Monday, April 12, 2004

First Step
"Designed to assist case managers, outreach workers, and others working with people who are homeless, FirstStep provides an easy-to-use window into each of the Federal mainstream benefits programs that can be used to help prevent and end homelessness. FirstStep provides information and tips on accessing Federal mainstream benefit programs in five basic assistance categories: Food, Income, Health Care, Housing, and Employment. For each program, basic contact information, information on the application process, specific benefits clients can receive, eligibility requirements, and additional information for immigrants is provided. The tools and resources section includes additional fact sheets and Q&A materials on each of the programs. Also available are links to the main websites of the different mainstream programs and other helpful organizations."  
  

Curbs on Outside Deals at NIH Urged
Los Angeles Times article - "The National Institutes of Health should publicly disclose all drug company payments to its scientists, and should bar employees from accepting stock or stock options from industry, according to a draft report from a panel examining conflict of interest at the agency. The report stops short of calling for a ban on company consulting deals with NIH scientists, but it recommends that the agency block top officials from participating in such arrangements." [Viewing Los Angeles Times stories requires registration, which is free].  
  

Objectivity of SSRI Pediatric Research Findings Questioned
Reuters Health story at Medscape - "Biased reporting on the benefits of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for children with depression has exaggerated the drugs' benefits and downplayed their adverse effects, according to a review published in the April 10th issue of the British Medical Journal. The US Food and Drug Administration, the UK Committee on Safety of Medicines, and some drug companies have recently issued warnings about using SSRIs in children. However, other researchers support their continued use." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free]. See also the article in the British Medical Journal on which the story is based, Efficacy and safety of antidepressants for children and adolescents.  
  

Disease Management Association of America Announces Major Depression Summit
PR Newswire press release at Yahoo - "The Disease Management Association of America (DMAA) announced today that it has convened a faculty of 60+ national thought leaders from both the medical and behavioral sectors of science, medicine and health care to help explore how to re-invent our healthcare delivery system to better manage Depression, the "Cancer of the 21st Century" [World Health Organization 2003]. The Integrated Healthcare Leadership Summit: Co-Morbid Depression & Chronic Illness will be held June 7-8, 2004 at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC." See also the conference web site.  
  

Companies Have Difficulty Dealing with Costly Issue of Employee Depression
Knight-Ridder story in the Miami Herald - "In recent years, there has been no more important corporate mission than to improve productivity. Everyone seems to agree that making a company more efficient is the best tool in today's survival-of-the-fittest economy. Yet, companies don't seem very well prepared to deal with a productivity issue that is costing them an estimated $52 billion a year. The issue is depression among members of the work force. The University of Michigan's Depression Center estimates that at any given time about 10 percent of the work force battles the illness."  
  

Mental health test for inmates can take months (New Jersey)
Courier-Post Online story - "The wait for a court-ordered evaluation can be as long as six months, according to Camden County Superior Court Assignment Judge Francis Orlando Jr. ...  Advocates said the long delay shows how underfunded and inadequate the mental health system is."  
  

Young mental health care slammed (UK)
BBC story - "Young mental health patients are being put on 'inappropriate' hospital wards, research suggests. A study shows many are admitted to adult psychiatric wards and general children's wards when they should be in specialist units. Incorrect admissions happen in a third of cases, Royal College of Psychiatrists' researchers said. Campaigners said there was a national shortage of beds for young people with mental health problems..."  See also, at the British Medical Journal, the study which forms the basis for the story, Inappropriate admission of young people with mental disorder to adult psychiatric wards and paediatric wards: cross sectional study of six months' activity. The BMJ article is also available in Adobe Acrobat  format.  
  

Mental health official seeks to add services (North Carolina)
Fayetteville Observer story on the county Mental Health Association affiliates in the state, all of which belong to the National Mental Health Association - " According to the state association, the need for the county affiliates may increase as counties implement the state mental health reform plan, which calls for government funded mental health programs to privatize treatment services. Elements of the plan have already been adopted in many counties, and every county will implement the plan by 2007."  
  

Lake County plans mental health court (Ohio)
Story in The Plain Dealer - "Mentally ill people charged with a crime will have the chance for treatment rather than jail time when a mental health court opens April 20 in Lake County. Lake County is joining 15 other courts in the state that provide special services for the mentally ill as a way to cut jail costs. Similar courts operate in Akron, Euclid and Lakewood, according to the Ohio Supreme Court..."  
  

People with mental health problems are normal, too (UK)
Story at this is derbyshire on Mental Health Action Week - "Despite the fact that one in four of us suffer from mental health problems, many films, television programmes and other media still stereotype mental health patients as out of control. It is no wonder that Derbyshire Patients' Council, which represents people using mental health services in the county, is keen to change the public perception of mental ill health..."