The latest data show that suicide is the twelfth leading cause of death in the U.S. and among those with the highest rates are younger, working age adults (ages 25-34). While there are a multitude of factors that contribute to suicidal behavior, there are also several evidence-based things that employers – and society at large – can do to prevent suicide. On today’s episode of the Business Group on Health Podcast, we speak with Dr. Christine Yu Moutier, psychiatrist and Chief Medical Officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, about suicide risk and protective factors, the importance of help-seeking workplace cultures, how we can communicate about suicide, and what gives her hope for the future.

Christine Yu Moutier, MD, Chief Medical Officer, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Thank you to today’s episode sponsor Aim Specialty Health.

What if we focused on the conditions for creating health rather than treating disease? This simple change in perspective is the foundation of functional medicine: promoting health by focusing on the body as “one whole ecosystem” rather than different parts that must be addressed separately. On today’s episode of the Business Group on Health Podcast, we speak with Dr. Mark Hyman, multi-time #1 New York Times Bestselling author and practicing physician, about functional medicine and how this approach represents a paradigm shift in treatment from downstream and disease-specific, to upstream and holistic. Topics include what functional medicine is and why it is just now gaining attention and traction; why food is central to functional medicine; and big and small ways we can shift our systems and personal habits to create conditions for health.

Mark Hyman, MD, Founder and Director of The Ultra-Wellness Center and Author of Food Fix

Thank you to today’s episode sponsor Vanderbilt Health.

More than 80% of working Americans say financial insecurity is a major problem, reflecting the fact that many in the U.S. live paycheck to paycheck, lack emergency savings, and experience financial anxiety. Businesses are taking note, realizing that what they pay employees isn’t always enough to achieve financial security. On today’s episode of the Business Group on Health Podcast, we speak with Timothy Flacke and explore the question: “what more do we need to do to turn our investment in wages into the outcome that drives business value and make our workers better off?” Topics include the interconnectedness of our financial well-being, emotional well-being and our ability to be present, productive and safe at work; how to think about financial well-being strategies through the lens of racial and gender equity; and what employers can do to help employees build a strong financial foundation and future.

Guest: Timothy Flacke, Executive Director, Commonwealth

Thank you to today’s episode sponsor Vanderbilt Health.

In medicine death is seen as a failure, and we do everything we can to avoid failure. This supports the societal stigma associated with talking about death and dying, as we no longer see death as a part of life. But one of the unexpected outcomes of the pandemic is that it’s made the conversation about end-of-life care front and center – including advance care planning, palliative care for patients, helping people share their goals for care and helping families support those goals. In this conversation with Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider on the Business Group on Health podcast, we talk about grief, death and dying and caregiving, as well how employers can create a space that fosters safety and compassion as part of the caregiving, end of life and grief conversation. Dr Ungerleider is a practicing internal medicine physician, host of the TED Health Podcast and founder of the Endwell Foundation, focused on transforming the end of life into a human-centered experience.

Guest: Shoshana Ungerleider, MD, Founder Endwell Foundation and Host of the TED Health Podcast

Thank you to today’s episode sponsor Virgin Pulse.

Studies on climate change show wide and serious effects on our mental and physical health. In this episode of the Business Group on Health Podcast’s two-part series on climate change, we speak with Dr. Susan Clayton, a conservation psychologist and professor at the College of Wooster, about the relationship between warming weather and our mood and sleep, the emotional toll on people displaced around the world and the mental health impact on children. Dr. Clayton also shares ways we can cope with ecoanxiety and the more serious impacts of climate change.

Guest: Susan Clayton, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Environmental Studies at the College of Wooster

Thank you to today’s episode sponsor Virgin Pulse.

What do mitigating pain, overcoming phobias, changing harmful behaviors and calming anxiety have in common? They’re all addressed through virtual reality. In this episode of the Business Group on Health Podcast, we speak with Dr. Walter Greenleaf, a behavioral neuroscientist who is recognized internationally as one of the founders of the field of therapeutic virtual reality, Dr. Greenleaf tells us why after 30 years of research and development, virtual reality is finally having its moment in health care. We discuss the many applications of VR, its advantages as a health and well-being tool, and what the next decade might bring.

Guest: Walter Greenleaf, PhD, Visiting Scholar at the Stanford University Virtual Human Interaction Lab

Thank you to today’s episode sponsor Pear Therapeutics

Over the last few years there’s been increasing public interest in “gut health” – research tells us that a healthy gut microbiome can not only help us lose or maintain weight, but also influences so much more, including our mood, our immune response, and a myriad of health conditions. On this episode of the Business Group on Health Podcast, we speak with world-renowned gastroenterologist and neuroscientist, Dr. Emeran Mayer, who studies how the digestive and nervous systems interact in health and disease. We discuss the bidirectional communication between the brain and the gut, the physical and emotional manifestations of the gut-brain connection, and practical ways we can promote a healthy gut microbiome.

Guest: Emeran Mayer, MD, Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry, UCLA, Executive Director of the G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, Co-Director of CURE: Digestive Diseases Research Center, Author of The Mind-Gut Connection and The Gut-Immune Connection

Thank you to today’s episode sponsor Pear Therapeutics.

When we talk about sleep and health, our conversations usually focus on the physical impact of sleep loss. Far less discussed, but just as important, are the social and emotional changes taking place when we don’t get the sleep we need. That’s the focus of today’s episode of the Business Group on Health Podcast, in which we speak with Eti Ben Simon, PhD, a neuroscientist and sleep researcher at the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Ben Simon describes what happens to our emotional reactivity and our relationships at home and at work when we sleep well — and when we don’t. Hint: our mood, working memory, creativity and even perceived charisma are at stake! The episode incorporates research-based tips for individuals and employers to promote healthy sleep hygiene.

Guest: Eti Ben Simon, PhD, Center for Human Sleep Science, Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley

Thank you to today’s episode sponsor Ovia Health

A recent report from the National Center for Health Statistics provided unwelcome news – during the first year of the pandemic the number of deaths among pregnant women and new mothers rose 14%, with Black women most affected. Why does the United States have some of the worst rates for maternal and infant health as compared to other highly industrialized countries? And why are we failing so many moms and babies, with too many born too sick and too soon? In this episode of the Business Group on Health Podcast, we speak with Stacey D. Stewart, President and CEO of the March of Dimes about the maternal health crisis and solutions to address this challenge, both in the policy arena and the corporate setting. Black Maternal Health Week takes place every year from April 11-17 and was officially recognized by the White House in 2021.

Guest: Stacey D. Stewart, President and CEO, March of Dimes

Thank you to today’s episode sponsor Ovia Health.

Although the U.S. is in a more positive phase of the pandemic than two years ago, many are wondering how long it might last (especially in light of surges abroad) and how we should best prepare for the future. In this episode of the Business Group on Health Podcast, we do a pandemic check-in with incoming White House COVID-19 response coordinator and current dean of Brown University School of Public Health, Dr. Ashish Jha. We discuss the tools available today, the global variation of the virus, and what we’re learning about the impact of long Covid on people, economies and societies, including the policy changes businesses may consider to better respond to employees experiencing it.

Guest: Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean, Brown University School of Public Health and Incoming White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator

Resource from our episode sponsor: Genomic Life Brochure