Stress, resilience, and emotional well-being in children and adolescents with specific learning disabilities.

This article reviews the prevalence of stress and explores resilience factors in children and adolescents with specific learning disabilities (SLDs). We show that the increased stress and emotional challenges faced by this group are likely due to societal pressures and stigma. Recent findings on neuroendocrine changes in this population are discussed, suggesting a predisposition to psychiatric disorders. This review advocates for a societal shift towards the neurodiversity paradigm, which recognizes SLDs as natural variations in brain function, emphasizing individual strengths and promoting a more inclusive approach that values cognitive diversity. Such advocacy is likely important to combat stress and stigma in those with SLDs. This article also reviews recent work identifying resilience-promoting factors, such as perception of self and peer/teacher relationships, for enhancing emotional well-being and mental health for children and adolescents with SLD.

The IMPACT (Infection Management Plus Addiction Care Together) Pilot: A Case Series of Combined Contingency Management for Substance Use Disorders and Antibiotic Adherence in the Hospital Setting.

OBJECTIVES: Psychostimulant-related mortality is rising alongside increasing substance use-related hospitalizations, which are commonly complicated by patient-directed (or "against medical advice") discharges. Contingency management (CM) is an underused evidence-based treatment for substance use disorders with proven efficacy to support medication adherence. Our objective was to describe feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a novel CM intervention incentivizing both drug use reduction and antibiotic adherence in the hospital setting. METHODS: We conducted a pilot intervention of twice weekly CM for stimulant and/or opioid use disorder and antibiotic adherence conducted on inpatient wards and/or an embedded skilled nursing facility in an urban public hospital. Based on point-of-care urine drug test results and objective antibiotic adherence review, participants earned increasing opportunities to receive incentives. We measured feasibility via number of visits attempted and cost of gift cards dispensed. We evaluated effectiveness via antibiotic completion, discharge type, and participant perception of intervention effectiveness collected via structured survey. RESULTS: Of 13 participants enrolled, most had opioid use disorder (fentanyl in 10/13) and stimulant use disorder (methamphetamine in 7/13). Almost all were receiving treatment for osteomyelitis and/or endocarditis (12/13). Feasibility challenges included competing demands of acute care with variable range of completed visits per participant (1-12 visits). Despite this, antibiotic completion was high (92%, 12/13 participants) with only two patient-directed discharges. Participants described CM as very effective in aiding infection treatment but had greater variability in beliefs regarding CM facilitation of reduced drug use. CONCLUSIONS: Providing CM in the hospital setting may represent an effective approach to improving health outcomes by increasing antibiotic adherence and addressing substance use.

A primary care-public health partnership addressing homelessness, serious mental illness, and health disparities.

BACKGROUND: People with histories of homelessness and serious mental illness experience profound health disparities. Housing First is an evidenced-based practice that is working to end homelessness for these individuals through a combination of permanent housing and community-based supports. METHODS: The Jefferson Department of Family and Community Medicine and a Housing First agency, Pathways to Housing-PA, has formed a partnership to address multiple levels of health care needs for this group. We present a preliminary program evaluation of this partnership using the framework of the patient-centered medical home and the "10 Essential Public Health Services." RESULTS: Preliminary program evaluation results suggest that this partnership is evolving to function as an integrated person-centered health home and an effective local public health monitoring system. CONCLUSION: The Pathways to Housing-PA/Jefferson Department of Family and Community Medicine partnership represents a community of solution, and multiple measures provide preliminary evidence that this model is feasible and can address the "grand challenges" of integrated community health services.