Category: Behavioral/Mental Health

Suicide prevention among older adults

Learn more about suicide prevention among older adults in this blogpost by one of the students attending the course, Contemporary Perspectives on Aging.

COVID-19 affects everything: The increase in opioid-related deaths & initiatives

Written by Ola Adebayo, MPH candidate and student worker at the Institute for Public Health Overdose-related deaths have reached an all-time high with more than 96,000 people dying during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a 30 percent increase from 2019, the largest increase ever seen of drug-related deaths in the United […]

Climate and global mental health

by John McGinley, undergraduate student at Elon University; SPRIGHT Scholar in the 2020 Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program – Public and Global Health Abbreviated Track Parul Bakhshi, PhD, Assistant Professor/Instructor, Program in Occupational Therapy and Brown School, and Clement Bayetti, PhD, Adjunct Instructor, Brown School, spoke about the discourses of climate change and global […]

Good mental health during COVID-19

Written by Jessica A. Gold, MD, MS, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine & Faculty Scholar at the Institute for Public Health “How are you?” These three little words used to just be a casual greeting between friends, family, a doctor and a patient, or even casual acquaintances. They […]

Gun Violence & Human Rights: Part I

The Gun Violence Initiative at the Institute for Public Health turns five in April 2020. This blog is part of a special series related to the key themes of the initiative: What we know, what we need to know, and what to do about this critical issue. U.S. Gun Violence is a Public Health and […]

Mental health & disorders

Written by Juliet Enow, DrPH candidate, Jackson State University and participant in the 2019 Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program – Public & Global Health Track The past four weeks of the Institute of Public Health Summer Research Program – Public and Global Health Track have been an enriching and  rewarding professional experience and I am […]

Taking research from Saint Louis to New Delhi

Written by Biva Rajbhandari, programme officer at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation in New Delhi, India and alumna of the Summer Research Program- Public & Global Health Track I learned about the Summer Research Program during my first year as a Masters’ candidate in Public Health and Social Work at the Brown School. From the […]

Emotional violence in childhood, adolescence associated with suicidal thoughts (Links to an external site)

Early exposure to emotional violence “significantly” increases the chances that youths will contemplate suicide, according to new research from three countries conducted by Washington University in St. Louis’ Brown School. “We find the odds of suicide ideation are consistently and significantly greater for adolescents who report overexposure to emotional violence,” said Lindsay Stark, associate professor […]

Action toward food equity

Written by Alyna Sibert, MS, operations manager for the North City Food Hub and Institute for Public Health 2018 Annual Conference speaker The CDC defines health equity as “everyone has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible.”  Healthy People 2020 defines health equity as the “attainment of the highest level of health for all […]

Prison population equity

Written by Samantha Stangl, MSW, programs manager at The Clark-Fox Family Foundation and  Institute for Public Health 2018 Annual Conference speaker Author Fyodor Dostoyevsky once famously said “The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.” By that standard the United States has a lot of work to do. According […]

Mental health equity

At the time of publishing, Jorge Riopedre was president of Casa de Salud. No sooner is there yet another school shooting, or for that matter a mass shooting of any kind, than the mantra of access to mental health services starts pouring forth from the mouth of politicians and activists. Paul Ryan, Speaker of the […]

We are together in everything

Written by Sarah Wishloff, undergraduate student at Amherst College and participant in the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program How did I get here? The thought runs through my head as nurse Eleanor translates my words into Chichewa. I am leading a meeting with five village chiefs about a new research study that the […]

Missouri’s opioid crisis: A complex puzzle

Written by Celia Zhou, undergraduate student at Wake Forest University and participant in the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program Dr. Rachel Winograd—assistant research professor at the Missouri Institute of Mental Health at the University of Missouri – St. Louis who gave a presentation in the Summer Research Program Seminar Series—believes that addressing addition […]

More than pretty: Clothing for health and well-being

Written by Swetha Nakshatri, undergraduate student at Washington University in St. Louis and participant in the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program In my mind, fashion has always been purely an art. Avant-garde, something to explore, but in the realm of designers and critics, people whose goals I thought couldn’t be more different from mine. […]

Changing from the inside out & from the bottom up: How nutritional guidelines can empower & educate consumers while motivating industry change

Written by Diana Parra Perez, PhD, MPH, assistant professor at the Brown School  At publishing, Professor Perez was assistant professor of physical therapy at the School of Medicine “Garbage disguised as food triumphs: this industry conquers the palates of the world and reduces the traditions of the local cuisine to shreds. The customs of good […]

Go further with food by meal planning

Written by Rachel Tabak, PhD, research assistant professor at the Brown School The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has celebrated National Nutrition Month® since 1980. Themes have ranged from Food Fads Fool to Step Up to Get Your Plate in Shape. The goal each year includes increasing awareness of the importance of nutrition. Even though […]

Finding a nutritious balance

Written by Eliza Antonowich, communications assistant at the Institute for Public Health As a sophomore in college, I have found that the most popular buzzword in conversation on campus must be balance. How can one possibly manage all the components that lead to success? From academics, a job, exercise, extracurricular activities, a social life, and […]

No text is worth a life: The dangers of distracted driving

Written by Lauren Duhl, undergraduate in global health & environment, environmental studies, and design at Washington University in St. Louis Distractions while driving can be deadly. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers. In the United States, more than 1,000 people are injured every day due to distracted driving. Distracted Driving […]

Alcohol use as a high-risk health behavior

Written by Vivia McCutcheon, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine Alcohol is the most commonly used drug in the United States. The figure below from the Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health illustrates the rates of binge drinking in people aged 12 and older from 2002-2014, compared to the […]

Beyond self-defense: Increasing firearm safety in the home

Written by Victoria Grace Assokom-Siakam, intern at the Center for Community Health Partnership and Research An individual with a gun in their home is four times more likely to be a victim of that said firearm.1 Most individuals keep firearms in their homes for either sport, hobby or self-defense. Given that owning a firearm is […]

A dangerous combination for youths – Indoor tanning and skin cancer

Written by Lynn Cornelius, the Winfred A. and Emma R. Showman Professor in Dermatology at the School of Medicine Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States, and rates have been rising for the past 30 years.1 Melanoma, the most serious and deadliest form of skin cancer, is one of the […]

Summer Research Program alumni blog – Biva Rajbhandari

Written by Biva Rajbhandari,  Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program alumna I have always been passionate about global health and the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program gave me the opportunity to build my skill set and knowledge for a career in global health. I first learned about the Institute for Public Health […]

Advances in palliative care and hospice research: Improving the quality of care for patients with life-limiting illnesses

Written by Evelyn Shen, undergraduate in Anthropology: Global Health & Environment at Washington University in St. Louis and participant in the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program Patrick White MD, HMDC, FACP, FAAHPM, grew up following his dad around, like most kids do—however, his dad was a community pulmonologist, and Dr. White spent much […]

The practice of mindfulness

Written by Emily Page, Wellness Manager, Human Resources, Washington University in St. Louis I recently watched the documentary, Minimalism, a film by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus, who also have blogs, books and podcasts on the same topic. Though the film did touch on the tenets of living with less and doing without, my […]

Managing holiday stress

Written by Thomas M. Brounk, PhD, director of mental health services for the Habif Health and Wellness Center at Washington University in St. Louis For many of us, the winter holidays can be a welcome time off from our usual routines. There is often more time to spend with family and friends. But the holidays […]

Mental health is global health

Written by Rumi Kato Price, PhD, MPE, professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine; and Porpong (Paul) Boonmak, student at the Washington University School of Medicine Did you know that, globally, severe episodic phase of major depression is judged even more disabling than untreated AIDS? The level of disability of severe major […]

More than just the endgame: The role of implementation science for early-stage innovations in behavioral health

Written by Alex Ramsey, instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine Implementation science has generally been viewed as the final step in the research translation process and only in the context of long-standing and well-validated interventions. There is reason to believe, however, that we should be considering implementation issues earlier in the […]

Ending gun suicide: A personal and professional movement

Written by Sylvia Ogilvie, graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis Gun violence is inarguably one of the most divisive issues in the United States, whether we are arguing with family members around the holiday table, or watching political candidates point fingers at each other like children in the school yard. It almost seems […]

Moving beyond mental illness to mental health and wellbeing

When the conversation moves to mental health, there is a tendency to think about diagnostic categories. This is largely the result of an emphasis on mental illness in public funding for the mental health system. Given limited dollars and resources, we focus on those with critical needs, individuals with serious mental illness. Diseases such as […]

Drug policy, public health, and wellness

Written by Richard Grucza, PhD, MPE, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Washington University School of Medicine My colleagues and I have long been interested in policies that restrict young peoples’ legal access to alcohol and tobacco. We’ve learned that restricting drinking or smoking during the teen years has long term benefits such […]

Keeping the calm: Taking your summer vacation mind into the school year

Written by April Houston, MSW/MPH, graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis The start of a new school year is a stressful time for many – students, teachers, and parents included. Summer is often a more laid back time of year, with less deadlines and more daylight available for leisure activities. Perhaps you were […]

Back to school and back to sleep…zzzzz

Written by Karla Keaney, M.D., pediatrics specialist at Esse Health It’s that season yet again! Getting the school supplies ready, the clothes laid out, and juggling multiple schedules are just the beginning of the back-to-school rush. There are a huge range of emotions that many experience – from enthusiasm to anxiety and for some, even indifference. As […]

It is an opportune time for public health to engage young people on social media

Written by Patricia Cavazos-Rehg, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine Social media use has surged over the past decade especially among young adults and teenagers. Consumer surveys indicate that up to 80% of US adults are on social media and this prevalence is heavily driven by its popularity among […]

Your ‘new you’ resolution

Written by Emily Page, employee wellness manager at Washington University in St. Louis As the new year gets underway, many of us feel a renewed sense to align our lifestyle with our personal values and priorities. The fact that time is marching forward, perhaps a little faster than we may want, sparks a desire within […]

Guns and suicide

A recent report from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, “The Truth About Suicide and Guns,” describes the strong link between gun ownership and suicide: a gun in the home makes suicide three times more likely. The report finds that while gun ownership alone presents the greatest risk, when combined with the impulsive nature of […]