ADDRESSING RISE IN OUD RATES AMID COVID-19 PANDEMIC

ADDRESSING RISE IN OUD RATES AMID COVID-19 PANDEMIC

In his recent article in Behavioral Healthcare Executive, “Stopping the ‘Other’ Surge: Addressing Rise in OUD Rates Amid Pandemic,” Dr. Anton C. Bizzell discusses how patients and their healthcare partners are finding ways to manage their chronic diseases during the pandemic. It is important to remember that addiction is one of these chronic diseases, and it can be managed, even into recovery.
People who use opioids at high doses may be more susceptible to COVID-19 and the illness may be more severe. “We must remain determined to confront the complications that the novel coronavirus has added to our opioid crisis, to provide hope and treatment to this highly vulnerable population,” Dr. Bizzell writes.
READ MORE: Behavioral Healthcare Executive

Bizzell PD Co-Authors Manuscript in NTR

Jenny Twesten, MPH, Project Director of the National Cancer Institute, Tobacco Control Research Branch contract, co-authored a manuscript in the November issue of Nicotine & Tobacco Research (NTR) that was selected as an Editor’s Choice submission. The manuscript details the challenges of measuring cigarette smoking risk perceptions among adult smokers and non-smokers on questionnaires and opportunities for improved measurement based on current scientific evidence. The co-authors provide ten suggestions for researchers and survey developers to consider when assessing cigarette risk perceptions to improve how smoking risk perceptions may influence cigarette smoking behaviors.

Jenny is a public health communicator with more than seven years of experience providing clients with innovative solutions to disseminating research, synthesizing the state-of-the-science, and improving self-report assessments. She contributed to the production of two monographs, managed an extramural research portfolio, and led the early adoption of podcasts to disseminate research. As a Project Director at Bizzell, she provides research and communications guidance on a portfolio of tobacco and cancer-related projects, including co-authoring three tobacco control manuscripts and overseeing the implementation of two digital media campaigns. Her research interests are cancer prevention, early detection and survivorship, modifiable health behaviors such as tobacco use, and risk perception. She holds a Master of Public Health from George Washington University.

Nicotine & Tobacco Research (NTR) is one of the world’s few peer-reviewed journals devoted exclusively to the study of nicotine and tobacco. It aims to provide a forum for empirical findings, critical reviews, and conceptual papers on the many aspects of nicotine and tobacco, including research from the biobehavioral, neurobiological, molecular biologic, epidemiological, prevention, and treatment arenas.

Read Article: https://academic.oup.com/ntr/article/22/11/1937/5688704

Bizzell Senior Associate Featured in JAMDA Article

Mark Stewart, MPH, Senior Associate of Health Systems and Services, is an author on an in-press manuscript in The Journal of the Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (JAMDA). The article details a consensus-based definition for omissions of care in nursing homes that lead to increased risk for harm or adverse outcomes, decreased quality of life for residents, and increased healthcare expenditures. This definition is clear, meaningful, and actionable for nursing homes. Providers and researchers applying this definition can improve harm prevention and increase consistency in research methods.

Mark has more than 20 years of experience leading health innovation projects focused on ensuring the quality of care and improving outcomes. At Bizzell, he provides critical support to the organization managing, advising, and operationalizing projects advancing health systems and services improvements in areas such including person and family-centered care, shared decision making, patient-reported outcomes, healthcare disparities, and quality improvement. In addition, Mark serves as the Program Manager for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Data Validation and Administrative (DVA) contract.

JAMDA is the leading peer-reviewed publication for practical information and research directly applicable to healthcare professionals providing post-acute and long-term care (PA/LTC), as well as policymakers, organizational leaders, educators, and advocates.

Read Article: https://www.jamda.com/article/S1525-8610(20)30706-4/fulltext

Addressing the Signs of Mental Health Decline in the Workplace

In a recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF) blog post, “How Forward-Looking Companies Can Address the Signs of Mental Health Decline in the Workplace,” Dr. Anton C. Bizzell discusses how business leaders can learn the signs of mental health disorders in the workplace and shares strategies employers can implement to boost company morale. As a small business owner and advisory board member for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Dr. Bizzell has witnessed first-hand how negative repercussions due to an unfavorable environment could impact employees’ mental health.
The initial step for any business owner looking to address mental health in their workplace is to learn the signs of decline in mental health before it has a much larger domino effect. If an employee’s mental health is altered due to discouragement at work, there are strategies employers can implement to help manage mental health decline and boost company morale, Dr. Bizzell writes.

READ MORE: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF)