Improving The Physical Health and Wellbeing of Adult Users of Mental Health Services Through Multi-Agency Working (Adobe Acrobat document)
"A number of recommendations arising from a research project exploring perceptions of the physical health of adults with serious mental health problems have been implemented in the Cambridge locality of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, in England over the last two years. This project reported on findings from parallel focus groups discussions with service users and carers plus interviews with front-line inpatient and community mental health staff..."
Monday, December 06, 2004
New York Times story - "In Washington, the phrase 'universal coverage' is rarely mentioned as the way to provide health insurance for the 45 million uninsured Americans. It evokes memories of the Clinton administration's sobering failure to forge a national health care plan. Yet among health care experts there is a surprising consensus that the United States must inevitably adopt some kind of universal coverage..." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].
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New York Times story - "Double digit annual increases in the cost of health care cannot go on much longer, industry specialists say, but American consumers will have to wait at least a couple of more years before the increases start to slow. Many health plan members, meanwhile, will again face higher costs in the form of rising deductibles, co-payments and monthly premiums. The insurance companies will continue to thrive, even though they have begun to compete more on prices to gain market share in some localities, Wall Street securities analysts say. To maintain profit margins, they are reducing overhead costs with the help of improved technology..." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].
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Health Day Reporter story reprinted at Yahoo - "Depression might be more harmful than the other chronic diseases that can strike elderly people, a new study claims. Even though heart and lung disease can take their toll on seniors, it is the accompanying depression that can most affect their quality of life, University of Texas researchers found. Fortunately, seniors can improve their quality of life with diagnosis and treatment despite having debilitating physical conditions, according to the report in the November/December issue of the Annals of Family Medicine."
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Item in CMHA/Ontario's Mental Health Notes - "Inside Outside: Building a Meaningful Life after the Hospital, a new documentary film by ex-patient filmmakers Pat Deegan and Terry Strecker, shows that recovery is possible, even for people who are seen as severely disabled. People with significant personal histories of psychiatric hospitalization are interviewed about their experience of developing meaningful lives for themselves in the community. They discuss their fear of leaving hospital and talk about the different therapeutic, self-help, practical (housing, employment, transportation) and spiritual supports they used to rebuild their lives..."
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Indiana University press release reprinted at EurekAlert - "Diabetics with mental disorders do not have as good blood sugar control as diabetics without mental illness and are more likely to suffer one or more diabetes complication including loss of kidney function, loss of sensation in the feet, and visual problems (including blindness) than diabetics without mental illness, according to a study published in the December issue of Medical Care."
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Story at 4NI - "The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued new advice to patients and doctors about the group of antidepressants known as SSRI's, today. The updated advice follows the biggest and most thorough review of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressants, by an independent group of medical experts. The review, which examined hundreds of clinical trials, was set up to look at the safety of SSRIs, with a particular emphasis on possible suicidal behaviour and withdrawal reactions..." See also, at the MHRA web site, a letter sent to health professionals and a questions and answers document, and a Wyeth press release, disagreeing with the proposed label changes for Effexor and Effexor XL.
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Copyright 2003 © Bill Davis.
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