Breadcrumb
- Federal Resources
Federal Resources
Accelerating HPV Vaccine Uptake: Urgency for Action to Prevent Cancer
This report, released by the President’s Cancer Panel, outlines the case for HPV vaccination and the urgency for action. The report presents three goals: to reduce missed opportunities to recommend/administer HPV vaccines; to increase acceptance of the vaccines among parents, caregivers, and youth; and to maximize access to HPV vaccination services
Charge Up! Healthy Meals and Snacks for Teens
This document guides teens in making healthy food choices, offers examples of smart snack and meal ideas, and gives links to other healthy eating resources.
Director’s Blog: What Caused This to Happen?
Written by NIMH Director Dr. Thomas Insel, this blog post explains the mixture of genetic and environmental factors that underly mental illness and cites recent research that suggests “bad luck” may play a role in the development of psychopathology.
Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General
This Report of the Surgeon General on Mental Health is the product of a collaboration between two federal agencies, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the National Institutes of Health. The report provides an overview of mental health as well as a section targeted at children’s mental health. Sections of this report include information on interventions and service delivery.
NIMH Strategic Plan Aims to Focus, Accelerate Mental Health Research
NIMH has issued a new Strategic Plan for Research, which updates the strategic objectives of its 2008 plan, with a focus on balancing the need for long-term investments in basic research with urgent mental health needs. The plan includes four strategic priorities which will guide the institute’s research for the next five years:
- Define the mechanisms of complex behaviors
- Chart mental illness trajectories to determine when, where, and how to intervene
- Strive for prevention and cures
- Strengthen the public health impact of NIMH-supported research
Scientists Spot Gene Tied to Severe Autism
In a recent study, researchers claim to have discovered a new genetic cause of autism, singling out a rare gene mutation. The gene, CTNND2, provides instructions for making a protein called delta-catenin, which plays a crucial role in the nervous system. Researchers found that a group of girls with severe autism carried CTNND2 mutations that appeared to reduce the effectiveness of delta-catenin, potentially affecting their neurological development.
Study Finds Genetic Clue to Menopause-Like Condition in Young Women
New research from NIH contributes to the understanding of primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), a disorder that causes a woman’s ovaries to stop working before she is 40 years old, sometimes as early as in her teens. POI can affect fertility and puts women at high-risk the onset of osteoporosis and heart disease.
The Anatomy of NIMH Funding
In response to calls for transparency, this blog post and corresponding white paper (PDF, 13 pages) written by NIMH director Thomas Insel provide insight into the NIMH budget, including what is funded, who is funded, and how funding decisions are made.
Targeting Suicide
Written by NIH Director Thomas Insel in light of the recent Germanwings crash, this blog post describes the importance of investing in research related to suicide, the tenth leading cause of death in the United States.
Interns Graduate Project SEARCH-NIH Program, Eight Hired at NIH
Project SEARCH interns gathered on June 5, 2015, to celebrate their graduation from the program and their transition from interns to NIH staff members. Project SEARCH provides young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities the opportunity for vocational education and training to prepare for competitive employment opportunities.
Boys More Likely to Have Antipsychotics Prescribed, Regardless of Age
New research funded by NIMH analyzed antipsychotic prescription data between 2006-2010. The data show that, in children ages 1-6, boys were more than twice as likely as girls to receive an antipsychotic prescription. This pattern held true for boys and girls ages 7-12, before narrowing for those ages 13-18, and finally becoming more comparable for young men and women ages 19-24.
Share with Youth: Teen Depression
Youth-serving professionals can use this resource, developed for teens, to educate young people about depression. It contains information about the signs and symptoms of depression, places to turn to for help, effective treatments for depression, steps teens can take to feel better, and the impact depression can have on relationships.
Media-Smart Youth PowerPoint Presentation
Media-Smart Youth is a free, interactive education program for youth ages 11-13, designed to empower young people to think critically about the media’s influence and to make informed decisions about nutrition and physical activity. NIH has designed a Media-Smart Youth PowerPoint presentation (PDF, 9 pages) that organizations can use to inform audiences about the program.
Director’s Blog: The Brain’s Critical Balance
Written by NIMH Director Thomas Insel, this blog post highlights one of early projects of the BRAIN Initiative, launched to support scientists as they conduct research on the brain, consciousness, and behavior. This project involves scientists at NIMH and the University of Maryland who are trying to understand how the activity of individual neurons integrates into larger patterns of brain activity
Better Nutrition Every Day: How to Make Healthier Food Choices
This article provides tips for parents on making healthy food choices and shares advice on involving young people in preparing meals, making healthy choices when eating on the go, and reading food labels when grocery shopping.
E-cigarette Use Among Teens
This video describes a study analyzing health questionnaire data from more than 2,000 high school students, in which they were asked whether they currently, or had ever, smoked an e-cigarette or a combustible cigarette. The results show that more students had used an e-cigarette than a combustible cigarette, and had friends who used them. Almost half of e-cigarette users reported they did not believe there were health risks associated with the devices, and overall, students indicated a social environment more favorable to e-cigarettes.
Share with Youth: Body Weight Planner
USDA and NIH developed the Body Weight Planner, an interactive online tool that allows individuals who are trying to lose or gain weight see how they need to change their eating or physical activity levels to meet their goals. Users enter their age, weight, height, physical activity level, gender, and weight goal for personalized results. Users can also track their progress and receive periodic updates on how their progress matches up to their goals.
Webinar Recording: Bullying Prevention and Suicide Prevention for Schools
The recording is now available for the webinar, Bullying Prevention and Suicide Prevention for Schools: A Digital Approach From SAMHSA, presented by SAMHSA and the American School Health Association. The webinar provided an overview of the risk and impact of bullying and suicide in school-aged children and highlighted the connection between these public health issues and the "whole child" concept. The webinar also showcased SAMHSA's mobile applications, KnowBullying and Suicide Safe, and other key tools to promote bullying prevention and suicide prevention in schools.
Study: Large Percentage of Youth with HIV May Lack Immunity to Measles, Mumps, Rubella
Based on data gathered from more than 600 children and youth exposed to HIV in the womb, a study from NIH and CDC suggests that between one-third and one-half of individuals in the United States who were infected with HIV around the time of birth may not have sufficient immunity to ward off measles, mumps, and rubella, even though they may have been vaccinated against these diseases.
Resource: AIDSinfo Education Materials: Infographics
These infographics feature answers to commonly asked questions about HIV and are available in English and Spanish. Topics covered include antiretroviral therapy, the difference between HIV and AIDS, and living with HIV.
Recent Event: Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder
This Twitter chat featured Dr. Ellen Leibenluft, Chair of the Section on Bipolar Spectrum Disorder and expert on severe irritability in children, who answered questions on disruptive mood dysregulation disorder submitted by Twitter users.
Resource: Child and Adolescent Mental Health
This web portal provides information on mental health conditions and disorders among children and teens, including warning signs, latest news, videos, hotlines, and clinical trials.
Resource: AIDSinfo Apps
These free apps provide easy access to AIDS-related information:
- HIV/AIDS Guidelines app: provides access to the federally-approved HIV/AIDS medical practice guidelines
- HIV/AIDS Drug Database app: provides access to information on HIV/AIDS-related Food and Drug Administration-approved and investigational drugs
- HIV/AIDS Glossary app: provides access to English and Spanish definitions for more than 700 HIV/AIDS-related terms
Resource: Global Effort to End AIDS Would Save Millions of Lives
This blog post highlights a recent NIH-funded study evaluating the costs and expected life-saving returns of the 90-90-90 program, which aims to reduce HIV to undetectable levels in 73% of people infected with the virus by 2020. The results of the analysis show that the program has the potential to contain the AIDS epidemic and save millions of lives.
Report: Testing Interpretation Bias Training (IBT)
This report describes a new, large-scale study that will test IBT, a computer game designed to diminish the tendency of children with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) to view ambiguous faces as angry. This study will also test cognitive behavioral therapy in conjunction with IBT in an effort to establish the first non-drug interventions for those with DMDD.