PAHO launches new virtual course on youth-centered digital health interventions - Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)

Erik Bengtsen, MD, discussed meaning-centered therapy at the bedside, framing psychiatry referrals, and a more humanistic approach to care. Erik Bengtsen, MD, an assistant attending psychiatrist and assistant director of the Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Training Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discussed bedside meaning-centered therapy, how to frame a psychiatry referral, and what psycho-oncology has taught him to unlearn, in CancerNetwork’s® Ask Me Anything series. Bengtsen described meaning-centered psychotherapy, developed at Memorial Sloan Kettering by William Breitbart, MD, to address existential distress by helping patients identify sources of meaning, such as family, faith, community, the arts, or their legacy. At the bedside, he said, the manualized course is abbreviated and meets patients where they are. He also shared how he reframes referrals for patients who worry that a psychiatry consult implies they are “crazy,” focusing instead on sleep, recovery, energy, and the stress of treatment. Finally, he reflected on moving beyond the rigid boundaries of classical psychiatry training toward a more humanistic presence with patients and families.

Among cancer patients, the high financial cost of cancer care is a prevalent problem. This financial burden is also associated with potentially harmful behavioral strategies that patients might use to cope with costs, such as delaying or forgoing treatment and skipping medications. Collectively, researchers refer to this impact as financial toxicity.

IntroductionHow does the gut microbiome change as we age? The link between gut microbiome changes and inflammationGut microbiome and age-related health conditionsCan the gut microbiome be targeted to promote longevity? From microbial shifts in later life to the distinctive gut communities of centenarians, researchers are investigating what the intestinal microbes reveal about how people age.

IntroductionClinical trial evidenceFDA approval and regulatory developmentsCardiometabolic and secondary benefitsFuture directionsReferences What can treatments targeting weight and metabolism offer people with obstructive sleep apnea, and which questions must clinical trials still answer?