Mental Health Support: Here’s How Nevada Ranks And It’s Not Good
A recent study reveals that mental health support services in Nevada could use a great deal of improvement. In fact, they can be termed inferior when compared to the rest of the states in the nation.
Nevada Ranks In The Bottom 5 For Mental Health Services
It appears mental health support services in Nevada rank in the bottom five when compared to the 49 other states and the District of Columbia. That’s according to a recent study provided to us by the medical marijuana experts at Leafwell.
Now, before you doubt any of the findings in the data we are presenting, please know that this survey on mental health support services in America was performed by Mental Health America. You can review their entire, extensive, report by clicking here.
First of all, the folks at Leafwell only take into account three of the 15 metrics surveyed by Mental Health America. To determine Nevada’s ranking as one of the five worst states and D.C, they took Nevada’s survey data for the following categories:
- Percentage of adults with any mental illness who did not receive treatment. This is one of the categories where we rank very low at #46. In fact, 61.6% of Nevadans with any mental illness did not seek treatment. Only Texas, Alabama, California, Arizona, and Hawaii rank lower in this category.
- Percentage of adults with any mental illness who report that their needs were met. Unfortunately, Nevada does even worse in this category. We’re next to last at #50. Specifically, 37.6% of Nevada’s adults report their mental health support needs went unmet. Many of those people also say they did not continue to seek treatment because they could not afford it, or their insurance would not cover the costs.
- Percentage of adults with any mental illness who are uninsured. Nevada ranks right in the middle of the country in this category at #25. As a matter of fact, 10% of adults seeking mental health support services are uninsured.
Here’s How Nevada Ranks In All 15 Mental Health Support Service Categories
The Mental Health America report is much more extensive than the three metrics Leafwell used to come up with Nevada’s #47 overall ranking. In fact, according to Mental Health America, our overall national ranking is #29 out of 50 states and D.C.
When they consider adult mental health services, Nevada ranks 42nd in the U.S.A. However, when it comes to mental health support for our state’s youth, we rank ninth in the nation.
Here’s how Nevada ranks in the rest of the categories that Mental Health America.org collected data for through 2020:
- Overall prevalence of mental illness: #18
- Access to care: #38
- Adult prevalence of mental illness: #24 (21.38%)
- Adults with a substance abuse disorder in the past year: #16 (14.95%)
- Adults with serious thoughts of suicide: #35 (5.52%)
- Youth prevalence of mental illness: #19 (16.02%)
- Youth with substance abuse disorder in the past year: #3 (4.65%)
- Youth with severe major depressive episode: #35 (13.8%)
- Adults report 14 or more mentally unhealthy days a month who could not see a doctor due to costs: #27 (21.8%)
- Youth with a major depressive episode who did not receive mental health support services: #15 (50.7%)
- Youth with severe depression who received some consistent treatment: #23 (33%)
- Youth with private insurance which did not cover mental or emotional problems: #9 (7%)
- Students (Kindergarten and above) with a mental or behavioral condition which is affecting their educational performance: #42 (4.39%)
- Mental health workforce availability: #42 (420 individuals for every one mental health provider)
Key Findings For Mental Health Support Services In The U.S.A.
The State of Mental Health in America report finds that 21% of adults in the U.S.A. are experiencing a mental illness. That’s equivalent to about 50 million of us. Furthermore, 16% of our nation’s youth have reported at least one major depressive episode in the past year.
From the information provided by Leafwell, it is apparent that not everyone in Nevada, or for that matter our country, has access to the mental health support services they need. Let’s hope this situation improves in the months and years to come.
Now, feel free to scroll down for more content which may interest you.
Most Common Summer Illnesses and How to Avoid Them
1. Lyme Disease
Lyme Disease is a big one in the summer. Lyme disease is transmitted through tick bites, which are often living in areas with tall grass or the woods. Some common symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache and a bullseye rash. To help avoid getting tick bites, try to avoid areas with tall grass and wooded areas; wear long sleeves and pants outside; use insect repellent; and look for ticks on your skin and remove them if you find them.
Food Poisoning
Food poisoning is super prevalent in the summer. Just think about it. If you go to a picnic, chances are, that potato salad is going to be left out in the sun a long time. So, beware what you eat at outdoor events. Also, be clean with how you handle food, cook food thoroughly, wash your hands when handling food and don’t have perishable foods unrefrigerated for too long.
Dehydration
Dehydration can really be serous. It sounds like no big deal, but severe dehydration can actually lead to death. Don’t freak out too much, though. Severe dehydration usually happens if you are vomiting or have diarrhea for an extended time. In the summer months, however, being outside in the hot sun for too long and not drinking enough can lead to dehydration. Drink plenty of water. If you’re working out, sports drinks are a good choice, too.
Colds
You don’t just get a cold when it’s cold out. “Some viruses and other bacteria thrive under the extreme heat of the sun, thus increasing your risk of infection,” notes unilab.com.ph. To avoid spreading it, “Always cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze and dispose your tissues in the right receptacle.”
Flu
The flu often ticks up in the winter, but it’s around in the summer, too. Often times, if people are traveling and in close areas, the flu virus can spread. To avoid it, the CDC suggests to get vaccinated, practice good hand hygiene and avoid close contact with sick people.
Getty Images / Paul-Bradbury
Enterovirus
Enterovirus is commonly called the “summer flu.” It can cause fever, coughing, runny nose and nausea. It can also cause a rash, like with hand-foot-and-mouth disease. To prevent it, as always, good hygiene is key.
Getty Images / Dr_Microbe
More tips to avoid getting sick
“Frequent hand washing and avoiding exposure to people who are sick with fever can help prevent the spread of infection,” Dr. Michael Pichichero, a pediatrician and infectious disease researcher at the Rochester General Hospital Research Institute in New York, tells Newsinhealth.nih.gov. Dr. Pichichero adds that the best way to avoid getting sick is to block viral transmission. You can get sick by coming into direct contact with an infected person’s respiratory secretions, such as saliva or mucus, so the frequent hand washing really helps. Also, protect yourself from the sun and beware of picnics where food that’s left out in the sun can go bad.
Larry Martino is the long-time afternoon drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC.
