The Population Health Impact Institute (PHII)™ announces a complimentary webinar, which will highlight how mental health conditions can increase the likelihood of COVID-19 infections. This innovative research study used Trajectory® Healthcare’s epidemiological-based AI software using the Colorado All Payer Claims Data Base to track how co-morbidities impact the likelihood of becoming infected with the coronavirus.

The presentation will feature two nationally known thought leaders in the population health field and will include a respondent panel made of experts in public health, medicine, and health economics. The study found several key population health trends:

Preexisting mental health conditions are a strong independent predictor of COVID-19; and
A mental health diagnosis, in combination with known COVID-19 physical conditions (i.e., diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, and hypertension) acts as a strong multiplier on predicting COVID-19 incidence.

The webinar will take place on April 12, 2021 at 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. (ET). To register for this complimentary webinar, click here.

“We believe this study is among the first to discover that mental/behavioral health conditions, including depression and anxiety, interact with physical diseases (i.e. hypertension, diabetes, COPD, asthma, and chronic kidney diseases) in such a way to become a strong predictor of COVID-19,” notes Thomas Wilson, PhD, DrPH Founder and Chief Science Officer Trajectory Healthcare, LLC and PHII Board Chair.

“As a result of the study findings, current immunization strategies and outreach should consider putting individuals with prior mental and behavioral health history in high priority groups,” adds Janet (Jessie) Sullivan, MD, Principal, SE JNS, LLC; former CMO, Hudson Health Plan

Dr. Wilson and Dr. Sullivan are the study authors. A pre-print version of the study is available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3807198.

Garry Carneal, JD, MA, CEO Schooner Strategies and PHII Advisory Board Chair will moderate the webinar, which will feature Dr. Wilson and Dr. Sullivan. The webinar panel responders will feature:
-Rachel Nolan, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati’s College of Medicine
-Patricia Salber, MD, MPH, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Doctor Weighs In
-Deborah Viola, MBA, PhD; Vice President, Data Management and Analytics, Westchester Medical Center Health Network.

A follow-up webinar will be hosted in June with additional findings on pandemic related changes in general utilization patterns over time, the relationship between social determinants of health (SDOH) and COVID-19, and medical and behavioral health issues subsequent to a COVID-19 diagnosis. For more information about PHII, see http://www.phiinstitute.org. For more information about Trajectory Healthcare, see http://www.trajectoryhealthcare.com