Friday, November 26, 2004

Effectiveness of Antidepressant Unclear in Elderly
Reuters Health story at Yahoo - "Depressed people 75 or older are just as likely to improve after an 8-week course with an inactive, placebo drug as with an antidepressant, new research indicates. The study shows that after a short course of the antidepressant medication citalopram (Celexa), around one-third of elderly people with depression went into remission -- the same improvement rate seen in people taking a placebo drug. However, study author Dr. Steven P. Roose of the New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City cautioned that these findings do not suggest that the antidepressant is no better than doing nothing at all. "  
  

Texas Cuts Mental Health Services
Fox News story - "To save state taxpayers millions of dollars, Texas no longer automatically treats every mentally ill patient who relies on public help. Now, just the "sickest of the sick" get on-demand access to the state's 10 mental hospitals. That includes people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. 'It made sense to institute a rational, rationing system because we all know we have more mental health need than we have resources,' said Joe Lovelace of the National Alliance of Mental Illness  in Texas."  
  

Serious Psychological Distress More Common in Diabetics
Reuters Health story at Medscape - "Adults with diabetes are considerable more likely to experience depression, anxiety and other disorders that cause serious psychological distress (SPD) than those without diabetes, researchers report in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for November 26. Dr. K. H. McVeigh, of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and colleagues queried 9,590 people as part of the 2003 New York City Community Health Survey. Responses to six questions regarding sadness, nervousness and other feelings were the basis for classification as having SPD." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Overcoming Stigma in Asian American Mental Health
Conference report from Medscape Psychiatry & Mental Health - "The New York Coalition for Asian American Mental Health held its first national conference in New York at the New York Academy of Medicine from October 1-2, 2004. The conference featured top experts from around the country in the behavioral healthcare of Asian Americans, including primary care providers, mental health professionals, researchers, and advocates. The program aimed to bring together, for the first time on a national level, diverse voices and ideas to help address the complex issue of psychiatric stigma in the Chinese, Filipino, South Asian, Southeast Asian, Japanese, and Korean communities; to develop best practice models; and to offer opportunities for the 300 attendees to network with their peers..." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Patients at Augusta Mental Health Institute expressed selves in tunnel art
Ottawa Citizen story - "Bright reds and oranges explode on a dark underground mural, while a quiet evergreen forest screens a blue lake and mountain on another. Artwork and poetry bring life to the dreary walls of a little-known network of tunnels connecting the complex of buildings that long housed Maine's mental patients. Some of the murals and verses, which have been posted on the Internet, tell stories of pain and loneliness that shadowed the lives of those who were confined to the Augusta Mental Health Institute."  
  

Study: Diverted Drug offenders Likely To Relapse
KCRA story - "Drug offenders sent to treatment instead of jail in the early days of California's Proposition 36 were far more likely to be re-arrested than were criminals sent to rehabilitation through other diversion programs, says a UCLA study released Friday. The findings by University of California, Los Angeles, researchers echo opponents of the initiative approved by 61 percent of voters in November 2000. Judges and prosecutors favored drug court programs that include stronger penalties for offenders who skip or fail treatment programs, while Proposition 36 requires that first- and second-time nonviolent drug offenders be sent to treatment programs instead of prison. But the UCLA study, published in the American Society of Criminology journal Criminology & Public Policy, suggests a big problem is that Proposition 36 offenders aren't getting enough treatment to make a difference."  
  

State awards contracts for mental health care (Colorado)
Rocky Mountain News story - "The state has awarded five, four-year contracts worth $657 million to mental health care agencies across the state. The contracts direct where poor, mentally ill patients on Medicaid get care. It's been four years since the contracts were renegotiated. No new names showed up on the list, as the state stayed with current providers..."  
  

Resources for mental health falling short (Florida)
The final installment of a three-part series in the Gainesville Sun - "Now what? Without funding for continuing health care, the population of the mentally ill in Florida's jails and prisons could increase. In 1971, the Florida Legislature passed the Baker Act, which ensures the civil rights of people with a mental illness. Under the Baker Act, the mentally ill can be involuntarily confined for up to 72 hours while they are being evaluated." See also the previous articles, Mental health system is stressed and Florida's mental health system surveyed.  
  

Mental health system ill, report says (Canada)
Story in the Globe and Mail - "Canada's mental health system is in disarray, an interim report released Tuesday by the Senate Committee on Social Affairs says. The report is part of the first phase of an investigation into Canada's mental health system. It offers no recommendations yet, but compiles a summary of mental health services and discusses why they are failing..."  
  

New program centers on mental health for homeless (Illinois)
State Journal-Register story - "Mental Health Centers of Central Illinois has begun a grant-funded program called Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness, or PATH, intended to get Springfield's mentally ill homeless population into services such as rehabilitation and counseling. Mentally ill people tend to distrust mental health services and are reluctant to seek help, said Brenda Diedrich, the administrator for Mental Health Centers of Central Illinois in Sangamon and Menard counties..."  
  

Conference addresses mental health reform (North Carolina)
Story at The Daily Reflector - "The secretary of health and human services for North Carolina pledged support Tuesday for rural and low-wealth communities struggling with mandated mental health care reform. The state recognizes the reform poses greater challenges to such communities, Carmen Hooker Odom said at a conference in Greenville. A centerpiece of the reform involves removing local government agencies from the delivery of mental health services. Instead, the government will manage the delivery of services provided by private groups. However, the reliance on such groups could prove problematic in rural and low-wealth communities..."