Here is your weekly news roundup of articles, reports, resources and webinars you might find interesting.
Please note, future issues of Weekly News Roundup will be under a new title,
Prevention Connection
, as Ingrid Gillespie starts her new position as Director of Prevention at Liberation Programs. The content will continue to include the same variety of articles that we have been sharing.
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Formally known as National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, the month of July has been dedicated to raising awareness of the unique struggles that underrepresented groups face regarding mental illness in the United States. This year's theme is #impactoftrauma.
BIPOC are often faced with years - even generations - of trauma, which translates to socioeconomic disparities and, in turn, is linked to mental health concerns today.
Learn more.
The observance has been renamed
BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) Mental Health Month, a name that
more fairly honors and distinguishes the experiences of Blacks, Indigenous People, and People of Color. Since the word "minority" is synonymous with inferiority, it will no longer be used by Mental Health America.
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Mental Health America provides this definition of racial trauma: "Racial trauma, or race-based traumatic stress (RBTS), refers to the mental and emotional injury caused by encounters with racial bias and ethnic discrimination, racism, and hate crimes. Any individual that has experienced an emotionally painful, sudden, and uncontrollable racist encounter is at risk of suffering from a race-based traumatic stress injury. It is important to note that unlike PTSD,
RBTS is not considered a mental health disorder
. RBTS is a mental injury that can occur as the result of living within a racist system or experiencing events of racism."
If you believe you may be suffering from race-based traumatic stress injury, it is important to seek therapy from a multicultural or racial trauma-informed therapist. These therapists work to create an open, culturally affirming, empowered space for you to heal from racialized trauma in all its various forms.
Here are some resources
to help find a therapist.
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The Sun and Your Medications:
What You Need to Know
Most people look forward to spending time outdoors during the sunny days of summer. But for those who take certain medications, too much fun in the sun can cause serious side effects such as severe sunburns, rashes
and heatstroke.
That’s because several common over-the-counter and prescription drugs — including antihistamines, cholesterol-lowering drugs, pain relievers, diabetes medications and antibiotics — can make the skin more sensitive to sunlight, a condition called photosensitivity.
Read full article
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Hot Weather Safety Tips For Older Adults
While summer brings us warmth and bloom, prolonged exposure to excessive heat in summer months can be dangerous. This is especially true for older adults. Every summer, more than 600 Americans die of health problems caused by excessive heat and humidity. Older adults and individuals with chronic medical conditions are at high risk of developing heat-related illnesses, because of aging-related physical changes in the body, chronic health conditions, and even effects of taking some medications.
Here are ways to stay safe
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CONSUMER ALERT:
More Hand Sanitizers Have Been Recalled
Two weeks after the Food and Drug Administration
warned against the use of nine hand sanitizer products
due to the potential presence of methanol,
the agency added five more
brands that tested positive for the toxic substance.
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Wild About Safety Timon and Pumbaa: Safety Smart in the Water
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Please Like and Follow Us Today
We need you to help us grow our Facebook and Twitter communities!
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Save the Date for These Training Opportunities!
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Building Developmental Relationships
Wednesday, July 15, 2020 | 12:00 - 1:00 PM | $45
In this webinar you will learn what leads to a
strong
developmental relationship, and explore practical skills and strategies to help build these kinds of relationships – which we’ve all been trying to build – more effectively.
As a result of attending this webinar, participants will:
- Learn the key elements of a developmental relationship
- Reflect on their own interactions with young people, identifying personal strengths and areas for growth
- Identify specific strategies to use in their work with young people right away
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Digital Health Interventions and Telemedicine
Monday, July 20, 2020 | 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
The Collaborative for Effective Prescription Opioid Policies (of which the National Council is a member) and Mothers Against Prescription Drug Abuse are partnering to present a 4-part webinar series beginning on July 20 to understand and address the intersecting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the national opioid epidemic.
Click here
to peruse the topics and register for the sessions that interest you.
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Crafts for Kids: 100 Awesome Art Projects for Creative At-Home Fun
Did you know plastic milk jugs make awesome fairy houses, or sugar cubes are a fun substitute for Lego bricks? Sometimes we all need a little inspiration to get our creative juices flowing.
Here are some ideas
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23 Activities for Seniors Who Are
Social Distancing
Activity directors at senior living communities are known for thinking of fun outings, games, and exercise programs for aging loved ones. With communal activities off the table, they’ve had to get creative and find new methods to keep residents safe and connected during social distancing. You can adapt these expert ideas as inspiration to keep your loved one active at home, too!
Here are some ideas
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14 yard games to enjoy outside while social distancing
If you're looking for new ways to pass the time outside, we've compiled a list of the best yard games. From Spikeball to lawn darts, there's bound to be at least one option on our list that strikes your fancy!
Check them out
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FREE Headshots for Unemployed Individuals: Get Yours!
If you're unemployed, mark your calendar for this event on July 22 at the SONO Collection in Norwalk. Local photographer, Hector Pachas Photography, is participating with Headshot Booker and Brookfield Properties in the largest, single-day
photo initiative
that will provide 10,000 unemployed Americans nationwide with a complimentary, professional headshot to include with their resumes and post to job sites such as LinkedIn. Hector Pachas will be taking photos from 10:00 am – 7:00 pm.
Book your session today.
Only 50 slots are available!
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Reducing Vaping Among Youth and Young Adults
This guide supports health care providers, systems, and communities seeking to prevent vaping. It describes relevant research findings, examines emerging and best practices, identifies knowledge gaps and implementation challenges, and offers useful resources.
Download now
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In a current climate rife with increased racial trauma, creators of digital apps that support the emotional well-being of people of color are stepping up.
Check out these apps
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Summer is typically a wonderful season for outdoor activities and spending additional time with family and friends. For some people, these activities include drinking alcoholic beverages. In light of the coronavirus pandemic as well as the negative consequences associated with drinking, it is particularly important this summer to take measures to protect your own health and that of your loved ones.
Read more
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One in five people aged over 55 years of age admit to feeling peer pressured into drinking more
alcohol
than they otherwise would, a study has found. The investigation by
independent alcohol education charity Drinkaware found that peer pressure is felt by all ages — but impacts older generations in different ways. While they may think they are 'older and wiser' and immune to such influence, seniors are still vulnerable but less likely to identify peer pressure as being overt.
Read more
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In this issue of
JAMA Pediatrics
, Lee and colleagues
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review the evidence on pod-based electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use among youth and young adults. This is a critical and timely public health issue. Despite gains made in reducing cigarette smoking among youth,
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,
3
the percentage of US high school students who use nicotine products is at its highest level in almost 2 decades. Recent data
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reveal that this trend is driven largely by the increase in e-cigarette use.
Read report.
In this systematic review, pod-based e-cigarettes enhanced the delivery of nicotine and had greater dependence potential. Youth and young adult use can be attributed to social acceptability, convenient product features, and aggressive social media marketing.
Any dispassionate appraisal of e-cigarettes must acknowledge that much more is unknown than known—most of the iceberg remains underwater. However, despite all this uncertainty, some have rendered global and fairly Manichean pronouncements regarding the threats and benefits of e-cigarettes. Unfortunately, we are largely ignorant not only about the effects of e-cigarettes, but also about the long-term consequences of such public pronouncements. Black and white perspectives on e-cigarettes were clearly manifest in the divergent reactions to the electronic cigarette and vaping product–associated lung injury crisis of 2019,
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reactions that often preceded meaningful evidence.
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