A search in the iPhone app store for “mindfulness-based stress reduction” produces a seemingly endless stream of applications devoted to meditation. But do they work as well as having a live person with whom you can interact on the other side of the screen? A study funded in 2020 by Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute...Continue reading
Living in a rural area doesn’t mean you will be less likely to suffer from mental health problems. It does mean you will be less likely to have easy access to diagnosis and care. Even though rural residents are in poorer health generally than those living elsewhere, they have less access to treatment, partly because...Continue reading
When it comes to gender, alcohol and drug abuse are not equal-opportunity afflictions. Men are more likely than women to use almost all types of illegal drugs, and they are more likely to end up in emergency rooms or dying as a result of overdose, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Men also have...Continue reading
This past year has brought so much uncertainty and hardship to so many people throughout the world due the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of Wednesday, March 10, 2021, there have been roughly 29 million cases and just over 526,000 deaths in the United States of...
One way that COVID-19 has changed the landscape for medicine is the rise in the use of telehealth for patient care. There is a growing sense that telehealth can help people manage their health and improve their access to care, which may be especially valuable in areas where health professionals and facilities are sparse. Telehealth...Continue reading
February is Heart Health month, a great time to review the symptoms of heart attacks for both men and women. More than a quarter of female deaths are the result of heart disease, which kills more than 300,000 women every year. Heart disease has been women’s number one cause of death for decades, says the...Continue reading
February is Cancer Prevention Month, and with that comes the need to express how important it is to visit your doctor and get screened for this disease should you feel ill or are in pain. While most people associate cancer for all the hard realities that come with it: chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, transplants, etc., there’s...Continue reading
Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Henry “Hank” Aaron, the former home run king and advocate for civil rights, died Friday morning at the age of 86. The Atlanta Braves announced his passing Friday. While the cause of death is unknown as of the publishing of this article, the Braves said Aaron died peacefully in...Continue reading
Rural men are likely to experience a sizeable increase in mental health needs during and after the pandemic, whether they had a prior history or not. Chief among these mental issues is depression, as people feel isolated and alone during the pandemic. Men’s Health Network, a non-profit concerned with men’s health issues, convened a conference...Continue reading
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a double whammy for rural men: Their access to medical care is often difficult because of long distances to travel for treatment, and they are less likely to have access to high-speed internet for telehealth visits. Even before the pandemic, healthcare for rural men had unique challenges. For the approximately...Continue reading