Health News Roundup

Community health workers help address mental health concerns, and more in this week’s roundup

To get these headlines delivered to your inbox every week, sign up for our weekly health news roundup.

Indigenous women continue to face barriers to breast cancer care, report finds
Dr. Jade Cobern, Dr. Sejal Parekh, ABC News, Oct. 14
When Nicole Hallingstad learned she had breast cancer, she needed both radiation and chemotherapy, neither of which were available where she lived in Alaska. Her options were to travel for more than 1,000 miles once a month for chemotherapy and then relocate for six weeks of radiation treatment, or move somewhere where both treatments were available. “I was very fortunate that I was able to take the option to move and continue working and receive the care I needed,” she said. “But that is a choice that is unsustainable for far too many Native women, and frankly, uncertain.” Barriers to health care like this example, which many American Indian and Alaska Native women face, have contributed to growing disparities.

1 in 3 U.S. students experience racism at school: It’s affecting mental health
Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, Oct. 10
In 2023, nearly one-third of United States high school students said they had experienced racism in school, according to a new report. These experiences resulted in students having more mental health issues and a greater risk of suicide and substance use than students who did not have them. Asian students were the most likely to experience racism: nearly 57% reported incidents, followed by 49% of multiracial students and almost 46% of Black students. “That is traumatizing, and it has implications for their mental health,” said Kathleen Ethier, director of the CDC’s adolescent and school health division.

Racism was called a health threat. Then came the DEI backlash.
Akilah Johnson, The Washington Post, Oct. 11
Across the United States, a growing number of researchers and institutes are under attack for their work on how racism affects health. It comes barely four years after America had what some called its “racial reckoning,” when communities declared racism a public health threat, hospitals created chief diversity officers, and anti-racism research centers received an influx of money to do their work. The backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts has resulted in state lawmakers introducing anti-DEI bills, threats to withhold funding from medical schools that have a DEI office, and educators being placed on watch lists by conservative organizations.

Asian health center tries unconventional approach to counseling
Sarah Kwon, KFF Health News, Oct. 9
In California, a health center is trying to address a shortage of therapists by training community health workers to add mental health counseling to their roles. The approach is called lay counseling, and it allows for nonlicensed professionals who are trusted in their communities to acknowledge patients’ feelings, listen to their concerns, and offer emotional support. The California health center serves mostly low-income Asian immigrants who speak limited English, a community that can struggle to find therapists who understand their culture, speak their language, or come from similar communities.

It’s been 4 years since a baby was born at Windham Hospital’s maternity unit. These people want to change that.
Liese Klein, CT Insider, Oct. 12
A new coalition of state and local groups is planning to ramp up its fight to bring birthing services back to Windham Hospital. The birthing center closed in 2020 due to low demand and increasing costs, but advocates have concerns about the lack of access to medical care in a rural and poor area. “The will is in this community,” said Brenda Buchbinder, a co-founder of Windham United to Save Our Healthcare. “This community has been so harmed by this.” She added that the lack of birthing services is disproportionately impacting the area’s Black and brown communities. A study looking into the need for a birthing center in Windham Hospital’s service area is set to begin this month.