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Doctors who limit the supply of opioids they prescribe to three days or less may help patients avoid the dangers of dependence and addiction, a new study suggests. Among patients without cancer, a single day's supply of a narcotic painkiller can result in 6 percent of patients being on an opioid a year later, the researchers said. The odds of long-term opioid use increased most sharply in the first days of therapy, particularly after five days of taking the drugs. The rate of long-term...

Although the U.S. suicide rate has been rising gradually since 2000, suicides in less urban areas are outpacing those in more urban areas, according to a new federal report. "Geographic disparities in suicide rates might be associated with suicide risk factors known to be highly prevalent in less urban areas, such as limited access to mental health care, made worse by shortages in behavioral health care providers in these areas, and greater social isolation," the researchers from the U.S.

The unstoppable Chance the Rapper is having a great start to 2017. With three Grammys under his belt, an adorable daughter taking over his social media, and what he considers an official debut album on the way, the Chicago MC appears to be on cloud nine. However, Chance opened up about having anxiety to Complex, as well as unwavering faith in God. The Coloring Book artist explained that coming to terms with his anxiety has been a new process for him, particularly because of the lack of...

Two Texas congressmen from opposing political parties created an internet sensation—and maybe a tool for integrating social-emotional learning into classroom discussions—when their flights to Washington were cancelled due to snow this week, forcing them on an impromptu cross-country road trip to make it to the Capitol in time for votes Wednesday evening. U.S. Reps. Beto O'Rourke (D) and Will Hurd (R), livestreamed their journey on Facebook, getting up to 7,000 viewers along the way. They...

Research shows physical changes happen in a child's brain once they experience trauma. It's now believed those changes lay the foundation for other issues later in life that could lead those children to juvenile court. "If you are traumatized emotionally, physiologically, or in other ways, it's a little harder to tell that that's happened," Dr. Althea Stewart said. Stewart is the director of the Center for Health in Justice Involved Youth. Children often internalize the traumatic life...

Anthony Alvarado paces the gym floor at Nature Hill Intermediate School in Oconomowoc. His gaze alternates between the floor and the students in front of him. The handheld microphone sends his voice over the gym's PA system. “Our job is not to change every single one of your lives," Alvarado tells the hundreds of students gathered on bleachers. "Our goal is to change just one.” [For more of this story, written by Nathan Phelps and Alison Dirr, go to ...

As he left the courthouse on his final day serving as head of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago, Zachary Fardon handed reporters an open letter . He was one of 46 U.S. Attorneys sacked by President Donald Trump , in part because he didn’t fit within the White House’s (and U.S. Justice Department’s) new criminal justice scheme. In the five-page document, he offered his prescription for saving the youth of Chicago , now perhaps the most embattled city in the United States . Brick and...

SPOILER ALERT! DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN ‘GET OUT’ “When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his ‘proper place’ and will stay in it.” —Carter G. Woodson The Mis-Education of the Negro Get out for your safety. Get out of this neighborhood. Get out of Black minds. There’s so much symbolism to unpack in Jordan Peele’s film Get Out. The psychological thriller is about how a black...

Separate from its new California School Dashboard, the California Department of Education has prepared another online resource that some school officials say may be more useful than the dashboard itself. It consists of color grids showing a breakdown of how every school in a district did on each performance indicator, with links to each school’s dashboard report. The California Model Five-by-Five Placement Reports & Data , as the site is called, is a one-stop school comparison tool that...

I strongly believe that those of us who do understand at least a little bit about ACEs are as carriers of the trauma solutions -- like someone might be a carrier of a disease.

"Medicine should join our community organizations and agencies and experts to work towards creating healthier families and children."- Dr. Robert Shapiro, Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Medical Center The Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center spearheads the Building Community Resilience (BCR) initiative that now spans over 40 organizations and sectors in the greater Cincinnati region. The Mayerson Center, the child abuse...

You’re invited to join U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and U.S. Representative Danny Davis at a news conference announcing the introduction of the Trauma Informed Care for Children and Families Act which addresses the lack of identification, referral, and immediate support for children who experience trauma in the Chicago metropolitan area and throughout the nation. The bill aims to provide the tools parents, teachers, doctors, service providers, and first responders need to identify and understand...