Acute Stress Signal Index (ASSI) — All States
Thriving (1–20)
Stable (21–40)
OECD Base (41–60)
Severe (61–80)
Crisis (81–100)
7-Day National Trend
Advanced Tools

API Endpoints

The Mental Health Radar API is hosted on Railway. Replace BASE_URL with your deployment URL (or http://localhost:8000 for local dev).

GET BASE_URL/api/scores

Returns the latest composite score, domain scores, BVI modifier, SYNDEMIC flag, and top signals for all 50 states.

GET BASE_URL/api/scores/{state}

Single-state detail. Replace {state} with the full state name (e.g. California).

GET BASE_URL/api/history

72-hour rolling score history used to render sparklines and the national trend chart.

Signal Cache TTLs

SignalSourceCache TTL
Unemployment (BLS)FRED24 hr
Community DistressReddit APIOn demand
Search BehaviorGoogle Trends7 days
News ToneGDELT24 hr
Overdose DeathsCDC VSRR24 hr
Disaster DeclarationsFEMA Open API6 hr
Drug ShortagesFDA24 hr
Vulnerability IndexCensus/HRSA/HHS30 days

Scoring Formula Quick Reference

Step 1 — Z-score normalization

anchored_score = clip(50 + z × 15, min=5, max=95) where z = (value − global_ref) / scale

Step 2 — Domain aggregation

ASSI = Σ (domain_weight × domain_score) [12 domains]

Step 3 — BVI adjustment

Final = clip(ASSI × (1 + bvi_modifier), min=5, max=95) BVI modifier ∈ [−0.40, +0.60]

Data Files

Local Development

uvicorn api.main:app --reload # FastAPI on :8000 python3 -m http.server 3000 --directory frontend # Static frontend
About Mental Health Radar

Real-time psychosocial stress monitoring across all 50 US states.

What This Is

Mental Health Radar aggregates signals from seven public data sources — unemployment filings, community language on social media, search behavior trends, news sentiment, overdose surveillance, disaster declarations, and drug shortage data — and synthesizes them into a single Acute Stress Signal Index (ASSI) per state.

The score is not a clinical diagnosis or a direct measure of mental illness prevalence. It is a leading indicator of the conditions known to drive acute psychological distress at a population level. Think of it as an early-warning dashboard for the social determinants of mental health.

Why It Matters

Mental health crises rarely emerge from a single cause. Economic collapse, disaster, social isolation, and healthcare access failure can compound each other in ways that standard disease surveillance systems miss because they operate in silos.

The SYNDEMIC indicator — displayed when three or more domain scores are simultaneously elevated — flags exactly these compounding patterns, which research associates with multiplicative, not merely additive, mental health risk.

Data Freshness

Scores are automatically refreshed every 3 hours by a GitHub Actions pipeline. Individual signal caches have their own TTLs (6 hours for FEMA, 24 hours for BLS/CDC/FDA, 30 days for vulnerability index). The timestamp shown on the dashboard reflects the most recent full scoring run.

What This Is Not

Data Sources

Limitations & Transparency

Signal availability is not uniform across states. Smaller states may have higher variance due to smaller populations. Reddit and Google Trends are heavily weighted toward English-language, internet-connected populations. GDELT tone reflects global media coverage, not ground-truth events.

The full methodology — including reference baselines, domain weights, and scoring formulas — is documented in the Methodology modal.

Contact & Feedback

This project is maintained by MindClimate. For questions about the methodology, data sources, or potential collaborations, please open an issue on GitHub.

Acknowledgments

Score anchoring references WHO World Mental Health Atlas (2022), OECD Health Statistics (2023), OECD Labour Force Statistics (2023), and the GDELT tone framework by Leetaru & Schrodt (2013). SYNDEMIC framing draws on Singer et al. (2017), The Lancet.

Scoring Methodology

Version 1.2 — Globally-anchored Z-score framework (v4 bands, Feb 2026)

Overview

The Acute Stress Signal Index (ASSI) is a composite score from 0 to 100 where higher values indicate greater acute psychosocial stress. The score is globally anchored: 50 represents the baseline for developed nations per WHO and OECD reference statistics.

Step 1 — Signal Fetching (7 Sources)

SignalSourceRefreshGlobal Reference
Unemployment ClaimsFRED / BLS24 hr200 claims/100k (OECD)
Community DistressReddit APIOn demandDynamic batch anchor
Search BehaviorGoogle Trends7-day cacheDynamic batch anchor
News ToneGDELT24 hr2.5 mean tone (Leetaru & Schrodt)
Overdose DeathsCDC VSRR24 hr12/100k/yr (OECD Health Stats)
Disaster DeclarationsFEMA Open API v26 hr1 declaration/quarter
Drug ShortagesFDA24 hr25% shortage rate (ASHP)

Step 2 — Z-Score Normalization

anchored_score = clip(50 + z × 15, min=5, max=95) where z = (value − global_ref) / scale

For signals without fixed global references (Reddit, Google Trends), the current batch mean and standard deviation are used as the anchor, with a minimum SD of 5.

Step 3 — Domain Contribution Matrix

Signal scores are blended into 12 wellbeing domains via a weighted contribution matrix.

DomainWeightSignal Mix
Economic Security16%BLS 60%, Reddit 25%, Trends 15%
Direct Mental Health13%Reddit 50%, Trends 35%, GDELT 15%
Social Connection11%Reddit 60%, Trends 40%
Family / Relationships10%Reddit 70%, Trends 30%
Mental Healthcare Access10%Trends 45%, FDA 35%, Reddit 20%
Physical Health9%CDC 55%, Reddit 25%, Trends 20%
Geopolitical / Political8%GDELT 55%, Reddit 25%, Trends 20%
Personal Safety7%Reddit 45%, GDELT 40%, Trends 15%
Purpose / Meaning6%Reddit 60%, Trends 40%
Collective Safety5%FEMA 50%, GDELT 30%, Reddit 10%, Trends 10%
General Healthcare Access4%Reddit 40%, Trends 35%, FDA 25%
Environment / Place1%FEMA 40%, Trends 35%, Reddit 15%, GDELT 10%

Step 4 — ASSI Aggregation

ASSI = Σ (domain_weight × domain_score) [12 domains]

Step 5 — Behavioral Vulnerability Index (BVI)

Components: ACE prevalence, poverty rate, HPSA density, Medicaid coverage, Gini coefficient. Modifier ∈ [−0.40, +0.60], cached 30 days.

Final Score = clip(ASSI × (1 + bvi_modifier), min=5, max=95)

Risk Level Classification

Score RangeRisk LevelColor
1 – 20Thriving ■ Green
21 – 40Stable ■ Sky Blue
41 – 60OECD Base ■ Amber
61 – 80Severe ■ Orange
81 – 100Crisis ■ Red

SYNDEMIC Badge

A ⚡ SYNDEMIC badge appears when 3 or more domain scores are simultaneously ≥ 65. Display indicator only — does not boost the composite score. Draws on Singer et al. (2017), The Lancet.

Limitations

References