Virtual Care for Behavioral Health Conditions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for behavioral health care services. A substantial portion of mental health care transitioned to virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic, remains virtual today, and will continue that way in the future. Mental health needs continue to grow, and there has been growing evidence showing the efficacy of virtual health for behavioral health conditions at the system, provider, and patient level. There is also a growing understanding of the barriers and challenges to virtual behavioral health care.

Clinical case study of abbreviated cognitive behavioral therapy through an intersectional lens for women health-care workers during the era of COVID-19.

The unprecedented demands of the coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) have imposed a significant degree of psychological distress on women health-care workers (WHCWs). Women comprise 76% of the health-care workforce in the United States and are subject to experience higher psychosocial ramifications in the pandemic era due to gender disparities. Accordingly, women who are dually mothers may be navigating complex interactions of role strain by managing abnormally high parental and occupational workloads. The psychological toll is exacerbated for women holding multiple oppressed identities across domains such as economic status, race and ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other identities of salience. To address WHCWs' unique needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors present a clinical case example through an intersectional framework illustrating how an abbreviated, 4-session cognitive behavioral therapy model may be implemented to support women disproportionally affected by social and systemic factors with a focus on sexism and discrimination against mothers for this particular participant. This case study describes the treatment of a patient in an integrated women's health clinic to demonstrate how to clinically support WHCWs while promoting social justice and gender-based equity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Population structure of a widespread bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) in an island system.

Dispersal is a driving factor in the creation and maintenance of biodiversity, yet little is known about the effects of habitat variation and geography on dispersal and population connectivity in most mammalian groups. Bats of the family Molossidae are fast-flying mammals thought to have potentially high dispersal ability, and recent studies have indicated gene flow across hundreds of kilometers in continental North American populations of the Brazilian free-tailed bat, Tadarida brasiliensis. We examined the population genetics, phylogeography, and morphology of this species in Florida and across islands of The Bahamas, which are part of an island archipelago in the West Indies. Previous studies indicate that bats in the family Phyllostomidae, which are possibly less mobile than members of the family Molossidae, exhibit population structuring across The Bahamas. We hypothesized that T. brasiliensis would show high population connectivity throughout the islands and that T. brasiliensis would show higher connectivity than two species of phyllostomid bats that have been previously examined in The Bahamas. Contrary to our predictions, T. brasiliensis shows high population structure between two groups of islands in The Bahamas, similar to the structure exhibited by one species of phyllostomid bat. Phylogenetic and morphological analyses suggest that this structure may be the result of ancient divergence between two populations of T. brasiliensis that subsequently came into contact in The Bahamas. Our findings additionally suggest that there may be cryptic species within T. brasiliensis in The Bahamas and the West Indies more broadly.

Tobacco-Free Policy Outcomes for an Inpatient Substance Abuse Treatment Center.

We assessed changes in patient census, smoking prevalence, and intention to remain abstinent associated with the voluntary enactment of a campus-wide tobacco-free policy in a for-profit residential addictions treatment center. Employing nationally recognized tobacco-free policy strategies, steps toward implementation were tailored to addictions treatment settings. Census data and survey of client tobacco use data were collected for 1 year before the policy began and for 1 year following the policy. Average daily census increased for both the inpatient and extended residential treatment programs after enactment of the tobacco-free policy. Number of tobacco users admitted to treatment increased significantly, while the number of tobacco users who left treatment early did not significantly change. In addition to reducing smoking, the policy was associated with a significant increase of patients reporting the intention to remain abstinent after discharge. Contrary to common concern, a tobacco-free policy implemented in an inpatient residential addictions treatment setting did not negatively affect census rates. This study suggests potential clinical and organizational benefits for campus-wide tobacco-free policies.