Good morning! ☀️

Today’s question: How many school shootings have taken place in 2022?

News

Policies on gun violence

Last Tuesday, a shooter opened fire in a K-12 school, killing 19 children and 2 teachers. The shooting has led to vigorous debates about policies around gun control.

We’ve all been flooded with information about this tragedy already. Here, instead, we will discuss what can help us to decrease school shootings, and mass shootings in general.

First and foremost, we must understand that gun violence appears to be increasing amount young people.

And although gun deaths in certain other countries such as El Salvador and Venezuela are much higher, among countries with low gun deaths the United States gun violence rate is shocking.

But let’s not just focus on countries that have extremely low rates of gun violence. How does the United States compare to other countries with developed economies in general?

Again, the United States is the odd one out.

How can we prevent or reduce mass shootings and gun violence? There have been some studies on this. Daniel Webster, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, and colleagues “analyzed more than 30 years of data on shootings in the U.S. that involved four or more victims” and found that two policies were effective in reducing gun violence:

1. Requiring a purchaser to go through a licensing process, which may involve interactions with police officers and may include safety training

2. Enacting state bans on buying large-capacity magazines or ammunition-feeding devices for semiautomatic weapons

On the other end, his research showed that background checks or policies that make it easier for people to carry guns do not seem to be effective.

Other social work-related news

• I’m a therapist who tried MDMA—Here’s how the experience shaped my perspective on psychedelic therapy

• Male domestic violence survivors say they feel the Depp-Heard trial is a turning point

• Black social worker tasered by City of London police treated like ‘wild animal’

Research

Mental health and 💩

In November 2016, Jane Dudley waited expectantly in her kitchen. As she stood there, she felt a mix of emotions, some nervousness, a bit of disgust, a touch of hope and a great deal of “what have I got to lose?” Her husband, Alexander, walked in and handed her his own fecal matter. She took the feces and popped them into her blender, adding in some saline solution before flicking the switch and watching as the machine whizzed into action.

In more technical terms, transferring feces from one person to another for medical reasons is termed Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). Currently, it is used as a treatment for C. difficile colitis, a recurrent bacterial infection, and nothing else. The cure rate is around 90 percent. Yet FTM is a growing area of research that shows promise in treating other conditions, including ones related to mental health.

For example, a 2016 journal article which studied the relationship between gut microbes and depression found that the “absence of gut microbiota induces depression-like behavior in mice and that the composition of gun microbiota is significantly altered in Major Depressive Disoorder patients [when compared to] healthy individuals.”

Despite these promising results, much more research is needed to truly understand the relationship between mental health and our gut’s microbes.

Other reads on research

• Working past the age of retirement linked to improved physical and mental health – depending on the job

• Study finds link between youth incarceration and lifetime suicide risk

Reads on policy

• Sheriffs Want to Turn Transport of Psych Patients Over to Mental Health Workers

• NC Medicaid expansion gets serious attention from Senate GOP

• Lawmakers pass mental health package that includes 'gap' protection in criminal justice system

• Key Senate panel wants to axe in-person requirement for virtual mental health services

Cool Jobs & Opportunities 😎

• Mental Health Specialist, YouTube

• Deputy Chief Health Officer, Cityblock Health

• VP, Client Success, Happify Health

Answer: 27 school shootings have occurred so far this year

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