Moving beyond disease-specific approach, Health Equity Zones give Rhode Islanders opportunity to improve quality of life

News

Food insecurity grows in RI as prices rise

Despite a strong economy, more Rhode Islanders are worried about food than they were 10 years ago.

Rhode Island’s economy is doing well, but one in 8 Rhode Islanders are still nervous about having enough food on the table, according to the Rhode Island Food Bank’s 2018 Status Report on Hunger. The Food Bank released the report in November.

“The R.I. economy is thriving, unemployment is at 3.8 percent, which is remarkably low, and wages are beginning to grow, and that’s all good,” Food Bank CEO Andrew Schiff told the Providence Journal. “But wages have not kept up with the real cost of living in terms of housing and energy and food.”

Among them are more than 36,000 households receiving SNAP benefits. The households represent 55,000 Rhode Islanders, mostly children.

The report notes that food prices – partly driven by gas costs – rose significantly for low-income families over the past three years.

The Providence Journal explained that Food Bank workers identified 71 items that a family of four would need for one week. Over three summers, the costs of those products increased 15 percent. Wages, on the other hand, had increased only 5 percent during the same period.

Some proof of the problem may be seen in the Food Bank’s growing service. Over the past 10 years, its member agencies went from serving an average 37,000 people every month to 53,000, the ProJo noted.

Trump food tariffs may worsen the situation, but a newly-elected Democratic House majority may avert previously proposed cuts in SNAP and other agricultural programs.

Asked & Answered: 5 questions from the Providence Business News about Zero Suicide

Zero Suicide seeks to make taking one’s life a “never event” in South County.

The Providence Business News used its popular “5 Questions…” column to ask Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds Director Susan Orban to explain our new Zero Suicide effort.

SAMHSA (the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) granted Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds $2 million over the next 5 years for a comprehensive effort to eliminate suicides in South County, which has the state’s highest suicide rate.

According to Orban, the focus will be on training key health care staff to identify and work with people with depression, and to offer mental health care to those who cannot afford it.

August 18′ Newsletter

Every month Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds & Director Susan Orban likes to connect you with current articles, events, and resources to help you keep your family healthy and informed!

Avoid frozen sugar water for the remaining hot weeks

How about frozen granola, strawberries, blueberries, orange juice?

The frozen sticks you buy at the supermarket are actually much worse thansugar water. A recent package of orange pops included these ingredients: “Water, Glycerine, Maltodextrin (Corn). Contains 1 Percent or Less of Each of the Following: Citric Acid, Guar Gum, Natural Flavor, Aspartame, Acesulfame Potassium, Locust Bean Gum, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Red 40, Yellow 6.”

You can do better, a LOT better. Type in “healthy popsicle” on the web, and you’ll find a hundred sites with easy, fun ideas…no chemicals, no sugar.

We’re always partial to our friends at ChopChop, who have recipes for frozen fruit salad pops, roasted banana pops, granola pops, watermelon pops, and kiwi pops. Wow!

Read our short article with the link to the ChopChop chill recipe site.

Squeezing in one last summer vacation trip with kids?

20-plus tips for safe and – dare we say – hassle-free travel

The toughest part of any vacation is usually preparing for it. Especially when you have kids, of any age.

Are we there yet?
Our wise friends at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta offer a concise, well-organized list of 20-plus “travel hacks”, whether you are going by car or plane.

Some items on the list might seem obvious: bland crackers for the child (or adult) who gets carsick. A sheet or tarp for playing outside when you take a break. A trash bag for the growing pile of garbage. Healthy snack food. Lots of water.

Others on the list: Did you notify the hotel you needed a crib or rollaway bed? Are you all set on passport and visa materials? Do you have enough medications and, if necessary, proof of vaccinations?

It’s a good list to have any time you travel, even when summer ends (sigh).

Visit our website to read Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s 20 travel hacks

Your local library is always happy to see your children 

For example, the Peace Dale Library special “Back-to-School” storytime

The Peace Dale Library was prepared to welcome back the neighborhood’s children of all ages with some stories and songs about school, and a back-to school craft.

It’s a good reminder that South County libraries almost always have something cooking when it comes to kids, however young, however old.

We do our best to list appropriate activities on the Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds web calendar.

We also have a rich set of activities and ideas about children’s reading and literacy. The beginning of the school year is a great time to check us out!

All kinds of happy, healthy, fun, nearby, and wise events on our Calendar. 

A link to South County libraries, a list of the 100 best children’s books, and more reading resources.

Facebook no longer top social media choice for teens

YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat take over, depending on race & gender. Half of teens acknowledge “near constant use” online.

Facebook has given way to YouTube among teens using social media, while nearly half (45%) report they are online on a near-constant basis, according to a new Pew Research Center report.

U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 are multi-functional. Half say they use Facebook, 85% use YouTube, 72% use Instagram, and 69% use Snapchat, with the latter being their most favorite.

In addition, just shy of half of all teens – 45% – now report they are online on a near-constant basis. Some teens say their use is mostly positive (31%) or mostly negative (24%), but the largest share (45%) says the effect is neither positive nor negative. 

Both gender and race made big differences in the use of social media.

Link to the full Pew Research Center report at the Healthy Headlines section on our website’s home page. You’ll find news and latest studies featured there.

Watching for signs of trauma in your child

No child – or adult – should experience a traumatic experience or its aftermath alone.

A beloved grandma may have passed. For most children, that may unleash an understandable grieving period.

If a classmate dies, though, at almost any youthful age, your child might not only lose a dear friend but also a sense of invincibility. And we hear more and more about the horrors children see and experience everyday. It’s an obligation to be aware of the signs of trauma.

We list just four signs from the Child Mind Institute, which has an entire section of its website on identifying and working with grief and trauma:

  • A “hyper-focus on mortality or death.” And while some kids become notably morbid and fascinated by death, others will develop an obsession with their own safety and the safety of those close to them.
  • Problems with sleeping, eating, anger, and attention. Some symptoms of trauma in children (and adults) closely mimic depression, including too much or too little sleep, loss of appetite or overeating, unexplained irritability and anger, and problems focusing on projects, school work, and conversation.
  • Triggers. A year after a tragic event, we tend to look back, take stock, and memorialize those whose lives were lost. But anniversaries could have unexpected consequences — the birthdays of friends or classmates who died, for instance.
  • School refusal. When an event is connected to school, such as the loss of classmates or violence at school itself, an unhealthy reaction could take the form of avoiding school.

Facebook drops to 4th among teens

Depending on gender and race, teens prefer YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat. They are largely neutral about their constant use of social media, according to a new Pew Research Center report.

Facebook has given way to YouTube among teens using social media…and they all do, according to a new Pew Research Center report, and constantly.

While still half of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 say they use Facebook, 85% use YouTube, 72% use Instagram, and 69% use Snapchat, with the latter being their most favorite.

In addition, just shy of half of all teens – 45% – now report they are online on a near-constant basis. Some teens say the effect of their use of social media is mostly positive (31%) or mostly negative (24%), but the largest share (45%) says the effect is neither positive nor negative. (Read the full report for greater detail and representative comments.)

Notably, Pew claims, “lower-income teens are more likely to gravitate toward Facebook than those from higher-income households – a trend consistent with previous Center surveys,” nearly twice those of wealthier families.

Gender is also an issue. Girls are more likely than boys to say Snapchat is the site they use most often (42% vs. 29%), while boys are more inclined than girls to identify YouTube as their go-to platform (39% vs. 25%).

Additionally, white teens (41%) are more likely than Hispanic (29%) or black (23%) teens to say Snapchat is the online platform they use most often, while black teens are more likely than whites to identify Facebook as their most used site (26% vs. 7%).

Photo for the Pew Research Center by Drew Angerer, Getty Images News

June 18′ Newsletter

Every month Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds & Director Susan Orban likes to connect you with current articles, events, and resources to help you keep your family healthy and informed!

Dip your child’s toe in the water? Nope: all of him/her. But…

Keep your infant, toddler, preschooler and older safe with 6 rules

Not much says “summer” better than corn, cookouts, watermelon, bike rides, camp, fireflies… well, okay, there’s a lot to love about summer.

High on the list for many is water play, whether in a blow-up inner tube, a town pool, a lake or river, or an ocean beach.

But everyone of those locations can be dangerous for your young one, too. We hate to say it, but drownings are a leading cause of juvenile deaths.

We like Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, which offers six basic but easy-to follow rules for water play.

They include:

1. You need to be nearby and alert; no snoozing, texting, or so caught up in conversation that you aren’t paying attention. That’s the cause for 9 of 10 drownings.
2. Take a CPR course. Those are important for everyday parenting, not just about water safety.
3. Swimming lessons for your child should begin by age 4.
4. Reinforce the swimming pool rules: no running, no diving in shallow water, no eating in the pool, etc.
5. No infants and toddlers alone in even 2″ of water, propped up or not. You hold them!
6. Always use life jackets and have warm clothing on a boat.

Read the entire Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta article via our site. 

Kids Quest 5210: a card game for living a healthy lifestyle

Developed locally to make good eating and activity easy and fun

How about arranging your fruits and vegetables in the shape of a monster’s face?

 Being a “Nature Emcee”, where you lead family or friends through the woods announcing, “Ladies and Gents, this is the famous ‘jumping berry bush'”, and so on?

Those are just two examples of the 24-card deck of activities you can download on the South County Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds website.

Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds and Worldways Social Marketing partnered to develop Kids Quest 5210, a fun way to introduce the concepts of 5-2-1-0: plenty of exercise, limited screen time, good food, no sugared drinks (see link below).

Kids Quest 5210 is simple for parents, teachers, or kids (of a certain age) themselves to manage.

Visit our website to read all about Kids Quest 5210 and download free decks of cards.

Want to know more about 5210. It’s all right here. 

Into the woods and away from the screens 

13 “why didn’t I think of that?” alternatives

Your kids might not believe it at first, but nature is sort of fun. Hand them a butterfly net, lead them to old farmhouses, trip over snakes (!), maybe sit around a campfire and drink from a pristine stream.

Child Mind Institute offers 13 “why didn’t I think of that?” remarkably easy activities.

For instance:

* Short, simple treasure hunts. A “spiny leaf” (not poison ivy, thanks), something red.
* Gifts of exploring tools: a magnifying glass, a bug box.
* An outdoor performance to attend. A ranger show or an outdoor play.
* Fruit or vegetable picking (blueberries, blueberries, blueberries!).
* Take a hike, and set an example for enjoyment.

Find Ideas for Getting Your Kids Into Nature on the Bodies, Minds website.

Finding harmony when it seems far away

Mindfulness can help the 3 out of 4 parents
who say parenting is their biggest challenge

Parenting is stressful. Are we telling you something you don’t know? Balancing diapers, feeding, schedules, and bankbooks alone is just the beginning.

And according to a survey by ZERO TO THREE, fewer than half of parents feel they are getting the support they need.

ZERO TO THREE recommends “mindfulness”, which the organization describes as “paying attention to what’s happening in the moment and accepting those experiences and feelings without judgment.

What does that look like in the everyday life of a parent? Five components:

1. Listen to your child with your full attention. You may think you do, but you’re actually often distracted. Let things go.
2. Accept your 0-3 year-old child without judgment (and do the same for yourself). Accept the negative feelings, but don’t let them own you.
3. Imagine your child’s feelings, and match your response. Wouldn’t you be upset if your favorite stuffed animal was lost?
4. Manage your own feelings and reactions. Mindfulness doesn’t mean you don’t get frustrated or angry. It means you take a breath first; you will feel better and you’ll be the best model for your child.
5. Show compassion for both of you. You’re learning almost as much as your child is.

Best of all, ZERO TO THREE offers visual, breathing, and other exercises to put the above components into practice.

Read the full ZERO TO THREE article. The group has other related stories you might want to visit, too.

Making a homemade “stressball” with your child

For, you know, those stressful times

A wonderful parent-child activity: making stressballs (one for them, one for you?). Stressballs can help a child manage emotions. You can also make them together quickly and inexpensively.

Total materials needed:

  • 1 balloon
  • 1 empty water bottle
  • About 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or sand)
  • 1 paper cup (or funnel)
  • 1 permanent marker

From the folks at Parent Toolkit, who offer similar activities, often on the Today show.

Children of the Opioid Epidemic, a Rhode Island story

The New York Times follows a young Providence woman with an opioid addiction as she gives birth to and raises a young son.

Ashley and her son, Jaxon, at home in Rhode Island. Alec Soth/Magnum for The New York Times

The damage opioids cause is now spreading to an innocent, defenseless new generation: the children of addicts. In a new feature, The New York Times writer Jennifer Eagan includes this more-than-sobering paragraph:

“Of the estimated 2.1 million Americans in the grip of opioid addiction, many are women of childbearing age. The young-adult population has been hardest hit, proportionately, with nearly 400,000 adults ages 18 to 25 suffering from addiction to prescription painkillers (the vast majority) or heroin. Strict adherence to a birth-control regimen — or any regimen at all — is difficult for someone whose body and mind have been hijacked by drug dependence, which may help to explain why, according to the largest recent study, nearly 90 percent of pregnancies among women who abuse opioid medications are, like Alicia’s, unintended.”

“Alicia”, important to note, grew up in an unnamed Providence suburb and has spent her opioid years in the capitol city.

(In the photo: Elizabeth and baby, Rhode Island. Alec Soth/Magnum, for The New York Times.

Read this important story.

Pediatricians call for annual depression screening for all teens

Half of America’s depressed teens are reaching adulthood without being diagnosed. The American Association of Pediatrics has released new guidelines urging annual depression evaluations for ALL teens.

Only half of depressed youth are diagnosed before they reach adulthood, making the problem and treatment that much harder. In response, in February, the American Academy of Pediatrics call for annual, universal depression screening for all youth over the ages of 12, NPR (National Public Radio) reported.

The screening, Dr. Rachel Zuckerbrot told NPR, could be done during a well-patient visit, a sports’ physical or during another office visit. It could also be a questionnaire.

“Teenagers are often more honest when they’re not looking somebody in the face who’s asking questions,” she said. Zuckerbrot helped write the new guidelines.

The suggested questionnaires contain a range of questions. For instance, ‘Over the past two weeks, how often have you been bothered by any of the following problems: feeling down, depressed or hopeless? Or, little interest or pleasure in doing things?’

The new recommendations also call for families with a depressed teen to restrict the young person’s access to lethal means of harm.