(Press-News.org) An Oregon-based program that monitors social media use may have helped deter more than 150 youth suicide attempts in the five years it’s operated, reports a new study published online today in the journal Psychiatric Services.
Staff with Lines for Life, a nonprofit that operates mental health crisis support services, and researchers at Oregon Health & Science University collaborated to closely document interventions by the Safe Social Spaces program, launched in 2019 by Lines for Life.
The study’s senior author said it’s an example of meeting people where they are.
“Community engagement is critical,” said Alan Teo, M.D., M.S., associate professor of psychiatry in the OHSU School of Medicine. “Health care systems often wait for patients to come to the clinic or hospital, but if you just wait for patients to come to you, there are a lot of people in need who will be missed.”
Whatever its role in driving the mental health crisis affecting young people, the new study suggests, social media can be used as a unique tool in detecting concerning messages for those paying attention.
In this case, trained staff with the Safe Social Spaces intervention program contacted more than 3,000 young people who openly shared their experience with emotional problems on social media. The program estimates that, through supportive dialogue, 163 instances of self-harm, which can include suicide attempts, have been avoided so far.
Teo acknowledged the irony of using social media to achieve a positive mental health outcome.
“Experiences on social media can be stressful, but what I love about this program is that it illustrates a way to use forums online for a good purpose,” Teo said. “It’s obviously not as black and white as saying social media is evil or screen time is all bad. We know that youth are spending time there and, as with all technologies, the important thing is in how you use it.”
In addition to Teo, co-authors on the study included Laura Levy, a graduating M.D.-M.P.H. student in the OHSU School of Medicine and the OHSU-Portland State University School of Public Health, and Angela Nielsen of Lines for Life.
Teo serves as a staff psychiatrist in the VA Portland Health Care System and his research is supported by the Veterans Health Administration Office of Research and Development, Health Systems Research.
END
Crisis intervention program leverages social media to reduce suicide risk
Study by OHSU, Lines for Life documents innovative intervention for youth through Safe Social Spaces program
2024-06-01
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
An unlikely hero in evolution: worms
2024-06-01
One of Earth’s most consequential bursts of biodiversity—a 30-million-year period of explosive evolutionary changes spawning innumerable new species—may have the most modest of creatures to thank for the vital stage in life’s history: worms.
The digging and burrowing of prehistoric worms and other invertebrates along ocean bottoms sparked a chain of events that released oxygen into the ocean and atmosphere and helped kick-start what is known as the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event, roughly 480 million years ago, according ...
Detecting machine-written content in scientific articles
2024-06-01
The recent surge in popularity of AI tools such as ChatGPT is forcing the science community to reckon with its place in scientific literature. Prestigious journals such as Science and Nature have attempted to restrict or prohibit AI use in submissions, but are finding it difficult to enforce because of how challenging it is becoming to detect machine-generated language.
Because AI is getting more advanced at mimicking human language, researchers at the University of Chicago were interested in learning ...
Sorting complex light beams: A breakthrough in optical physics
2024-06-01
In the dynamic realm of optical physics, researchers are continually pushing the boundaries of how light can be manipulated and harnessed for practical applications. As reported in Advanced Photonics Nexus, a groundbreaking study from the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) introduces a method for sorting and distinguishing various types of vector structured beams (VSBs), promising significant advancements in optical communication and quantum computing.
Unlike conventional light beams that propagate in simple, straight trajectories, VSBs are engineered to form complex, intricate patterns. These beams transmit ...
Supervised physical exercise improves the wellbeing of carers of the elderly
2024-06-01
Mainly older and middle-aged women, working class, with a very high prevalence of lower back pain and consequently possible psycho-affective problems and a poorer quality of life... This is the general profile of carers of the elderly. Who cares for the carer? This question or demand is not new in our society. Members of the Ageing On research group of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) asked themselves the following question: “How can we care for the carers?”
The Ageing On group develops, ...
Polygenic risk scores give inaccurate and highly inconsistent results in embryo selection
2024-06-01
Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) are estimates of an individual’s susceptibility to a specific complex trait obtained by aggregating the effects of dozens, thousands, and potentially millions of genetic variants associated with that specific trait into a single figure. Some private companies now market PRS embryo screening to prospective parents through the use of in vitro fertilisation and pre-implantation genetic testing. While PRS has great potential for prediction in live-born (mostly adult) individuals, its accuracy ...
Molecular profiling improves diagnosis and survival for children with high risk cancers
2024-06-01
Berlin, Germany: Cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in children in most developed countries, and at least a quarter of these patients are diagnosed with aggressive high-risk or relapsed cancers, with an expected five-year survival rate of less than 30%. Accurate diagnosis can be difficult, and survivors often suffer life-long side effects because of the toxic treatments needed to cure them. Now, researchers from Australia have shown that, by using precision medicine*, it is possible not only to obtain more accurate diagnoses, but also that using precision-guided, targeted treatments earlier improves the two year progression-free ...
New FRIB precision measurement program advances understanding of proton halos
2024-05-31
In May 2022, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University (MSU), launched its precision measurement program. Staff from FRIB’s Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap (LEBIT) facility take high-energy, rare-isotope beams generated at FRIB and cool them to a lower energy state. Afterward, the researchers measure specific particles’ masses at high precision.
The LEBIT team, led by Ryan Ringle, adjunct professor of physics at FRIB and in the MSU Department of Physics and Astronomy and senior ...
A greener, more effective way to kill termites
2024-05-31
UC Riverside scientists have discovered a highly effective, nontoxic, and less expensive way to lure hungry termites to their doom.
The method, detailed in the Journal of Economic Entomology, uses a pleasant-smelling chemical released by forest trees called pinene that reminds western drywood termites of their food. They follow the scent to a spot of insecticide injected into wood.
“We saw significant differences in the death rates using insecticide alone versus the insecticide plus pinene,” said UCR entomologist Dong-Hwan Choe, who led the discovery. “Without pinene, we got about 70% mortality. When we added it in, it was over 95%.
Native ...
Engineered circulatory systems may help fight disease
2024-05-31
The pharmaceutical drug development and approval process is a multi-step undertaking that requires a plethora of testing before reaching the market. Even then, humans respond differently to drugs depending on their individual bodies and medical needs.
Dr. Abhishek Jain, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and his lab received a grant from Texas A&M Innovation to continue developing an advanced vessel-chip deployment platform for large-scale pharmaceutical testing services that holds promise for ...
Moffitt Cancer Center and Virogen Biotechnology forge groundbreaking partnership to accelerate oncology and immunotherapy innovations
2024-05-31
TAMPA, Fla., and PLEASANTON, Calif. — Moffitt Cancer Center, a world-renowned cancer treatment and research center, and Virogen Biotechnology Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, announced a groundbreaking strategic partnership today. This collaboration aims to propel the development of Virogen's cutting-edge fusion protein, VG712 (Resimmune), addressing significant unmet needs in oncology and immunotherapy.
Under this strategic alliance, Moffitt will offer Virogen priority access to ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
‘Molecular shield’ placed in the nose may soon treat common hay fever trigger
Beetles under climate stress lay larger male eggs: Wolbachia infection drives adaptive reproduction strategy in response to rising temperature and CO₂
Groundbreaking quantum study puts wave-particle duality to work
Weekly injection could be life changing for Parkinson’s patients
Toxic metals linked to impaired growth in infants in Guatemala
Being consistently physically active in adulthood linked to 30–40% lower risk of death
Nerve pain drug gabapentin linked to increased dementia, cognitive impairment risks
Children’s social care involvement common to nearly third of UK mums who died during perinatal period
‘Support, not judgement’: Study explores links between children’s social care involvement and maternal deaths
Ethnic minority and poorer children more likely to die in intensive care
Major progress in fertility preservation after treatment for cancer of the lymphatic system
Fewer complications after additional ultrasound in pregnant women who feel less fetal movement
Environmental impact of common pesticides seriously underestimated
The Milky Way could be teeming with more satellite galaxies than previously thought
New study reveals surprising reproductive secrets of a cricket-hunting parasitoid fly
Media Tip Sheet: Symposia at ESA2025
NSF CAREER Award will power UVA engineer’s research to improve drug purification
Tiny parasitoid flies show how early-life competition shapes adult success
New coating for glass promises energy-saving windows
Green spaces boost children’s cognitive skills and strengthen family well-being
Ancient trees dying faster than expected in Eastern Oregon
Study findings help hone precision of proven CVD risk tool
Most patients with advanced melanoma who received pre-surgical immunotherapy remain alive and disease free four years later
Introducing BioEmu: A generative AI Model that enables high-speed and accurate prediction of protein structural ensembles
Replacing mutated microglia with healthy microglia halts progression of genetic neurological disease in mice and humans
New research shows how tropical plants manage rival insect tenants by giving them separate ‘flats’
Condo-style living helps keep the peace inside these ant plants
Climate change action could dramatically limit rising UK heatwave deaths
Annual heat-related deaths projected to increase significantly due to climate and population change
Researchers discover new way cells protect themselves from damage
[Press-News.org] Crisis intervention program leverages social media to reduce suicide riskStudy by OHSU, Lines for Life documents innovative intervention for youth through Safe Social Spaces program