare and support young adults to become dynamic, motivated and courageous thinkers and problem-solvers.

Rosario Ceballo is a psychology professor and an expert on adolescent development. She is the dean of Georgetown Universitys College of Arts & Sciences.

See the original post here:

The liberal arts' role in mental health (opinion) - Inside Higher Ed