APA Blogs
11 Results
How Dental Health and Mental Health Are Connected
While it may not be widely understood, there is a clear connection between a person’s dental health and their mental health. Numerous studies have identified associations between mental health and oral health(1), however, the interaction often does not get much attention, even among health care professionals.
A Few Phone Calls From Trained Volunteers Can Make a Difference for People with Depression
New research finds that volunteers who make a few empathetic phone calls can significantly improve others’ loneliness and depressive symptoms among adults. This type of program could help address the significant shortage of mental health professionals and improve mental healthcare, the study authors suggest.
Thriving in Old Age
- By Maureen Nash, M.D., M.S., FAPA, FACP
In honor of Older Americans Month in May, I wanted to break down stereotypes about older adults. In the United States, we tend to split older adults into two groups: we celebrate the few older adults who live past 100 with TV stories or newspaper articles, and then we assume most older adults have unbearable burdens and are languishing in understaffed facilities.
New Report Examines Disparities in Dementia Care
A new report from the Alzheimer’s Association finds that non-white racial/ethnic populations expect and experience more barriers when accessing dementia care and report having less trust in medical research than white Americans. “Race, Ethnicity and Alzheimer’s in America,” is a companion report to the Association’s annual Facts and Figures report.
“Nowhere to Turn”: COVID-19 and Caregiver Stress
“I need help, and I have nowhere to turn.” I find this a frighteningly common refrain among my patients who are also caregivers for people with dementia, autism, or children with a panoply of mental health conditions who need consistency and structure. As an individual psychiatrist, there seems to be no option, and I simply listen.