Wednesday, June 11, 2003
The Formative Years: Pathways to Substance Abuse Among Girls and Young Women Ages 8-22 A February report (in
Adobe Acrobat format) from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University that was brought to our attention at the
Join Together web site, which notes, "This report, published by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA), examines the pathways to addiction for girls and young women between the ages of 8 and 24. It contributes to CASA's goal of looking seriously at substance abuse among American women of all ages."
Conference Probes Pathology of Self-Awareness Article in the June
Psychiatric Times - "The inability to create an accurate picture of self-awareness is a feature in many mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, autism, ADHD, personality disorders and substance abuse. At a Kansas City, Mo., conference, researchers begin to establish a biological basis for self-awareness and hope to isolate the deficits in the brain that causes abnormal functioning."
Psychiatrists Strive to Assure Patients' Safety Article in the June issue of
Psychiatric Times - "In the wake of the report issued by the Institute of Medicine detailing the number of medical errors each year, the American Psychiatric Association has issued a set of patient safety recommendations. Will these recommendations reduce the number of psychiatric patient deaths and injuries?"
Tracking Health Care Costs: Trends Stabilize But Remain High In 2002 Article in
Health Affairs - "Health care spending per privately insured person increased 9.6 percent in 2002, a slight reduction from the 10 percent increase in 2001. This is the first time in five years that the spending trend did not accelerate. Nonetheless, health care spending grew nearly four times faster than the U.S. economy grew in 2002. Growth in hospital spending accounted for the largest portion of the overall increase (51 percent) for the second straight year. Moreover, hospital price inflation—which accelerated significantly in 2002—accounted for a larger share of hospital spending growth in 2002 than in 2001. Premium increases accelerated again in 2003, despite 2002’s slight deceleration of the overall spending trend." The article is also available in
Adobe Acrobat format. See also the related
Data Bulletin and
news bulletin from the
Center for Studying Health System Change.
Medscape Journal Scan: Psychiatry, May 2003 "Journal Scan is the clinician's guide to the latest clinical research findings in the
American Journal of Psychiatry, The Lancet, Archives of General Psychiatry, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, and Journal
of Clinical Psychopharmacology. Short summaries of feature articles include links to the article abstracts and full text, when available. [Viewing
Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].
NMHA Lauds Bill to Combat Criminalization of People with Mental Illness A June 6 NMHA News Release - "In our nation’s prisons, jails and juvenile detention facilities a shocking number of adults and youth with mental health problems are incarcerated because of the lack of treatment options in the community. With an understanding of this problem, Senator Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, and Representative Ted Strickland, D-Ohio, introduced legislation today to foster collaboration between criminal and juvenile justice and mental health systems. NMHA welcomes this legislation and applauds the sponsors for beaming a spotlight into the dark corners of America’s prisons, jails and juvenile facilities...."
Speakers put faces on health-care deficit (California) Story in the
Orange County Register - "For three hours Tuesday, county supervisors heard from people like Tim Saba, a self-described "consumer" of county mental-health services. .... Saba was among nearly 40 speakers hoping to prevent cuts to programs that serve them. Supervisors were sympathetic and approved adding $1.9 million requested by the Health Care Agency."
Budget crunch falls on Clackamas County mental health services (Oregon) KATU story - "The budget axe is not only falling on schools, it's also hitting everything from roads, to animal control, to mental health services in Clackamas County. Cackamas County leaders said that cuts to its mental health treatment programs would shift those patients into crisis mode and would require county hospitals, and law enforcement to deal with the results."
Mental health peer program loses funding (California) Story at
The Union - "Peer counseling, a way for the mentally ill to help each other through their problems, has been used in Nevada County for several years. The counselors are clients trained by mental health officials to lead discussions with other clients. It's been called a cost-effective way to stave off crises and prevent expensive stays at out-of-county hospitals. ... But about $17,000 earlier set aside for a new drop-in peer counseling center has been cut, and more than two dozen people showed up at Tuesday's county board asking it be restored."
