The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) today released the results of a statewide landscape scan that revealed that Illinois school districts are well on their way toward phasing in universal mental health screening for students. The report includes four recommendations to close gaps in access to mental health screening and to ensure districts of all different sizes and capacities have the tools they need to successfully implement mental health screening for all students. [ROE26]

Similar to physical, dental, and vision screeners, mental health screeners aim to detect social-emotional and behavioral concerns early, so schools can connect students to the appropriate services and interventions before concerns become a crisis. 

... The landscape scan report includes four recommendations that recognize districts’ varying capacities and seek to address the most common barriers to implementing universal mental health screening:

Illinois should undertake a phased approach to universal mental health screening of all K-12 students enrolled in public school districts. Universal mental health screening of all K-12 students means mental health screening of every student in every grade enrolled in a school district each year.

ISBE, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, should compile and organize resources to support school districts in improving the mental health culture and climate in schools and reducing the stigma related to screening, referral, and participation in mental health services.

ISBE, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, should release guidance about (1) mental health screening tools available for school districts to use with students and (2) associated training for school personnel.

ISBE should oversee a process of model policy development with relevant stakeholders that supports school districts in implementing universal mental health screening of students.

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New campaign aims to turn the tide on maternal mortality in Chicago’s Black community | Shernita Hosey, 38, knows what it’s like to endure postpartum depression. The single mom of two daughters, ages 10 and 14, remembers the support she sought from family and friends after her children were born. That’s why the Humboldt Park resident can often be seen canvassing door to door in South Side neighborhoods as an outreach worker with EverThrive Illinois, a health equity advocacy group. [Chicago Tribune]

The latest campaign centers on the Black maternal morbidity crisis, which encapsulates any health problems that result from being pregnant or giving birth. According to an October report on Illinois Maternal Morbidity and Mortality from the Illinois Department of Public Health, discrimination was 50% more likely to be a contributing factor in pregnancy-related deaths among Black women as compared with white women; Black women were three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related medical conditions as white women; and statewide maternal mortality review committees determined 91% of pregnancy-related deaths were potentially preventable due to clinical, systemic, social, community or patient factors. Such statistics have spurred numerous agencies and organizations to try to make inroads in their own ways, including with technology.

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What are the most recent advancements in establishing AI safeguards for clinical practice? In what way does AI intersect with democracy and its preservation? And how are the frameworks for regulating AI progressing and aligning across the US, UK, and EU? As the technology advances at lightning speed, such questions surrounding AI become more critical. [JAMA Network]

Alondra Nelson, PhD (Video), is focusing on effective guardrails that protect society from issues like data insecurity—but also encourage innovation in the laboratory and clinic. Nelson is the Harold F. Linder Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, where she studies the effects of scientific and technological advances on health and society. In 2023, she was included in TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in AI.

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When Mayor Brandon Johnson took the wraps off his “People’s Plan for Community Safety,” it sounded more like a rebranded mix of plans championed by his predecessor, Lori Lightfoot, with violence prevention initiatives bankrolled by business leaders sprinkled in. [Sun Times] 

But it turns out that Johnson does have at least the bones of his own plan to take the fight against the root causes of crime to a whole new level. [Photo: Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere /Sun-Times]

It starts with programs in four Chicago neighborhoods that have long been plagued by violent crime — Englewood, Little Village, Austin and West Garfield Park — and in the “most violent blocks” within those four neighborhoods.

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One of the top articles (read) in 2023. The 2021 US maternal mortality rate is more than 10 times the rate of other high-income countries, according to a March 2023 CDC report. In this Q&A, JAMA Editor in Chief Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS, is joined by Monica McLemore, PhD, MPH, RN, University of Washington, Audra Meadows, MD, MPH, UC San Diego, and Joia Crear-Perry, MD, founder and president of the National Birth Equity Collaborative, to discuss these concerning numbers and why preventable death rates are worsening in the US. [JAMA Podcast]

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As COVID-19 hospitalizations rise across large swaths of Illinois and the nation, only about 11% of Chicago residents are up to date on vaccinations against the virus.  [Chicago Tribune and Press Reader.com]

The combination is concerning to many health officials as respiratory virus season amps up and the Christmas and New Year's holidays approach. 

Medical experts are also alarmed by a simultaneous rise in recent hospitalizations for other respiratory illnesses like RSV and the flu, with the CDC issuing an 'urgent need" to raise vaccination coverage against all three viruses nationwide. 

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This data visualization presents national-level provisional counts of maternal deaths based on a current flow of mortality data in the National Vital Statistics System. Provisional counts include deaths among U.S. residents in the United States, as of the date specified and may not include all deaths that occurred during a given time period (see Technical Notes).

A maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy. In this data visualization, maternal deaths are those deaths with an underlying cause of death assigned to International Statistical Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) code numbers A34, O00–O95, and O98–O99.

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The provisional data presented on Figures 1-3 include reported 12 month-ending provisional counts of maternal death overall, and by age, and by race/ethnicity. Provisional maternal death counts presented in this data visualization are for “12-month ending periods,” defined as the number of deaths occurring in the 12-month period ending in the month indicated. For example, the 12-month ending period in June 2020 would include deaths occurring from July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020. Evaluation of trends over time should compare estimates from year to year (June 2020 and June 2021), rather than month to month, to avoid overlapping time periods. It is important to note that the data represent counts of death, and not maternal mortality ratios or rates, which are the standard measure used to compare groups, and therefore should not be used to determine populations at disproportionate risk of maternal death. In the visualization and in the accompanying data file, death counts between 1-9 are suppressed in accordance with National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) confidentiality standards.

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In May 2022, the AARP Bulletin published a comprehensive report on the challenging state of family caregiving and the key areas that required more attention to ease the massive burden on those who must provide regular aid to ­aging loved ones. The situation remains dire: By 2030, one-fifth of the U.S. population will be at least 65, meaning that more people than ever will need daily assistance of some sort. [AARP Bulletin]

Illustration by Nazario Graziano 

But something noteworthy has happened since our report of 18 months ago: progress. There are signs of increasing awareness of the need to support caregivers, and a variety of state, local and federal government initiatives are being implemented.

“Almost everyone is either going to be a caregiver or will need care at some point in their life,” says Nancy LeaMond, AARP chief advocacy and engagement officer. “I think so many more decision-makers are experiencing that personally and are seeing it affect many of their constituents.”

A 2023 AARP report titled “Valuing the Invaluable” finds family caregivers provide an average of 18 hours of unpaid care per week, a commitment often overlooked by policymakers, until now. “Caregiving really crosses every demographic. It’s every race, every religion, it’s every income bracket,” LeaMond says. “We’re hearing across the political spectrum, across the states, ‘How do we work on these issues? What are some of the options for how we can move forward?’ And I think that’s particularly exciting.”

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In March 2023, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published yet another daunting report¹ projecting a high likelihood that, unless drastic action is taken, our planet will cross the 1.5 °C warming threshold at some point before 2040, making it increasingly difficult to deter catastrophic climate changes. The report also stated that climate change is here, having already caused substantial damages across ecosystems leading to “increasingly irreversible losses.”¹ Having left New York City a few days after skies became red with smoke from Canadian wildfires, today, on June 15, 2023, I write this introduction to our invited Viewpoint series from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Today is the 16th consecutive day with recorded temperatures above 90 °F (a new record), and we are keeping an eye on several storms forming in the Atlantic Ocean that may turn into hurricanes—months before we are used to seeing this kind of activity. My social media accounts are immediately inundated with images of lines forming at grocery stores and gas stations, mentions of anxiety and traumatic memories of hurricanes past, anger and indignation against local and global authorities for allowing the continued deterioration of our climate, and the occasional joke wishing folks happy holidays in case the storm becomes a hurricane and we again lose power until the December holidays. Our planet is undeniably changing, and so may be our mental health. [JAMA Network]

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The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today released the third edition of the Illinois Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Report, covering maternal deaths occurring for Illinois residents during 2018-2020. Among the key findings are that Black women continue to die at disparately higher rates, specifically due to medical causes including cardiovascular disease and pre-existing chronic medical conditions; and that the leading overall cause of pregnancy-related death is substance use disorder. [IDPH]

An average of 88 pregnancy-associated deaths occurred in Illinois during the three years, with the highest number of deaths (110) taking place in 2020.  This report offers the first glimpse into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the pregnant and postpartum population in Illinois.  However, the full scope of the pandemic will be studied in the next edition of the report when deaths beyond 2020 will be analyzed.

The report’s findings were previewed last week at the state’s second Maternal Health Summit on October 17 and 18, a virtual gathering of a broad range of maternal health stakeholders and experts. More than 330 people participated in the summit. Speakers included IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra, Dr. Robin L. Jones of Rush University Medical Center, the Chair of the Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs), and elected officials who work closely on maternal health issues: U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin and U.S. Representatives Robin Kelly and Lauren Underwood.

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