Supporting the Mental Health Needs of Community College Students.

The United States faces an unprecedented mental health crisis, with youth and young adults at the center. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 50 percent of college students reported at least one mental health concern. The COVID-19 pandemic notably exacerbated these issues and underscored the urgent need to identify and implement ways to ameliorate the youth mental health crisis. In 2021, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine called on the field of higher education to address growing concerns about student mental health by identifying and elevating emerging and promising approaches that offer a more holistic way to support students' mental health. Serving as the main entry point for more than 40 percent of students seeking a postsecondary degree, community colleges represent a tremendous and untapped opportunity to better address mental health in the United States, particularly for students who have been traditionally underserved (e.g., students of color, first-generation students, and low-income students). However, community colleges have limited evidence and guidance to inform the implementation of multilevel, holistic approaches to support students with varying mental health needs. To address this knowledge gap, this article shares a descriptive study of eight community colleges at the forefront of implementing multilevel approaches (a combination of prevention, early intervention, and treatment services) to support student mental health, as well as key facilitators for and barriers to their success.

Patterns and predictors of postsecondary re-enrollment in the acquisition of stackable credentials.

Using 15 years of student enrollment histories from administrative data spanning the 2004-05 through 2018-19 school years at all public colleges, universities, and technical/trade schools in the state of Ohio, we examine rates of re-enrollment in postsecondary education for individuals pursuing additional credentials following the receipt of a sub-baccalaureate certificate. We find that the majority of certificate recipients re-enroll to continue their progression toward stacking credentials. The likelihood of re-enrollment diminishes for certificate earners as they get further out from the term when their initial certificate was completed. Certificate earners re-enroll at an accelerated rate if they acquired their initial certificate at a community college, if they currently have low wages at their jobs, and following increases in local unemployment rates. Our findings lend support to sociological ideas about the role of institutional contexts, opportunity costs, and labor market opportunities in shaping non-traditional postsecondary pathways across the life course.

Regional and Gender Differences and Trends in the Anesthesiologist Workforce.

BACKGROUND: Concerns have long existed about potential shortages in the anesthesiologist workforce. In addition, many changes have occurred in the economy, demographics, and the healthcare sector in the last few years, which may impact the workforce. The authors documented workforce trends by region of the United States and gender, trends that may have implications for the supply and demand of anesthesiologists. METHODS: The authors conducted a national survey of American Society of Anesthesiologists members (accounting for >80% of all practicing anesthesiologists in the United States) in 2007 and repeated it in 2013. The authors used logistic regression analysis and Seemingly Unrelated Regression to test across several indicators under an overarching hypothesis. RESULTS: Anesthesiologists in Western states had markedly different patterns of practice relative to anesthesiologists in other regions in 2007 and 2013, including differences in employer type, the composition of anesthesia teams, and the time spent on monitored anesthesia care. The number and proportion of female anesthesiologists in the workforce increased between 2007 and 2013, and females differed from males in employment arrangements, compensation, and work hours. CONCLUSIONS: Regional differences remained stable during this time period although the reasons for these differences are speculative. Similarly, how and whether the gender difference in work hours and shift to younger anesthesiologists during this period will impact workforce needs is uncertain.

An Analysis of the Labor Markets for Anesthesiology.

The roughly 40,000 anesthesiologists (ANs) and anesthesiology residents and 39,000 licensed certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) and student CRNAs in the United States provide most anesthesiology services. Shortages in this critical area of health care can lead to problems in the provision of health services. The authors' surveys of ANs, CRNAs, and anesthesiology directors included questions about employer types, work hours, earnings, types of anesthesia provision, and technology adoption and preferences. They found a great deal of heterogeneity in work arrangements, clear urban/rural differences in the labor markets for anesthesiology, and even more-pronounced regional differences. In addition to the survey, demand-based and econometric analyses were conducted. The authors conclude that shortage of ANs and CRNAs is highly likely at the national level, with the survey approach providing hints of such a shortage and the economic analysis providing stronger confirmation. Finally, the authors examine the evolution of AN and CRNA labor markets up to 2020 under various scenarios.

Disparities in detection and treatment history among mothers with major depression in Los Angeles.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine disparities in detection and treatment histories among a group of racial and ethnically diverse mothers with major depression. METHOD: Our sample included 276 racially and ethnically diverse mothers who participated in the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey and who were classified with major depression based on the Comprehensive International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form. We used logistic regression to assess the association between demographic factors and previous detection with major depression, mental health specialty use, and the use of a primary care physician among these women. The demographic factors examined included race and ethnicity, immigration status, marital status, education, income, body mass index (BMI), maternal age, number of children, children's ages, history of emotional problems, and history of diabetes. RESULTS: Results indicated that 69% of mothers had not been previously detected with major depression nor had they sought mental health treatment in the 12 months before the interview. The odds of having been previously diagnosed with major depression were significantly higher among White and single mothers, as well as among mothers with higher BMIs and those with a history of emotional problems. Nonimmigrant mothers without emotional problems had a higher odds of having seen a mental health specialist in the 12 months before the interview compared with immigrant mothers without emotional problems; no differences in mental health treatment were found between nonimmigrant and immigrant mothers with emotional problems. Finally, African-American mothers and those with a history of diabetes had significantly higher odds of seeing a primary care physician compared with Hispanic mothers and those with no history of diabetes, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our analyses of a population of depressed mothers living in Los Angeles highlight the need for identification and treatment of racial minority and immigrant mothers.