Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
It's Not Just TikTok: Warnings That All Social Media Have Mental Health Risks
The national-security and mental-health risks posed by TikTok are shared by other social media platforms, according to an advocacy group that鈥檚 urging Congress to also hold US companies accountable ahead of high-profile testimony from TikTok鈥檚 chief executive officer.聽(Edgerton, 3/20)
Fictional soccer coach Ted Lasso used a White House visit Monday to encourage people, even in politically divided Washington, to make it a point to check in often with friends, family and co-workers to 鈥渁sk how they鈥檙e doing, and listen, sincerely,鈥 Comedian Jason Sudeikis, who plays the title character 鈥 an American coaching a soccer team in London 鈥 and other cast members were meeting with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden to talk about how mental health contributes to overall well-being. (Superville and Miller, 3/20)
As evidence mounts that law students suffer through outsized mental health challenges, some law schools are experimenting with a new tactic to identify struggling students and get them help. At least five U.S. law schools have adopted a service first developed for medical schools, called Early Alert, that sends one text message a week to students asking them to rate how they feel about a specific topic. (Sloan, 3/20)
Pandemic hardships such as poverty, poor living and working conditions and limited health care access made evident an urgent need to address undocumented Latino immigrants鈥 mental health needs, according to a new Rice University study. (Romero, 3/20)
KHN: Mental Health Care By Video Fills Gaps In Rural Nursing Homes聽
Bette Helm was glad to have someone to talk with about her insomnia. Helm lives in a nursing home in this central Iowa town of about 7,500 people, where mental health services are sparse. On a recent morning, she had an appointment with a psychiatric nurse practitioner about 800 miles away in Austin, Texas. They spoke via video, with Helm using an iPad she held on her lap while sitting in her bed. (Leys, 3/21)
The Washington Post released video of Irvo Otieno's death at a Virginia hospital 鈥
As many as 10 sheriff鈥檚 deputies and medical staff at Virginia鈥檚 Central State Hospital can be seen piling on top of a shackled Irvo N. Otieno for approximately 11 minutes until he stops moving, according to new video showing the encounter that led to the 28-year-old Black man鈥檚 death. The hospital surveillance video, which has no sound, shows Otieno鈥檚 final moments on March 6, from the time Henrico County sheriff鈥檚 deputies drag him into a hospital admissions room in handcuffs and leg irons, to the 11 minutes in which they restrain Otieno on the ground, to the moment when they release Otieno鈥檚 limp body around 4:40 p.m. (Rizzo, Vozzella and Oakford, 3/20)