Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Physical depression ails ignored BBC story - "Although most people with depression have physical symptoms, few discuss them with their doctor, a survey shows. More than eight out of 10 will experience fatigue and nearly the same number will have difficulty sleeping, the Depression Alliance found. Yet only two-thirds will raise these issues with their doctor. Doctors urged any person who thought they might be depressed to seek help, and said treatments were available that were extremely effective."
Out of the Shadows: Using Human Rights Approaches to Secure Dignity and Well-Being for People with Mental Disabilities Article in
PLoS Medicine - "Mental health is perhaps the most neglected area of health policy and programming. According to the 2001 World Health Report, “some 450 million people suffer from a mental or behavioral disorder, yet only a small minority of them receive even the most basic treatment”. More than 40% of countries have no mental health policy and over 30% have no mental health program. Over 90% of countries have no mental health policy that includes children and adolescents. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental and behavioral disorders are estimated to account for 12% of the global burden of disease, yet the mental health budgets of the majority of countries constitute less than 1% of their total health expenditures. The relationship between disease burden and disease spending is clearly disproportionate. Those few who do receive services often fare just as badly..."
Uninsured Americans with Chronic Health Conditions: Key Findings from the National Health Interview Survey 24 page report in
Adobe Acrobat format - "The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) commissioned researchers Amy Davidoff of the Department of Public Policy of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Genevieve Kenney, of the Health Policy Center at The Urban Institute, to document the prevalence and impact of selected chronic health conditions among the uninsured.1 Using the most recent data from the National Center for Health Statistics’ National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the researchers quantified the number of uninsured adults with chronic conditions, overall and by race and ethnicity, and examined whether they experience gaps in their access to care. Researchers further examined access problems faced by uninsured adults with different chronic health problems. The results are startling..."
Medication or psychotherapy effective in treating depressed patients when the other is not Press release from
JAMA and Archives Journals - "Switching from an antidepressant medication to psychotherapy or vice versa may improve symptoms in chronically depressed patients who prove unresponsive to their initial treatment, according to an article in the May issue of
Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. 'A substantial proportion of patients treated for depression do not respond to the initial trial of either an antidepressant medication or depression-targeted psychotherapy,' according to background information in the article. For those resistant to treatment there are several options available, including switching medication, enhancing or combining medications, and switching to or enhancing treatment with psychotherapy."
Response of New York City public school children to September 11 Press release from the
Journal of the American Medical Association - "Six months after the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, a high proportion of New York City school children had one or more probable anxiety/depressive disorders, according to an article in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The psychological consequences of a terror attack may be particularly great for children who are exposed to the traumatic event, according to background information in the article. Previous studies have shown that children exposed to mass trauma have elevated post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression..."
Computer Test for Specific Maladaptive Traits Offers Hope for Clearer Diagnosis, Treatment of Personality Disorders University of Buffalo press release - "A new version of a reliable and well-regarded dimensional test for personality disorders developed by a University at Buffalo researcher and clinician may lead to clearer diagnosis of personality disorders and point toward more precise and specific treatment plans for the more than 31 million Americans affected by them. Developed by Leonard Simms, Ph.D., assistant professor and researcher in the Department of Psychology, UB College of Arts and Sciences, the test is a computerized adaptive version of the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP), a 375-item schedule developed in 1993 by Lee Anna Clark, Ph.D., of the University of Iowa..."
Hospital chief says state needs more mental health care beds (Alabama) Dateline Alabama story - "A Columbia hospital chief told the Mental Health Commission that the state needs to provide more beds for mentally ill patients because facilities are full. 'Open more beds and get your priorities right,' Kester S. Freeman Jr., chief executive of Palmetto Health, told commissioners Tuesday at their meeting. Last year, Freeman said, the state was 70 to 80 hospital beds short of its needs. He said the hospitals' mental patient holding rooms begin getting busier Thursdays and continue amassing patients through the weekend, peaking on Monday mornings. 'They're in the wrong place getting the wrong kind of care,' said Freeman, who blames the Department of Mental Health. 'I urge them to look at their whole philosophy of care. Deinstitutionalization doesn't work, and it's not working in this state today.' "
Mental health care lacking for most children in city (Wisconsin) Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel story - "A report released today, offering the most comprehensive accounting to date of the mental health needs of Milwaukee's children, finds a glaring need for more therapists ... who cater to poor minority children. The report estimates that 37,000 children in Milwaukee County - 26,000 in the city of Milwaukee - need mental health care. Roughly 8,500 of those children come from low-income homes where mental health care is almost always lacking, the report says. "
