🤝The first pill for postpartum depression

Your 08/13/23 update on all things social work

Good morning! ☀️

And Happy Sunday!

Last week, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first oral pill specifically targeted to treat postpartum depression. The pill will be sold under the brand name Zurzuvae and should be taken as a once-daily pill for 14 days. This is an important breakthrough given that:

• One in seven women who have given birth experience postpartum depression, but roughly half with the condition do not receive treatment

• Maternal deaths from suicide account for about 20% of all deaths that occur postpartum

The two studies on Zurzuvae found it effective for reducing symptoms of depression, but there is concern given that the research was completed in only 45 days. In other words, the research did not study the effects of the medication on women for longer than 45 days after they gave birth.

News

• The Department of the Air Force has now implemented a law that enables Airmen and Space Force Guardians to request a mental health referral from their superiors and to be connected with a medical professional within one day, regardless of where they are deployed. The law, officially called the Brandon Act, was enacted after a 21-year-old sailor, Brandon Caserta, died from suicide after being bullied by a supervisor. Prior to the law, the referral had to be initiated by the superior, thereby creating a barrier to care.

• The American Psychological Association (APA) has joined the American Bar Association in advocating for an end to disclosure of personal mental health by individuals applying to become lawyers. Regarding this requirement, the APA states: “Statistical data reveal that there is no connection between bar application questions about mental health and attorney misconduct and that such questions have not been empirically shown to work as a successful screening tool for who can and cannot practice law in a competent manner".

• The National Association of Social Workers will mark it’s 27th anniversary with Social Work Pioneer Inductions in Washington D.C. The inductions will recognize the “outstanding achievements of social work pioneers who have truly elevated the profession” and will include the posthumous induction of NAACP co-founder W.E.B DuBois

• An article in the New York Times highlights how “hot weather can destabilize mood, exacerbate mental health disorders and complicate drug treatment.” Research has shown that high temperatures are strongly associated with an increase in suicides and a rise in violent crime, aggression, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations for mental health disorders

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Reads on research

• A new study which included over 150,000 respondents from 32 surveys in 29 countries showed that about half of the world's population "can expect to develop" at least one type of mental health disorder by the time they are 75 years old

• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and experiences of traumatic events as adults were associated with significantly increased risks of anxiety, depression, and severe stress

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Reads on policy

• Proposition 63, passed by California voters in 2004, created a “millionaire’s tax”, which has since brought in an estimated $26 billion. California Gov. Newsom is advocating that $1 billion per year of this tax is spent on housing those with serious mental illness, addiction, or both

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