Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study Shows Instagram Fails To Protect Prominent Women From Abuse
Press Association: Instagram 'Failing To Protect Women In The Public Eye From Misogynist Abuse'
Instagram is not doing enough to protect women in the public eye from misogynistic abuse online, a new report has claimed. A study by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which included input from several women in the public eye such as actor Amber Heard and broadcaster Rachel Riley, suggests that Instagram was failing to remove accounts that sent abuse to women, in violation of the site's rules. The report saw five prominent women give access to their direct messages (DMs) on Instagram to the online safety group, which claimed that it had found an "epidemic of misogynist abuse" that was being "ignored" by the platform as 90% of the offending accounts remained active after sending abusive content and being reported. (Landi, 4/6)
The Washington Post: Some Women Shared The Messages They Get On Instagram. It’s Not Pretty
Women on Instagram are exposed to an “epidemic of misogynist abuse,” according to a new report. The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit focused on online hate and misinformation, worked with five high-profile women, including actor Amber Heard, to analyze more than 8,717 direct messages the women received. (Lorenz and Dwoskin, 4/6)
In other news about mental health —
AP: Governor Highlights $50M Investment In Behavioral Health
Idaho Gov. Brad Little and other state officials on Tuesday highlighted one of the state’s largest-ever investments in behavioral health care. The Republican governor in a ceremonial event that included Idaho Supreme Court justices and lawmakers marked the $50 million approved by the Legislature in a series of appropriations bills this year that Little has already signed into law. (Ridler, 4/5)
San Diego Union-Tribune: Surgeon General Discusses Mental Health With Southern California High School Students
Dr. Vivek H. Murthy’s mission as surgeon general is to tell the American people about pressing health issues, but Monday afternoon at a YMCA in the San Diego neighborhood of Mountain View, he came to listen. About 25 students from Lincoln High School and Gompers Preparatory Academy met with Murthy at the Jackie Robinson YMCA, where they shared issues about their own mental health and told him how their lives had been affected by the pandemic. (Warth, 4/5)
The New York Times: Can A.I.-Driven Voice Analysis Help Identify Mental Disorders?
Imagine a test as quick and easy as having your temperature taken or your blood pressure measured that could reliably identify an anxiety disorder or predict an impending depressive relapse. Health care providers have many tools to gauge a patient’s physical condition, yet no reliable biomarkers — objective indicators of medical states observed from outside the patient — for assessing mental health. (Williams, 4/5)
In related news about mental health and your job —
The Conversation: Why It Makes Good Business Sense For Your Employer To Look After Your Mental Health
In any given year, about one in five people will experience a mental health problem or illness. Fortunately, many employers have gradually come to realise that supporting mental health in the workplace is an important part of their role. This makes sense not just for reasons of your own wellbeing as an employee. There is clear evidence, for example, that poor mental health in the form of depression and anxiety is linked to reduced productivity, and how well you are able to do your job. (4/5)
The Washington Post: Hybrid Work For Many Is Messy And Exhausting
Workers say they are discovering new frustrations with hybrid work as they adapt to both virtual and in-person work. From keeping track of their belongings to having two functional workspaces and ensuring that their visits to the office coordinate with those of their colleagues, this model is rife with unexpected hurdles, they say. To be sure, workers say they prefer hybrid work over being in the office full time. (Abril, 4/5)
The Washington Post: Caring For Aging Parents, Sick Spouses Is Keeping Millions Out Of Work
Courtney Russell loved her job managing a Charleston, S.C., candy store. But early in the pandemic when her husband’s cancer returned, she felt she had only one choice: to quit. Her husband, Doug Curtin, needed a bone-marrow transplant and months of chemotherapy. But hiring a home nurse, so she could keep working, seemed risky with rising coronavirus rates in early 2020. Two years later, the couple is getting by financially with help from family. (Bhattarai, 4/4)
New Hampshire Public Radio: A National Study Finds Self-Perceived Social Status May Affect Latino Cardiovascular Health
New research, published by the Journal of the American Heart Association, examines the correlation between migration and behavior in Latinos, focusing on how a self-perceived sense of prestige and accomplishment impacts their health. Fifteen thousand Latino adults in the U.S. were participants in the first-of-its-kind study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The adults in the study lived in San Diego, Chicago, New York, and Miami and ranged from 18 to 74 years old. (Lozada, 4/5)
