Balance The health magazine for Body, Mind & Motivation
Inside Comfort cats
Move over dogs: Felines take their place in the therapy animal realm
Happier moms
WSU study shows paid maternity leave improves well-being
Nose more hair
Waxing procedure catches on with the well groomed
Volume 11 – Issue 1 – Winter 2019 Published quarterly by the Lewiston Tribune and the Moscow-Pullman Daily News
ADVERTISER INDEX
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Ozeran MD, Steven.......................................... 14
Electrolysis - Permanent Hair Removal............. 11
Snake River Community Clinic......................... 22
Huckleberry’s at Rosauers............................... 19
St. Joseph Regional Medical Center.................. 24
Leavitt DMD, Erin............................................ 5
Tri-State Memorial Hospital............................ 2
Maplewood Dental......................................... 9
Whitman Hospital & Medical Center................ 7
Balance is published quarterly by the Lewiston Tribune and Moscow-Pullman Daily News and printed at the Tribune Publishing Co. Inc.’s printing facility at 505 Capital St. in Lewiston. To advertise in Balance, contact the Lewiston Tribune advertising department at (208) 848.2216 or the Moscow-Pullman Daily News advertising department at (208) 882.5561. Editorial suggestions and ideas can be sent to Tribune City Editor Mary Stone at mstone@lmtribune.com or Daily News City Editor Josh Babcock at jbabcock@dnews.com.
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Contents Balance – volume 11, issue 1 – Winter 2019
HEALTH & BEAUTY
4
NOSE MORE HAIR
8
WELLNESS
HAPPIER MOMS
Waxing procedure catches on with the well groomed
Study proves paid maternity leave improves well-being
12
20
COVER STORY
COMFORT CATS
DISEASE
FIGHTING ALCOHOLISM IN INDIAN COUNTRY
Move over dogs: Felines take their place in therapy realm Combating alcoholism among native populations
PLUS — VEGANISM 10 | DRYUARY 14 | RADON 16 | DEPRESSION 18 Winter 2019 -
3
Steve Hanks/ Lewiston Tribune Victoria Cromer, a hairstylist at Scruples Salon in Lewiston, inserts a tongue depressor dipped in wax into the nose of Doug Bauer.
Nose more hair Men (and women) undergo waxing proceure in the name of good grooming
Commentary By Elaine Williams
of the Lewiston Tribune
  - Balance
It was a strange conversation, even by the standards of the newsroom where few topics are off limits.
co-workers was going to pay to have hundreds of tiny hairs ripped from one of the most sensitive cavities of the body.
TPC Holdings Marketing Director Doug Bauer was chatting with a colleague when he mentioned he had an appointment to get his nose hairs removed.
Once that sunk in, curiosity took the lead. We convinced Bauer to let a photographer and me accompany him to the appointment.
It took a little bit for that to sink in. Did we hear that right? One of our
I checked with Bonni FontenotCrocker, the owner of Scruples, the Lewiston salon doing the service, and she
gave us the green light for a story. As novel as nasal-hair removal was to me, Scruples technicians have been providing it several times a week for a decade, FontenotCrocker said. Men, and some women, do it to get rid of hairs that stick out of their noses that they would otherwise pluck painfully one at a time or trim with electric clippers. Eliminating the hair doesn’t put people at greater risk for colds or other airborne illnesses, said Heather Herr, a cosmetologist at Tri-State Clearwater Medical in Lewiston, who provides the service. “It’s 100 percent aesthetic,” Herr said. “There’s no medical reason for it.” The technique is surprisingly simple. A popsicle stick or cotton swab is dipped in wax with a low melting point, then placed in a nostril. The temperature of the wax is low enough that the heat causes no pain.
Steve Hanks/Lewiston Tribune Cromer shows how much hair came out of one of Doug Bauer’s nostrils the second time she inserted warm wax and gave a tug. Removing unsightly nasal hair is an in-salon grooming procedure growing in popularity
At Scruples, Victoria Cromer, a hairstylist, does one at a time if people are claustrophobic. The popsicle stick stays in the nostril for about 2 minutes, long enough for the wax to harden. Then it’s yanked out in a quick motion. Depending on the amount of nose hair, the procedure might need to be done twice. “It doesn’t hurt at all,” Bauer said. The procedure costs $7, takes about 10 minutes and needs to be done every four to six weeks, depending on how quickly the hair grows. Bauer was sold after his first session. “I’ll be back,” he said as he left Scruples. ——— Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.
Winter 2019 -
Paid family and medical leave aims to bring peace of mind New Washington state benefits to begin next year By Anthony Kuipers
of theMoscow-Pullman Daily News
Next year, Washington state employees may have more relief when they have to miss work because they or a loved one become sick. The state’s new paid family and medical leave mandate allows up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year for people to take care of a family member or themselves. Businesses will take this year to begin collecting premiums. Washington is the fifth state in the nation to introduce this type of system. Clare DeLong, communications manager for Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave, said it is not just for sick relatives or for taking care of newborns. “Everyone is going to be able to use this leave at some point in their life,” DeLong said. The rules are still being written, but serious medical conditions certified by a doctor or health care provider will qualify the employee - Balance
for the benefits. Workers who make below the state average weekly wage will receive 90 percent of their income back, DeLong said. Those who make more will get less, depending on their income. This includes a minimum of $100 a week and a maximum of $1,000 per week. Paying for the benefits will cost employees 0.4 percent of their wage. According to the Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave’s website, a worker who makes $50,000 a year would pay about $2.44 a week, while his or her employer pays $1.41 a week. When out on paid leave, the employee would receive about $778 per week. DeLong said this legislation was created with the intention of giving employees and employers peace of mind in case of a serious life event. When people think of paid leave, they generally assume it is for taking care of a baby. DeLong said that is just one part of the
mandate, as it will allow anyone who is sick to take time off work. She said most people will likely use it for their own medical condition or to look after family members. If workers experience multiple events in a given year, they may be eligible to receive up to 16 weeks, or up to 18 weeks if the employee experiences a serious health condition with a pregnancy that results in incapacity. Certain military-connected events are also covered by the mandate.
Mental Fitness Solution
DeLong said employers currently can buy paid leave insurance privately, but that usually is expensive. The state program is expected to save costs for the employer. ——— Kuipers can be reached at (208) 883-4640, or by email to akuipers@dnews.com.
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Winter 2019 -
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Mary Stone/Lewiston Tribune Mothers with paid leave are happier than those without. Women who returned to work in less than 12 weeks had more negative mental health impacts, but that difference became statistically insignificant when women had paid leave, according to a Washington State University study.
Making the case for paid maternity leave WSU researcher shows moms who are compensated while home with infants experience better mental health By Joel Mills
of the Lewiston Tribune
It may seem obvious to mothers, but a new Washington State University study is offering hard proof that paid maternity leave makes happier moms. “While it is naturally intuitive that paid leave should make women happy, I wanted to find if that is statistically significant,” said Bidisha Mandal, an associate professor and health economist in WSU’s - Balance
School of Economic Sciences. “Yeah, they’re happy, but can I say that this is a significant result?” Mandal analyzed data collected through earlier surveys of 3,850 women who worked full time before childbirth. Mandal divided that Bidisha Mandal group into three sections: women who returned to work in less than 12 weeks, those who returned after 12 weeks and those who stayed out of the workplace for more than a year.
Mandal hopes that studies like hers will help employers realize that paid maternity leave is an investment in a stable, productive workforce and not an extravagant fringe benefit. “The policy that I would like to see is it being broadly accepted and adopted, because this is useful,” she said. “This makes productive workers and just happier moms.” And while some companies are offering paid leave, it isn’t required in the vast majority of states. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 guaranteed job protection for parents to take time off after the birth of a child, but it didn’t mandate paid leave. Mandal thinks the tide may be turning, however, with more talk of legislation and ballot initiatives that would require employers to offer some form of paid time off for new moms. Mandal said she got interested in the topic after studying the challenges faced by breastfeeding mothers who have to return to work shortly after giving birth. She found that juggling the stress of motherhood with the demands of breastfeeding often led to higher stress levels, so she wanted to take a deeper look at the actual mental health of mothers. To do so, Mandal used the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD) scale, with high scores indicating greater depressive symptoms. And the numbers showed that the strong correlation between returning to work shortly after childbirth and negative psychological effects was alleviated for women who received paid leave. “My assumption is that a lot of things are happening,” she explained. “You’re caring for a newborn, you have an additional family member and on top of that you have a loss of income. That
could generate stress.” The general argument against paid maternity leave is the cost it adds to an employer’s bottom line. But Mandal cited studies of other developed countries where those kinds of leave policies are the norm. “There doesn’t seem to be any particular issue or negative effect,” she said. “So I think that initially there might be some adjustment that employers need to make. But over time it will just become another fringe benefit employers will take into consideration.” And with the increased productivity and lower turnover that happy, healthy employees bring to the workplace, Mandal concluded there is a strong case to be made that paid maternity leave is helpful to not only women, but for companies that want to avoid the expense of hiring and training new employees. ——— Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2266.
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And while women who returned to work in less than 12 weeks had more negative mental health impacts, that difference was rendered statistically insignificant when women had paid leave. Her work was published in the October issue of the Women and Child Health Journal.
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Veganism is for the birds: a meat-eater’s critique
Commentary By Tom Holm of the Lewiston Tribune
In the gun-happy, outdoorsloving big game-shooting Lewiston-Clarkston Valley, how’s a vegan to survive?
that is sauteed or grilled or braised or broiled or roasted or smoked to bring out the umami flavor a vegan can only guess at while munching an earthy mushroom.
The answer is lots of grocery shopping at several sources, though the rabbit-food vittles can mean a lean-looking vegan in need of some filling.
The valley, with two fishy rivers running through its heart, would seemingly be a repressed place to people who voluntarily restrict their diets to rutabagas. But Tri-State Memorial Hospital Director of Clinical Nutrition Jen Lind said several grocery stores have expanded “wholesome” products and increased vegan options. However, with cheap veggies and meat substitute products like tofu burgers, Lind warns would-be vegans to budget their diet to help replace essential iron and protein that will be absent without meat and dairy.
There is a presence, even a diverse one, of farmers markets and sections in grocery outlets where the birdboned vegans can share recipes for the best flavorless black bean burger to salivate over while voracious venison eaters dine on deer. Veganism, more of a lifestyle choice than a diet, carries with it the tenant of forsaking anything that an animal creates. Be it eggs, dairy or muscle 10 - Balance
“Some may want to add multivitamins to their diet if they are not able to get the adequate nutrition, or they can end up anemic,” Lind said.
Even with choices available, how does a vegan communicate those options to their meat-eating friends, neighbors and family without coming off as a smug carrot-color-skinned snob? Well, eating fewer carrots cures one problem. How is a chef cooking a traditional holiday turkey able to stuff a vegan without stuffing? Pick up the cracker crumbs off the floor and garnish with ketchup? Well, that ketchup could have refined sugar (sugar filtered through animal bone char for the white color), so not even that. Unless you have some leftover canned corn, but even that might put your vegan relative on edge that you aren’t complying with their needs for a full platter of greens. The best option is for vegans to bring their own DIY meal-for-one to every group event. It eases the psychic pain of a chef running through the kitchen trying to find any animal-free ingredient that can be slapped together into some sort of palatable meal. Given that an estimated 3 percent of Americans are vegan, that’s way too small a population to flip common dishes in favor of one or two relatives who think veganism is a good an idea. The cost, however, can’t be argued. The supplemental vitamins and some of the proteinreplacement options can be hard to come by, but grocery stores sell produce so cheaply they practically throw it at you. “Meat is pretty expensive,” Lind said. “With
produce there’s a lot of options to make a buck stretch.” And there’s plenty of ways to make a carrot or an eggplant or an artichoke taste amazing and release natural sugars to bolster any otherwise kalelevel boring dish. Lind wouldn’t go so far as to recommend veganism as a quality diet. But she did point out that it has benefits of adding more grains and greens, which bolster health and often are low in fat, comparing it to a similar, but healthier option. “A more Mediterranean diet and lifestyle is more beneficial and more healthy than all-out vegan,” she said. “It’s a personal choice, but we are supportive in that choice.” Red meat may be delicious, but excessive consumption has been linked to increased heart disease, diabetes and cancer. A more balanced diet that limits red meat meals to a few times a month and substitutes more fish and poultry as well as more greens, grains and nuts has been shown to lead to better health. Balance is the key here. Like trying to balance a sack of 50-pound potatoes with a vegan on a scale, though, maybe a few extra legumes could be necessary to keep it level with the feather-weight vegan. ——— Holm may be contacted at (208) 848-2275 or tholm@lmtribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomHolm4.
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Winter 2019 - 11
cover story
Purr-fectly therapeutic: Cats gain popularity as comfort animals New cat at Bishop Place Senior Living has helped calm residents, reduce anxiety By Justyna Tomtas
of the Lewiston Tribune
For decades, dogs have been used as therapy animals to provide comfort to people, but an overlooked and good alternative is the cat. While dogs are still the more popular choice, feline therapy animals are on the rise, said Elisabeth Van Every, marketing and strategic partnerships coordinator for Pet Partners. The nonprofit organization, which connects volunteers and their pets to those seeking comfort, has around 170 therapy cats registered nationwide, compared to more than 8,800 dogs. Van Every explained that dogs have been bred for generations to include the qualities therapy animals need. But cats seem to provide different benefits.
petting a cat and feeling or hearing the cat purr, which is thought to have some therapeutic effects in itself,” Van Every said. The enhanced care unit at Bishop Place Senior Living in Pullman recently welcomed a cat of its own. Puddy-Woody, also known as Max, is the first “community cat” at the facility. He’s not a registered therapy cat, but Rebecca Lawton, director of nursing in the enhanced care unit, said the feline’s presence has helped calm residents and reduce anxiety. Lawton advocated for an in-house cat when she started in her role about 2 ½ years ago. PuddyWoody came to Bishop Place after his owner died about a month ago. “It’s hard to be elderly and lose your independence and home, but to lose your pet is real difficult,” Lawton said.
Given their small size, and their natural inclination to be close to people, cats provide a more personal connection. They’ll crawl onto a bed or into someone’s lap, while dogs often have to remain on the ground level due to their size.
The residents, many of whom have dementia, are in part responsible for feeding and caring for Puddy-Woody. The animal has spurred many stories and triggered memories from those who live in the unit as he gets used to his new surroundings.
Another bonus is the rhythmic hum cats are known to produce.
“He absolutely loves the residents,” Lawton said. “He seems to sense who is having a bad day, and he comes to spend time with them.”
“Many people benefit from the experience of 12 - Balance
Pete Caster/Lewiston Tribune (LEFT) People entering the north side of the enhanced care wing at Bishop Place Senior Living in Pullman are introduced to its newest therapist, a cat named Puddy-Woody. Puddy-Woody was previously owned by a resident who passed away a few months ago and was informally adopted as a therapy cat for the residents of the wing. (RIGHT) Puddy-Woody is held by a caregiver at Bishop Place Senior Living in Pullman.
Studies have shown cats can reduce stress, lower heart disease risks and provide a benefit for children on the autism spectrum.
than dogs are right for therapy animal work. But cats that have these qualities can be wonderful as therapy cats.”
Cats also may be less threatening than dogs for some individuals.
Piper said touching an animal, regardless of species, provides people with comfort and reassurance.
“I have seen more people be way more comfortable when a cat approaches them versus a dog, which is another great advantage,” Palouse Paws founder Renee Piper said.
“I think it helps calm their whole demeanor and anxiety level to where they feel more like themselves,” she said.
Piper’s organization, an affiliate of Pet Partners, supplies therapy animals to various locations and events on the Palouse and in the surrounding areas.
Palouse Paws doesn’t currently have any therapy cats in its organization, but in its seven-year history it’s had two.
The tricky part about having a feline therapy animal is that cats are often more finicky than dogs, so it can be a challenge to find one with the right disposition for the job.
Piper said they often receive requests for cats, but are unable to fill the need.
“They need to have a temperament that enjoys interacting with people and new experiences, which is less common in cats than in dogs, and they do need to be capable of a certain degree of basic obedience appropriate to their species,” Van Every said. “These requirements mean that fewer cats
The organization is looking for cat owners to join Palouse Paws. If your cat seems to have the right temperament, and is comfortable in a harness and leash, you can email palousepaws@gmail.com to learn more. ——— Tomtas may be reached at jtomtas@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2294. Follow her on Twitter @jtomtas.
Winter 2019 - 13
No liquor, no beer to ring in new year Medical professional says Dry January is ‘wonderful idea’ By Garrett Cabeza
of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News
While many people’s New Year’s resolutions consist of eating healthier and exercising more, others quit alcohol for the first month of the year. It’s called Dryuary, and Gritman Medical Center Chief Medical Officer John Brown said generally the health benefits of alcohol abstinence far outweigh its negative effects.
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Brown said the one-month hiatus could especially be a healthy option in a college town like Moscow where he routinely sees University of Idaho students in the emergency room due to poor alcohol choices. “I think going without it for a month is a wonderful idea,� Brown said. “Learning to live without that as a lubricant in your interactions socially, without it as a stress reliever, without it as an end-of-day wind down — I think it is a wonderful thing to learn other ways of handling the many stresses and temptations life poses than with alcohol, which is a very dangerous choice to be used for those reasons.� If you are a regular drinker, or a man who drinks one to two drinks per day or a woman who drinks one or fewer drinks, then going cold turkey should be a healthy choice, Brown said. “It’s good to shake things up, and any exercise of will over body is helpful I think,� he said. “So I think periodic abstinence of anything is helpful mentally.� Brown said that discipline helps build character and helps people feel like they are in control of their body. “If you’ve habituated to drinking a glass of wine every night and you decide not to do it for a month, and you’re able to exercise the will sufficiently to do that, I think that that is something that strengthens you for all areas of life,� Brown said.
If you consider yourself an alcoholic, Brown recommended not quitting drinking suddenly without consulting a physician first. He said the cessation of drinking can trigger symptoms like hallucinations, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures and in some cases, death. Most people, though, who are regular drinkers would not experience any adverse effects from stopping drinking, he said, adding a huge part of early addiction behaviors with alcohol are more psychological rather than physical.
For those who decide to ditch alcohol for a month, Brown warned that is not a pass to drink heavily in the months following. “Be aware that you might have the temptation to celebrate your victorious Dry January with overindulgence, and that would defeat many of the purposes of doing it in the first place,” he said. ——— Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.
Brown said studies show that one to two drinks a day for men and one or fewer drinks for women can result in positive health effects as long as liver problems or other issues are not present. “Regular alcohol consumption is just something that most medical groups would not support a doctor recommending,” Brown said. “However, the studies are fairly clear that a little bit of drinking is actually good for you.” Brown said in some cultures outside the U.S. where drinking is more culturally regulated, advising people to drink moderately is likely the best approach. “In our culture, you have to kind of individualize the recommendations to the person,” he said. Brown said when he worked as a primary care physician more than a decade ago, he could not in good conscience recommend people drink, but that drinking in moderation would not hurt. Binge drinking is terrible, though, Brown said. According to an August 2018 National Public Radio article, the Global Burden of Diseases study, which analyzed levels of alcohol use and its health effects in 195 countries from 1990 to 2016, said no amount of alcohol is safe. The study found moderate drinking may safeguard people against heart disease, but the potential to develop cancer and other diseases offsets those potential benefits.
Geoff Crimmins/Moscow-Pullman Daily News Experts say forgoing alcohol for the first month of the year — or any time — offers health benefits. Anyone who drinks moderately can safely go on an alcohol fast, Gritman Medical Center Chief Medical Officer John Brown said. Alcoholics should seek medical advice before going cold turkey. Winter 2019 - 15
The radon risk Invisible health threat can be mitigated, but must be detected first By ERIC BARKER
of the Lewiston Tribune
You can’t see, taste or smell it, but radon could be lurking in the lower levels of your home and exposing your family to an increased risk of lung cancer. Radon is a radioactive gas that comes from the breakdown of naturally occurring uranium in the soil. It is virtually everywhere, including Idaho and Washington, and sometimes occurs at levels high enough to pose a health risk. “High radon levels have been found in every Idaho county. It’s one of those things (about which) we are trying to get the message out to everyone,” said Colby Adams, environmental health director at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. January is National Radon Month, and state health departments around the country are using the designation as a way to make people aware of the potential threat and to have their homes tested. Colby said about 40 percent of the homes in Idaho that have been tested for radon have come up positive for levels above the recommended levels. However, there is no discernible geographic pattern to the positive tests, making it all the more important that people test their own homes. “We want folks to understand just because your neighbor did a test and had a high or low sample, doesn’t necessarily mean your sample will be the same,” he said. “It really comes down to doing the testing in your house.” Testing is simple and cheap. Test kits can be 16 - Balance
purchased from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s radon page on its website at https:// bit.ly/2SNSVU1 or from http://cgi.radon.com/sub/ id/. The kits cost $9.95, which includes shipping the kit to your home, sending the sample to a lab and mailing the results back. Kits may also be purchased from many home improvement stores, however, Colby said they may be more expansive there. Winter is an ideal time to test your home. “In the winter you have the heater on. You are creating air that wants to go up. That creates a bit of a pressure in balance and pulls gasses in the soil into your house,” he said. “If you don’t find (radon) this time of year — in the January-February timeline — then your house should be fine.” If a home does test above the recommended level for radon, fixes are available and, although not cheap, are relatively affordable compared to many home repairs. Colby said the average cost is about $1,500. For homes with basements or concrete slabs, the fix entails coring out a hole in the foundation and installing some PVC piping and a small fan that blows gases out of your house. Barriers can be applied to homes with crawl spaces. The department provides a link to contractors who are certified in radon mitigation on its radon page. The page also includes more information on radon. Information about radon in Washington is available at https://bit.ly/2TMTcGr. ——— Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.
MetroCreative Radon is a radioactive gas that comes from the breakdown of naturally occurring uranium in the soil. Winter 2019 -  17
Detecting depression Phone apps could monitor teen angst and help detect depression By LINDSEY TANNER AP Medical Writer
Rising suicide rates and depression in U.S. teens and young adults have prompted researchers to ask a provocative question: Could the same devices that some people blame for contributing to tech-age angst also be used to detect it? The idea has sparked a race to develop apps that warn of impending mental health crises. Call it smartphone psychiatry or child psychology 2.0.
Mental Health and now a leader in the smartphone psychiatry movement. Researchers are testing experimental apps that use artificial intelligence to try to predict depression episodes or potential self-harm. “We are tracking the equivalent of a heartbeat for the human brain,” said Dr. Alex Leow, an app developer and associate professor of psychiatry and bioengineering at the University of Illinois’ Chicago campus.
At least, that’s the goal. There are technical and ethical Studies have linked kinks to work out heavy smartphone — including privacy use with worsening issues and making teen mental health. sure kids grant But as teens scroll Haven Daley/AP Photo permission to be through Instagram and Laurel Foster looks at Instagram in San Francisco. App developers say monitored so closely. Snapchat, tap out texts as teens scroll through Instagram and Snapchat, tap out texts, or hole up Developers say in their rooms watching YouTube, they’re leaving enormous digital footor watch YouTube prints that may offer clues to their psyches. proven, commercially videos, they also leave available mooddigital footprints that detecting apps are likely years — but not decades might offer clues to their psychological well-being. — away. Changes in typing speed, voice tone, word “People often feel that these things are creepy,” choice and how often kids stay home could signal because of the tech industry’s surreptitious tracking trouble, according to preliminary studies. of online habits for commercial purposes, said There might be as many as 1,000 smartphone University of Oregon psychologist Nick Allen. “biomarkers” for depression, said Dr. Thomas Using smartphones as mental illness detectors Insel, former head of the National Institute of 18 - Balance
“The biggest hurdle at the moment,” Allen said, “is to learn about what’s the signal and what’s the noise — what is in this enormous amount of data that people accumulate on their phones that is indicative of a mental health crisis.” Depression affects about 3 million U.S. teens, and rates have climbed in the past decade. Last year, 13 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds had depression, up from 8 percent in 2010, U.S. government data show. One in 10 college-aged Americans is affected. Suicide has risen to the second leading cause of death for ages 10 to 34. Rates among teen girls doubled from 2007 to 2015, climbing to 5 per 100,000. And among boys, rates jumped 30 percent, to 14 in 100,000. A recent study suggested a parallel rise in smartphone use likely contributed. People with mental illness typically get treatment “when they’re in crisis and very late in the course of an illness. We want to have a method to identify the earliest signs,” in an objective way, Insel said. If smartphones prove to be accurate mood predictors, developers say the ultimate goal would be to use them to offer real-time help, perhaps with automated text messages and links to help lines, or digital alerts to parents, doctors or first responders. Facebook is already doing just that with what it calls “proactive detection.” Last year, after a livestreamed suicide, Facebook trained its AI systems to flag certain words or phrases in online posts that could indicate imminent self-harm. Friends’ comments expressing concern about the user’s well-being are part of the equation.
“In the last year, we’ve helped first responders quickly reach around 3,500 people globally who needed help,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in November. Facebook has not disclosed outcomes of those cases. The ongoing research includes: — A Stanford University study involving about 200 teens, including kids at risk for depression because of bullying, family circumstances or other life stresses. As part of the research, teens who have been tracked since grade school get an experimental phone app that surveys them three times daily for two weeks with questions about their mood. Researchers are combining those answers with passive smartphone data, including how active or sedentary kids are, to identify any changes that might be linked with future depression. Study participant Laurel Foster, 15, acknowledges feeling stress over academics and “the usual” teen friendship pressures and says depression is rampant at her San Francisco high school. She said using the smartphone app felt a bit like being spied on, but with so many online sites already tracking users’ habits “one more isn’t really a big difference.” “I feel like it’s good to actually find out what is stressing you,” Laurel said, endorsing the idea of using smartphones to try to answer that question.
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would require informed consent from users to install an app, “and they could withdraw permission at any time,” said Allen, one of the creators of an app that is being tested on young people who have attempted suicide.
Inside your Lewiston and Rosauers L i d Moscow M R
Winter 2019 - 19
Fighting alcoholism in Indian country
Metro Creative
WSU-based research center designs intervention projects to combat alcohol-related problems among native populations By Scott Jackson A Moscow-Pullman Daily News staff writer
Researchers at a new Washington State University center aim to design and implement strategies to reduce alcohol abuse among American Indian populations. With a $7.1 million grant awarded in early 20  - Balance
December from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a branch of the National Institutes of Health, the Native Center for Alcohol Research and Education is a collaborative effort involving faculty members and resources from WSU, the University of Colorado, the University of Washington and three tribal partners.
Alcohol abuse is a familiar and persistent problem in native communities, NCARE’s principal investigator, Dedra Buchwald, said. Buchwald said contrary to popular perception, recent research suggests native people are less likely to consume alcohol than non-natives. However, indigenous people who do drink are more predisposed toward excessive drinking or binge drinking. “What’s really happened over the years is that, as Indian people were placed on reservations and relocated to cities, their way of life was dramatically changed and their cultural roots were destroyed. A layer of alcohol and now drug problems has become — just like in other populations — the scourge of many people who are underserved, underrepresented and poor,� Buchwald said. Buchwald, a professor in the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicineat Spokane and director of the WSU Initiative for Research and Education to Advance Community Health, said NCARE is focused on developing effective methods of treatment and intervention for native populations. She said the center is made up of four “cores� that will monitor and support three intervention projects designed to mitigate or eliminate alcohol-related health problems. The first of the projects, focused on urban Indian populations near Seattle, incorporates a harm-reduction technique that motivates patients to describes their treatment goals and develops
ways to reduce the harm of alcohol use. “That project uses a technique called motivational interviewing, and it is being done in collaboration with the traditional healers that are employed by an urban Indian health program in Seattle,� Buchwald said. “The strategy is to have these people work with primary care patients to help them to develop their own plan for reducing the harms of alcohol — not necessarily stopping alcohol consumption, but reducing the harms.� Buchwald said motivational interviewing has already been shown to be acceptable for use with native populations in the past. The second intervention works with patients discharged from a native detox center in Fairbanks, Alaska. In that study, Buchwald
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said, researchers will use a combination of motivational interviewing and “navigators” who will help discharged patients reintegrate into everyday life - continued on page 22 continued from page 21 and establish support systems they need to stay sober. “What’s really The third and final intervention project works directly with a tribe in South Dakota to minimize alcohol exposure during pregnancy. Buchwald said this project incorporates culturally adapted strategies to help reduce drinking during pregnancy and increase use of contraceptives.
reduce their drinking, especially during the first trimester — or stop drinking — the risk of having an alcohol exposed pregnancy goes down or becomes zero.”
Each of the projects are either led or co-led by a Native scientist, Buchwald happened said, noting that science over the years is that, as among Native peoples has a Indian people were placed on history of research that only reservations and relocated to benefits the scientist and not the community. She said the cities, their way of life was three interventions include dramatically changed and their economists who will assess cultural roots were destroyed. the sustainability of each project to determine the costs A layer of alcohol and now and benefits to the community drug problems has become — partners involved.
just like in other populations — the scourge of many people who are underserved, underrepresented and poor.”
“One of the things we really try to do is make sure that work gets done in partnership with the community, that it benefits the community, and that we are able to integrate the results as we move forward,” Buchwald said.
“Alcohol exposed — Dedra Buchwald, Native Center pregnancies obviously for Alcohol Research and Education can lead to a number of adverse outcomes, including fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, as Buchwald said NCARE’s three intervention well as other things,” Buchwald said. “If women programs are funded for five years and will be rolled out in the next few months. She said Your compassion gives IREACH is now working on a rural health HEALTH and HOPE initiative that will deploy some of the methods to hard working people and lessons learned through NCARE to rural Adopt-a-Patient for just $10 per month
populations in central and eastern Washington.
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——— Scott Jackson can be reached at (208) 883-4636, or by email to sjackson@dnews.com.
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