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People living with chronic pain are more likely than their peers without pain to need mental health treatment, yet less likely to get it, a new analysis suggests. The study, published in the journal PAIN, relied on data from the 2019 National Health Interview Survey, which tracked population-wide health in the United States by surveying a nationally representative sample of about 32,000 adults. (Blakemore, 8/4)

Being outdoors goes hand in hand with active play, which can improve physical health and coordination, says Stephen Cook, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics and a professor of pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. It also increases children’s exposure to vitamin D, which the body produces in response to sunlight and which is necessary for growth and bone health. (Serrano, 8/4)

In 2020, Assemblymember James C. Ramos, D-San Bernardino, celebrated the creation of the state’s new Office of Suicide Prevention. Four years later, more work remains to be done, he and other Native American leaders say. Despite making up only 3.6% of Californians in 2020, American Indians or Alaskan Natives made up 9.8% of those who killed themselves that same year, according to the California Department of Public Health. (Yarbough, 8/4)

Santa Clara County officials believe there are at least a hundred privately owned and operated independent living homes tucked in residential neighborhoods throughout San Jose and the county. ... Counties routinely rely on such facilities to house the most vulnerable, but operators are not required to obtain a license. ... Disability rights advocates and local officials say that’s left many tenants languishing in inhospitable conditions and, in some cases, unable to get the care they need. (Varian, 8/4)