Medicine
fromPsychology Today
1 hour agoHow Cognitive and Social Forces Shape Medical Decisions
Medical decisions are influenced by how options are framed, presented, and the dynamics of the situation.
If the application of behavioral techniques does not produce large enough effects for practical value, then the application has failed. Practical value is whatever you define as meaningful for your child's life.
Most people leave doctor visits with prescriptions, but still feel unsure—instructions make sense, but no one asks about their life. In contrast, when a provider knows your name, remembers your story, and explains care in a way that fits you, the experience feels different—and that difference matters.
The heel prick test will now be accompanied by testing for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare muscle-wasting condition that can potentially lead to a child's death by the age of two.
I am open-minded; I believe in integrative practices, and I agree that the medical establishment can be arrogant and unduly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry, which now funds so much of medical research. But I fully understand Scherer's frustration with his interminable discussions with Kennedy about scientific articles.
A Genexa survey of 1,000 U.S. moms found that 70% use their own sick days to stay home when their child is ill, and 58% work from home while caregiving. In other words, many of us are doing the same impossible math: caring for sick kids while trying to keep our work lives moving.
The Missing Social Unit From middle school onward, American children don't belong to a "class" in any stable sense. They move continuously - subject to subject, room to room, teacher to teacher. There's extensive discourse around respect, equity, and inclusion. But there's remarkably little structured attention to the actual social life of any group. Because there isn't really a group.
Are we overmedicating our children? My answer is yes. But not for the reason most people assume. The overmedication of children is not a story about reckless doctors or careless parents. It is not an argument against psychiatric medication. I prescribe medications to children and adolescents regularly, and I have seen them reduce suffering and save lives. The real problem lies elsewhere:
You know that parental instinct when something just isn't quite right with your child? You text your mom friends and gut check with your partner, but you don't think you're being anxious - something might really be wrong. Well, odds are your instinct could be spot-on: A new study published in the JAMA Network found that parents were right 9 times out of 10 when they suspected their child was seriously ill or injured.
It is really, really hard. He said the family had 'cried and begged for help' in meetings at home. 'Does our family unit have to break down? Does it have to get to a point where we no longer sustain this and then they'll step in and give you support? Because right now that's where we're at. We don't have any alternatives. If grandparents were an option, we'd already be doing it.'
RSV season in the U.S. typically peaks in January and February, with cases often stretching well into March. National emergency room visits and hospitalizations from the virus in kids ages four and younger have dipped slightly but are growing overall in more than a dozen states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest report on January 16.