mental health
The 988 hotline is two years old — but people still don't know about it
KAYANA SZYMCZAK FOR STAT
When 988 — the shorter number for the national mental health hotline — launched two years ago today, health officials expected a massive influx of calls over the first year. But the progress has been slow. New polling data from the National Alliance of Mental Health shows that 67% of Americans have at least heard of 988, up from 63% last summer. But only 23% of Americans are at least somewhat familiar with the number, which is down 10 percentage points from last year.
Kinks in the system, like routing calls by area code instead of the caller's location, persist. (Nevermind the fact that reporting from The Markup last year found that dozens of websites tied to the crisis line were sharing visitor data with Facebook.) But callers are still finding their way to the hotline. This May, 88% of more than 387,000 calls to the hotline around the country were answered. That's higher volume and a better answer rate than when the number opened in July 2022, with almost 246,000 calls, 83% of which were answered.
more mental health
How supportive families help keep trans youth safe
At a pivotal moment in your life, having a supportive family can make all the difference. For trans youth, this is particularly true when it comes to gender identity milestones such as the first time feeling that your gender is different, the first time you tell someone you're trans, and living fully in your true gender identity.
A new JAMA Pediatrics study based on data from the 2015 US Transgender Survey shows that reaching such milestones is associated with an increased risk of attempting suicide or running away from home among trans youth. But it's an association driven by people with unsupportive or neutral families. For those with supportive families, there was no association between these momentous occasions and poor mental health outcomes.
(And in case you're questioning the strength of results based on a survey— I know. It's not an ideal way to scientifically measure anything. But in a world that's lacking in data on trans people, the USTS is one of few large data sets that researchers can draw from.)
first opinion
The dual epidemics of hepatitis C and opioid use
Chronic but treatable. That's how experts describe both hepatitis C and opioid use, yet many Americans who live with the deadly combination of the two are not offered treatment. In a First Opinion essay, two physicians in New York ask: In a country with thousands of addiction and substance use treatment centers, why aren't these facilities helping people access a cure for the nation's most common blood-borne infection?
Authors Sara Lorenz Taki and Lipi Roy argue that hepatitis C treatment should be integrated with addiction care to better serve both patient populations. Read more on why they believe it's the best way forward to fight stigma, lower costs, handle workforce shortages, and save lives.
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