Behavioral Health addresses behaviors and actions that impact health, either positively or negatively.
So, our every action is a behavior that can contribute to improved or worsened health.
Behaviors that impact health:
How much we sleep
Driving while intoxicated
Brushing our teeth
Using condoms
Eating fruits and vegetables
Pursuing risky sports such as hang-gliding
Overwork
Wearing a seatbelt
Wearing a mask
Getting exercise
Social Isolation
Behavioral health risk factors have significant and complex impacts on both non-psychiatric illness and psychiatric illness.
Behaviors can cause both physical and mental illness exacerbation but mental and physical illnesses can also cause behaviors.
Poor medication adherence can worsen the outcomes of both cancer and depression.
Depression can cause poor medication adherence through increased fatigue and a lack of concentration
Cancer treatment itself can cause fatigue and lack of concentration that affects medication adherence and leads to depression.
Further, the inflammatory nature of cancer can directly cause depression.
The increasing emergence of value-based payment methodologies provides increasing incentives for health care systems to address the type of system changes needed to improve access to behavioral health interventions.
Weft Health brings expertise in integrating behavioral health interventions into diverse medical settings, without additional time burdens on the clinic or visits to psychiatry for the patient.