MARCH 2017

NEBRASKA NIMH NEWS UPDATE
A summary of  National Institute of Mental Health items of  interest
WELCOME
The Indian Center, Inc. is proud to have been selected to be the Nebraska National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Outreach Partner.

We look forward to sharing news, opportunities, and developments with you.

From its headquarters in Lincoln and satellite offices, the Indian Center, Inc. provides a continuum of human services on a state-wide basis.

Among the initiatives we advance is the Society of Care. The Society of Care provides accessible affordable culturally-competent behavioral health services to Native American youth and their caregivers through telehealth, in person care, and traditional healing. This effort also works to enhance systems supporting youth and families.

PLEASE FORWARD TO YOUR COLLEAGUES
Preventing Suicide:
A Technical Package of Policy, Programs, and Practices
This new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) resource for states & communities highlights seven strategies to prevent suicide:
  • strengthen economic supports,
  • strengthen access and delivery of suicide care,
  • create protective environments,
  • promote connectedness,
  • teach coping and problem-solving skills,
  • identify and support people at-risk, and
  • lessen harms and prevent future risk.

The strategies are intended to work in combination and reinforce each other. 

Link to the technical package
Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999-2015

The age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2015 was more than 2.5 times the rate in 1999. Drug overdose death rates increased for all age groups, with the greatest percentage increase among adults aged 55 to 64. In 2015, adults aged 45 to 54 had the highest rate.  This report highlights recent trends in drug overdose deaths, describing demographic and geographic patterns as well as the types of drugs involved.

Link to additional details on this study
How Sleep Resets the Brain

Two research teams used entirely different approaches to reach the same conclusion: the brain’s neural connections grow stronger during waking hours, but scale back during snooze time. National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins describes the findings of these NIH-funded studies in mice which provide clues to why sleep is essential. 

Link to this blog post
Animal Study Suggests Alcohol Use Before Pregnancy May Increase Vulnerability of Offspring to Stress in Adulthood

The effects of alcohol use during pregnancy on an unborn child are well known. However, a recent study in rats, funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, has shown that a mother’s alcohol use before conception also could have negative effects on her child’s health and response to stress during adulthood. 

Link to additional details on this study
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