Tweet

More from @tylerblack32

Tyler Black, MD

@tylerblack32

24 Feb

#Bullying Thread:

It's #PinkShirtDay2021.

Let's do some teaching on bullying!

Some people who could help will wear the #pinkshirt on this day and do nothing else.

Even worse, many bullies will wear them.

To reduce bullying we actually need **to do substantial things**

1/ Bullying has 4 main components:

First, it's between peers, but an imbalance exists (socially, physically) between these peers.

**This is important.**
Teachers can't bully kids, that's ABUSE.
Bosses can't bully employees, that's ABUSE.

2/ Second, bullying is designed to cause harm or fear.

Third, bullying is repetitive, and the repetition further enforces the imbalance that already existed.

Fourth, it is an attack that can be physical, verbal, psychological, or social.

Read 23 tweets

Tyler Black, MD

@tylerblack32

22 Feb

Suicidology 2020:
Subgroup analysis (youth, sex, race)

I was able to access a data set from a Cook County, Illinois. Cook County is home to 5.2M people and includes Chicago.

It's the 2nd largest county in the US
/cont

1/ In total, there were 438 suicides in 2020 in Cook County, compared to an average of about 480 in the past 3 years. During the pandemic spikes, suicides decreased.

All in all, it was a below-average year for suicide deaths.

2/ Black residents died by suicide at a much higher rate (42% increase). This increase was occurring before the pandemic as well. During the first wave of the pandemic, it worsened, second wave it lessened.

A much higher year for Black suicides: 97 vs. an average of 68 in 5y.

Read 11 tweets

Tyler Black, MD

@tylerblack32

20 Feb

Friday Update for Suicidology Data/News regarding 2020:

We have new data on Oregon has layers of detail. Suicides overall in 2020 were down 10.6%, from 910 in 2019 to 820.

(recommend you assume Nov goes up a slight amount, dec a little bit more, and Jan significantly)

/1

Importantly, more evidence to the pile that the reporting on suicide presentations to the ER are MISQUOTED and MISATTRIBUTED. It is generally not true that presentations are up (both nationally and at state level data).

/2

Here, suicide presentations to the ER dropped off and overall were lower than 2019, but not as severely as visits for other reasons, making the *proportion of visits higher*. So it is not true in Oregon that "presentations for suicide were up".

/3

Read 16 tweets

Tyler Black, MD

@tylerblack32

19 Feb

@CDCgov

I am glad so many are seriously considering suicides in school-aged children as more than just about "mental health."

Recognizing that school may be a factor in youth suicide is very important.

Here's 1999-2019 in America, prior to COVID.

Source: @CDCgov

Let's make sure we don't pretend that we will solve the problem of youth suicide by "getting back to normal."

We will all need to continue to focus, on a national level, to our children's wellbeing and work to remove stresses, barriers, stigmas, and structural inequalities.

As any person who works with kids in an emergency department, mental health centre, crisis call centre, or psychology/psychiatry department will tell you, school and its surrounding stressors are a MAJOR CAUSE of youth distress.

Read 4 tweets

Tyler Black, MD

@tylerblack32

17 Feb

Update: USA Suicidology 2020

3 new jurisdictions are in:
* NJ (decreased 16.5%)
* HI (decreased 26.8% April-Dec)
* Franklin County, OH (decreased 6.1% Jan-Sep)

/1

@CDCgov

Due to lag, the "-11%" number is probably more like -4%. Interesting to note, this matches very well with the @CDCgov Jan-July report, which shows that suicides are about 4.6% fewer in 2020.

/2

What these data are not:
NOT A PREDICTION:
* other states or counties
* 2021
* other parts of the world

What these data are:
A REPORT:
* the counties and states reported
* everything that has been reported
* for the time ranges reported!

/3

Read 13 tweets

Tyler Black, MD

@tylerblack32

17 Feb

Using a quick example of how sensational numbers in headlines can paint an incomplete picture. In Franklin County, Ohio, Suicides are overall down in 2020, but the article portrays something different for youth:

dispatch.com/story/news/loc…

/1

Of course, the headline is not incorrect, but there is a larger context to provide. Using the data provided, I'm plotting the youth (8y-25y) suicide rate next to the adult+ suicide rate.

/2

As the headline states, there is an increase in 2020 vs 2019. However, 2019 also saw a substantial decrease, and just 4 years prior, 2017 saw an even greater increase from the previous year.

/3

Read 8 tweets

Share this page!

Tyler Black, MD

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

More from @tylerblack32

Tyler Black, MD

Tyler Black, MD

Tyler Black, MD

Tyler Black, MD

Tyler Black, MD

Tyler Black, MD

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Like this author's thread?