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

December 2020 BHARC Insights – “Policing: De-Escalating Mental Health Crisis” is Now Available Online

December 2020 BHARC Insights – “Policing: De-Escalating Mental Health Crisis” is Now Available Online

December 7, 2020 (Lanham, MD) – In recent months and years, national news and social media have documented multiple instances of police officers using excessive force or fatally injuring civilians, including individuals with mental health problems. Published by the Behavioral Health Advancement Resource Center (BHARC), this inaugural December 2020 Behavioral Health Spotlight offers insights and commentary to Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Programs.

CIT Programs teach police officers how to respond to a person experiencing mental health crisis and de-escalating the situation. It is designed to be a community-based partnership with law enforcement, mental health professionals, peer support specialists, mental health advocates, and positive community supports. “This article illustrates that CIT community partnerships can be a positive component of a response to mental health crises—ultimately saving lives and strengthening law enforcement relations within communities,” said Anton C. Bizzell, MD, BHARC advisor and CEO of The Bizzell Group (Bizzell). BHARC is funded by Bizzell.

The BHARC Behavioral Health Spotlight is a thought leadership series highlighting various behavioral health topics that impact communities across the United States and abroad. “Policing: De-escalating Mental Health Crises” was written by Mim Landry, a BHARC Advisory Council Substance Use and Mental Health Expert. The article describes the CIT goals and core elements and includes a review and commentary of recent literature as an evidenced-based framework in helping individuals who experience behavioral health crisis.

DOWNLOAD THE ARTICLE HERE.

About BHARC

The Behavioral Health Advancement Resource Center (BHARC) is an authoritative source for behavioral health information, insights, technical assistance, training, and innovative tools. BHARC is a mechanism to share evidence-based behavioral health interventions and best practices. The BHARC Advisory Council consists of experts in substance use, mental health, clinical trials, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare standards and quality.

About Bizzell

Established in 2010, The Bizzell Group (Bizzell) is a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) certified strategy, consulting, and technology firm that specializes in program management, administrative support, communications and outreach, conference management and logistical support, health services and research, technical assistance, and training and development. Bizzell’s expert staff and consultants work on health, scientific, education, environmental, research, and information technology projects that advance national priorities. Under the leadership and vision of founder, Anton C. Bizzell, MD, the company has grown from a staff of two in one small office, to a thriving firm with offices in Lanham, MD; Rockville, MD; Atlanta, GA and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with ongoing projects around the world. Learn more about how we develop data-driven, research-informed, innovative solutions to complex-real-world challenges: Bizzell US.

Coping with Holiday Blues During COVID-19

Coping with Holiday Blues During COVID-19

In a Psychology Today article, “Coping With Holiday Blues During COVID-19,” Dr. Anton C. Bizzell focuses on how to cope with holiday blues during COVID-19, including tips for recognizing and managing your stressors.

The holiday season is a wonderful opportunity to spend time with family and friends, catch up, participate in family and religious traditions, and enjoy the company of loved ones. For some, the holidays are associated with triggers, stressors, and emotional landmines. For many of us, it is both. And all of us will have to alter our holiday routines due to the virus. However, we can navigate the holiday season by using simple but powerful tools. Doing so allows us to enjoy the benefits that the holiday season can bring and take steps to prevent or manage stress. We can create a new holiday normal, Dr. Bizzell concludes.

READ MORE: Coping With Holiday Blues During COVID-19

Bizzell PD Co-Authors Manuscript in NTR

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