Greetings from the not-so-well rested on our team.

I’m delighted to bring you our May newsletter. This month is Mental Health Awareness Month and so we wanted to highlight mental health (go figure).

Our specific focus is onhow disordered sleep can impact our mental health. In Ryan’s search to find when ‘World Sleep Month’ was, you can imagine his dismay that when he found out there isn’t one. No, instead sleep is given short shrift with World Sleep Day. DAY! Not even Night! He’s still whinging about it.

Sleep, an activity that we spend one-third of our lives doing, is relegated to just one day. We wanted to do something about that by highlighting mental health outcomes associated with poor sleep.

As luck would have it,the planets aligned. Our new Editorial Lead, Ryan Chandler, happens to be a chronic sufferer of insomnia. Ryan wrote this month’s feature article, Sleep and its Discontents, about the inextricable (and inexplicable) link between sleep and mental health.

In this issue, we will be covering:

• Introducing our new sleepless Editorial Lead, Ryan Chandler
• Mental Health Awareness Month
• Sleep and its Discontents
• ISPOR 2023
• Health Economics Tips

Happy Reading!

Ruth

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Greetings HOC family!

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I’m an antipodean medical writer in little old New Zealand. I’m delighted to be joining Rx in a part-time capacity as Editorial Lead for our Health Outcomes Communicator, familiarly known as HOC. Over the coming months, I hope to bring you compelling, insightful, and—at times—provocative content from across the medical communications world. I hope you enjoy the curated experience and maybe you’ll learn a little, or a lot, of something along the way.

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And, indeed, as Ruth has mentioned I am a chronic insomniac. No, this does not mean I have more productive hours in the day than you mere mortals. If anything it’s the opposite, as I’m beset by a general malaise throughout the day.

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What I (and many others) experience, inspired me to write this month’s article on insomnia and mental health. I’ve put myself in a win-win scenario withinsomniac readers: if you enjoy the article, then I’ll be delighted; if it puts you to sleep, then, you’re welcome.

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See you next month!

Ryan

Sleep and its discontents

A significant portion ofthe population suffers from poor quality or inadequate sleep, impacting their overall health. For those that do suffer, sleep is not the respite it should be, but rather a relentless tormentor invading us at the least desired moment - when it's time to retire for the night.

This month’s feature article talks to these issues, covering the prevalence of insomnia, its effects on the sufferer’s mental health, and lastly touches on treatment..

The complexity of sleep disorders and their relationship with mental health conditions necessitate ongoing research to find more effective treatments. As our lives become more stressful and connected, issues like insomnia and associated depression are expected to persist.

Therefore, the hunt for better sleep solutions continues. Read more here.

Sweet dreams!

Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental health is ever-present in modern life. No one goes untouched by mental health issues, whether it’s your own experience, or that of a family member,friend, or colleague. Those twisted and tangled tendrils of mental illness sneak in somehow.

According to the Office for National Statistics, “In 2021, there were 5,583 suicides registered in England and Wales, equivalent to a rate of 10.7 deaths per 100,000 people.” This is a sobering figure and more than a dedicated month is needed to advocate for this cause, but it’s a start.

Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in the US (various iterations pop up in other countries) since 1949. The National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) is spotlighting the month with the More Than Enough! campaign.

It’s an opportunity for all of us to come together and remember the inherent value we each hold — no matter our diagnosis, appearance, socioeconomic status, background, or ability… No matter what, you are inherently worthy of more than enough life, love and healing. Showing up, just as you are, for yourself and the people around you is more than enough.

Join the fight with the #MoreThanEnough Campaign

ISPOR 2023

Health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) is part of Rx’s DNA. Heck, we have even written a booklet on it: Introduction to Health Economic Concepts. We are always excited when the ISPOR (TheInternational Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research) conference comes around, which was held this year in Boston, USA, May 7-10.

ISPOR’s mission is intimately aligned with ours: To paraphrase, medicines, treatments, therapies are all for nothing if patients can’t access them. Hence, the ‘value’ of any intervention comes down to its cost-effectiveness, its real-world impact, and how healthcare decision making affects – and is affected by – these factors.

Mental health awareness month serves as a great time to highlight a presentation, given as part of the ‘Long-Term COVID-19 and Mental Health Podium Session’, by Munsell M, et al: Characteristics of Patients Diagnosed with Long COVID: Early Findings from Real-World Data.

The authors studied a cohort of 3,587 patients with long COVID and found that, “the average total medical cost during the month following long COVID diagnosis was $4,267.” In an already overwhelmed health system, this represents a significant financial and opportunity cost.

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Read more about the study here.

Health economics tips

We also wanted to highlight an article published earlier this year by Rx’s Jackie Brown on the 10 things to be successful in Health Economics. Jackie knows that health economists are often writing to a wide audience, from professors to lay people, and everyone in between. This collection of tips is invaluable for any health economist hoping to communicate their work proficiently and efficiently in the face of tight deadlines.