Association Between Telehealth and Missed Appointments Among Patients Experiencing Behavioral Health Challenges.

This cohort study compares missed appointments between patients receiving telehealth and in-person care in behavioral health clinics in rural settings that cater to patients with relatively low income.

The risk of eviction and the mental health outcomes among the US adults.

Although past studies establish a link between residential instability and poor mental health, studies investigating the association between perceived risk of eviction and mental health with nationally representative data are largely lacking. This study examines the association between self-reported risk of eviction and anxiety, depression, and prescription medication use for mental or emotional health reasons. This is a retrospective observational study using the repeated-cross sectional data (n = 14548; unweighted) using the US Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey from July 2021 to March 2022. Survey respondents aged 18 years and above who lived in rented residences and were not caught up with the rent payments at the time of the survey were included in the analysis. The descriptive summary shows a higher prevalence of depression (59.33 % vs 37.01 %), anxiety (67.01 % vs 43.28 %), and prescription medication use (26.57 % vs 23.68 %) among the respondents who are likely to face eviction in the next two months compared to the reference group not at the risk of eviction. When adjusted for demographic characteristics, family context, and socioeconomic setting, the odds of depression, anxiety, and prescription medication use in the at-risk eviction group were significantly higher than in the reference group. Specifically, odds ratios (ORs) [95 % CI] for depression, anxiety, and prescription medication use are 2.366 [2.364, 2.369], 2.650 [2.648, 2.653], and 1.172 [1.171, 1.174], respectively. These results suggest that the perceived risk of eviction is associated with elevated mental health problems. Addressing the housing crisis may help decrease the mental health burden among rented households.

Determinants of Telehealth Service Use among Mental Health Patients: A Case of Rural Louisiana.

The COVID-19 pandemic decreased the in-person outpatient visits and accelerated the use of telehealth services among mental health patients. Our study investigated the sociodemographic and clinical correlates of the intensity of telehealth use among mental health patients residing in rural Louisiana, United States. The study sample included 7069 telehealth visits by 1115 unique patients encountered from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 at six mental health outpatient clinics managed by the Northeast Delta Human Services Authority (NEDHSA). We performed a negative binomial regression analysis with the intensity of service use as the outcome variable. Being younger, female, and more educated were associated with a higher number of telehealth visits. The prevalence of other chronic conditions increased telehealth visits by 10%. The telehealth service intensity varied across the nature of mental health diagnoses, with patients diagnosed with the schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders utilizing 15% fewer telehealth visits than patients diagnosed with depressive disorders. The promotion of telehealth services among mental health patients in the rural setting might require the elimination of the digital divide with a particular focus on the elderly, less educated, and those with serious mental health illnesses such as schizophrenia and psychotic disorders.

Insect Herbivore Populations and Plant Damage Increase at Higher Elevations.

Elevation gradients are used as a proxy to simulate climate change effects. A field study was conducted along an elevational gradient in Nepal to understand the effects of abiotic conditions on agriculturally important insect herbivore populations (tobacco caterpillar: Spodoptera litura, tomato fruit worm: Helicoverpa armigera, and South American leaf miner, Tuta absoluta) and herbivory damage on tomatoes. Elevation ranged from 100 m to 1400 m above sea level, representing different climatic zones where tomatoes are grown. Contrary to our hypothesis, natural herbivore populations and herbivory damage significantly increased at higher elevations. Individual insect species responses were variable. Populations of S. litura and T. absoluta increased at higher elevations, whereas the H. armigera population was highest at the mid-elevational range. Temperature variations with elevation also affected insect catch numbers and the level of plant damage from herbivory. In the context of climate warming, our results demonstrate that the interactive effects of elevation and climatic factors (e.g., temperature) will play an important role in determining the changes in insect pest populations and the extent of crop losses.

Panic escape polyethism in worker and soldier Coptotermes formosanus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae).

Termites were the first animal to form societies. Two hundred million years of evolution provide for a multitude of innate social behaviors that can be experimentally dissected. These fine-tuned patterns of behavior are especially interesting when observing group decision making in the panic mode. In this study, we examined behavioral patterns of termites under panic conditions to gain insight into how an escape flow self-organizes. One hundred worker and 10 soldier Coptotermes formosanus were released into agar plates. After a disturbance was created most workers followed each other and ran along the wall of dishes, thus forming a unidirectional escape flow, whereas soldiers showed a significantly higher frequency of moving to the center of the arena or on periphery of the escape flow as compared to workers. Agonistic behavior was usually observed as soldiers moved to center or periphery. This is the first report on the behavioral repertoire of termites when panicked, with details on the behavioral polymorphism of workers and soldiers during an escape.