Google Tech Talk March 22, 2010 ABSTRACT Presented by Kevin Biglan, MD, MPH and Ray Dorsey, MD, MBA, University of Rochester. The cost of clinical trials is rising, recruiting participants is increasingly difficulty, and monitoring safety is increasingly important. Home and patient appropriate technologies like the Marvell Plug computer and Google products can help address all of these issues. We will discuss our efforts to monitor blood pressure remotely using these technologies in a Michael J. Fox funded Parkinson disease clinical trial. Telemedicine using simple web-based video conferencing using, for example, the Marvell Plug computer and Google’s services can also address large unmet needs in clinical care. Chronic conditions account for 75% of health care expenditures and affect over 140 million Americans. However, many have limited access to physicians, especially specialists, who can improve their care. We will present results of a pilot, randomized controlled trial of increasing specialty access using telemedicine to individuals with Parkinson disease residing in a remote nursing home and remote communities. We discuss future directions, including providing care directly into people’s homes (‘virtual house calls’), and ways that Google’s services can provide additional value. A new variation of the Marvell Plug computer in planned as an interactive television server for the virtual house calls in a upcoming study.
An attractive, highly successful Beverly Hills entertainment lawyer, Terri Cheney had been battling debilitating bipolar disorder for the better part of her lifeâand concealing a pharmacy’s worth of prescription drugs meant to stabilize her moods and make her “normal.” In explosive bursts of prose that mirror the devastating mania and extreme despair of her illness, Cheney describes her roller-coaster existence with shocking honesty, giving brilliant voice to the previously unarticulated madness she endured. Brave, electrifying, poignant, and disturbing, Manic does not simply explain bipolar disorderâit takes us into its grasp and does not let go.
What causes eating disorders? The development of an eating disorder is multifactoral, says Barbara Alderete, LCSW, LPC, LMFT, an eating disorder therapist at Texas Health Springwood Hospital. There seems to be a genetic component, a psychological personality pattern component, and the experience of trauma or abuse during childhood. Also, family dynamics and the culture are a big factor. Participation in programs or activities that may emphasize body type, such as cheerleading, gymnastics, dancing, running, acting, modeling, may also be associated. One of the biggest risk factors is dieting during the teen years. Texas Health Resources www.TexasHealth.org 1-877-THR-WELL Video Rating: 5 / 5
Accessible and clinically relevant, A Clinician’s Guide to Statistics and Epidemiology in Mental Health describes statistical concepts in plain English with minimal mathematical content, making it perfect for the busy health professional. Using clear language in favour of complex terminology, limitations of statistical techniques are emphasized, as well as the importance of interpretation – as opposed to ‘number-crunching’ – in analysis. Uniquely for a text of this kind, there is extensive coverage of causation and the conceptual, philosophical and political factors involved, with forthright discussion of the pharmaceutical industry’s role in psychiatric research. By creating a greater understanding of the world of research, this book empowers health professionals to make their own judgments on which statistics to believe – and why.
The Brunner/Mazel Mental Health Practice Under Managed Care Series addresses the major developments and changes resulting from the introduction of managed care in health care delivery. Volumes in the series enable mental health professionals to provide effective therapy to their patients while conducting and maintaining a successful practice. The series is under general editorial direction of S. Richard Sauber, Ph.D.
A working manual for brief, effective treatment of adjustment disorders. Following the authors’ step-by-step format, the therapist progresses from initial contact and diagnosis through treatment, assessment of progress, and termination. The psychotherapeutic focus is tailored to the demands of managed care programs, and closely follows the DSM-IV — enabling therapists to demonstrate the need for proven-effective treatment appropriate for a specific impairment within a specific time frame as required by managed care and insurance companies.
It is normal to feel a little apprehension and anxiety, especially when you have to try out something new, or you are going to a new place. This apprehension or anxiety is because of the lack of assurance over an unknown outcome. This is because you feel afraid of a negative outcome or the possibility of a failure. The problem comes in when this apprehension or anxiety is already out of hand, in the sense that you are already confined to the safety of your home, and you are already prevented from doing normal activities that will be normally enjoyed by a person.
This state where your decision-making capabilities are already impaired because of groundless and uncontrolled apprehension is called anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorder can prevent you from learning and concentrating on the positive outlook of things, and in worst cases, it can cause you to avoid certain places or people who make you feel nervous. This could also cause extreme irritability and lack of concentration. Anxiety disorder is also the cause of self-doubt, unexplained irritation and depression, which could lead to health problems such as sleep deprivation, nausea, vomiting and weakness. There also rare cases where anxiety disorder causes a rise in blood pressure and heart rate, which can cause loss of breath.
But just like any problem, anxiety disorder can be taken cared of with the proper support. There are institutions and organizations that offer a mental health support system that can help you control your anxiety levels. A mental health network is a group of people who have either devoted their time to study anxiety disorder, or who have had the same problems before. This mental health network can help you take the necessary steps to control your reactions to certain stimuli and give you a more optimistic outlook about life.
Mental health support is not easy to give. This can emotionally take a lot from a person and oftentimes, people who offer this kind of support end up feeling as exhausted as the people they are helping. This kind of support given out by a mental health network is priceless. Because they are offering a lot, and most of the time do not want something in return.
Check out these community mental health centers images:
South Bronx Mental Health Council, Inc. Community Mental Health Center – 1/27/12 Image by NYS OASAS
Commissioner Arlene Gonzalez-Sanchez visits the South Bronx Mental Health Council, Inc. Community Mental Health Center (1/27/12)
Detention centre staff ‘cracked’ Image by publik16
Immigration Minister, Chris Evans… certainly there may be some obligations on the department in relation to these matters. More than 60 former staff at Australian immigration detention centres have reported long-term mental health problems associated with the stress of the job. There were 62 cases of mental illness among former guards at the Woomera and Baxter detention centres in South Australia.
Depression and anxiety are mental health conditions that often coexist, but they aren’t the same. Learn more. mental.healthguru.com
www.facebook.com A woman’s battle with mental illnesses & suicide. Through her journey, she has made it her passion to unite the sufferers of mental health illness and suicide. She is the founder of Death To Breath: Support for sufferers of mental health conditions & suicide. Also a member of MHA and a Field Advocate for AFSP/SPAN-USA 6th Congressional District of WA State. You can follow her advocacy work and contribute at www.facebook.com This video and content is copyright 2011 by the originator. All rights reserved.
According to a news release that was dated May 9, 2006, the “Standing Senate Committee On Social Affairs, Science and Technology” in Canada recommended the creation of a Canadian Mental Health Commission that will be responsible for significantly upgrading the Canadian mental health system. As stated by Senator Michael Kirby, the Chair of the Committee, “The Senate Committee is committed to improving the range, quality and organization of health and support services that are required by the tens of thousands of Canadians who are living with mental illnesses and addictions.”
Funding The Proposed Change
Based on an extensive three-year study on mental health and addiction, the Committee determined that it will cost $ 5.36 billion over a 10-year period for this mental health system upgrade. Where will these funds come from? According to the Committee, the revenue will come from raising the excise tax on alcoholic drinks by 5 cents per drink.
Part of the rationale for the 5-cent increase per drink was obviously the goal of raising the needed funds for the proposed changes in the mental health system. Another justifying factor for the price increase, however, was the fact that since each alcoholic drink will cost more, Canadians will be more inclined to drink lower-alcohol products such as beer and wine instead of liquor.
Let’s Do the Math
At first glance, this proposal seems to make sense. Why shouldn’t those who drink help finance a program that will provide them with a better mental health system? Why not let those who are part of the “problem” become part of the “solution”? This logic seems sound until you do the math. If $ 5.36 billion is needed to help finance the upgraded mental health system, then how many drinks will have to be consumed in a ten-year period to reach $ 5.36 billion dollars? The answer: 107,200,000,000 drinks. That’s 107 billion, 200 million drinks.
To arrive at how many drinks this is per year, all we have to do is divide this number by 10 (for the ten-year program) and the result is 10,720,000,000. This is still a huge number that fortunately can be “massaged” even more. According to The World Factbook website, the population of Canada was estimated to be 33 million people in 2006. Dividing 10,720,000,000 by 33,000,000 equals 325. Putting this in terms that the average person can understand, every man, woman, and child in Canada will have to consume 325 alcoholic drinks per year for the next ten years to finance the new mental health system! Simply put, these numbers are not realistic.
More Flaws
The “logic” of this proposed mental health program also breaks down when it is examined more deeply. For instance, why would people drink lower-alcohol products such as beer if the increased excise tax applies to all alcoholic drinks? To help understand this better, let’s use an example. Let’s say that the average shot in Canada currently costs $ 3.00 and the average beer costs $ 1.00. Based on the proposed price increase, if Joe drinks an average of 5 shots per week, his weekly average alcohol expenditure will be $ 15.25. When the numbers are calculated, this figures out to be 1.7% more than Joe would have spent before the proposed tax increase. Let’s do a similar exercise with beer. Based on the projected price increase, if Pete drinks an average of 5 beers per week, his weekly average alcohol expenditure will be $ 5.25. When the numbers are calculated, this figures out to be 5% more than Pete would have spent before the proposed tax increase. The point: since the proposed price increase affects higher-alcohol products (such as shots) proportionately less than their lower-alcohol counterparts (such as beer), why would Canadians switch to lower-alcohol products?
Alcohol and Mental Health
Another question. What if tens of thousands of Canadians, realizing that drinking alcohol is not good for their “mental health,” significantly reduce their alcohol intake or quit drinking alcoholic beverages altogether? Where will the money come from to offset this lack of revenue? In a similar manner, what if thousands upon thousands of Canadians who drink alcoholic beverages decide that they don’t want to pay the extra excise tax and, as a result, stop drinking alcoholic beverages? If this happens, where will the government get the money needed to transform the mental health system? In other words, does the Canadian government have a realistic “plan B” for this major transformation?
A Logical Contradiction
From a different perspective, isn’t it rather ironic that those who drink alcoholic beverages will pay for the revamped mental health system? Isn’t there a contradiction in logic somewhere in this proposal? Stated differently, if tens of thousands of Canadians have mental illnesses or are addicted to alcohol or drugs, wouldn’t the government want Canadians to drink LESS alcohol in order to reduce the existing alcohol abuse, alcoholism, and alcohol-related mental health problems? Yet according to the current mental health proposal, from strictly a financial standpoint, it would appear that the Canadian government is banking the entire mental health system upgrade on historical data that strongly suggests that Canadians will continue to drink at their current or even higher levels of consumption.
Budgetary Miscalculations
What happens, for instance, if there are cost overruns in the proposed mental health system? There are, of course, two “easy” solutions to this problem: increase the excise tax on each drink or motivate Canadians to drink even more alcoholic beverages. Either “solution,” however, is predicated on the fact that in order to “work,” the upgraded mental health system needs to be funded by Canadians who continue to drink alcoholic beverages.
Conclusion
It appears logical to conclude that the Canadian mental health system is in need of a major overhaul. As with most comprehensive government programs, however, the issue of funding becomes a major obstacle to overcome. The proposed Canadian mental health system upgrade is no exception. Based on the reasons given above, it seems obvious that the Canadian government needs to come up with alternate sources of revenue generation for this worthwhile project. Indeed, to point out one of the major “flaws” in the current proposal, consider the following question: When is more drinking a “good thing?” Answer: when it finances a nationwide mental health system upgrade. Something tells me that Andy Rooney from “60 Minutes” would have a lot of fun with this.
Copyright 2007 – Denny Soinski. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and give the author credit.
WellBalance, a leading adolescent and adult health & wellness organization that operates fitness, health, and weight loss camps for kids and teens aged 10-20 is supporting the 2012 National Childrens Mental Health Awareness Week. An event organized by the National Federation of Families for Childrens Mental Health, National Childrens Mental Health Awareness Week emphasizes youth overcoming trauma.
In observance of this week-long event, WellBalance fitness and weight loss camps are modifying the Motivation chapters of the ME Plan, the scientifically-based Motivate & Educate program that weight loss campers and alumni use to develop lifelong habits that are needed for healthy living. WellBalance will expand on the behavioral curriculum in the ME Plan to help weight loss campers overcome barriers to healthy living, while also developing coping strategies that will lead to a higher degree of wellness.
Children’s mental health week is a very important week for stigmatized obese children and teens, said Dr. Eli Puterman, researcher in behavioral medicine in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco, and a member of the WellBalance Scientific Advisory Board. There’s a large body of research that says that obese children and adolescents are at greater risk for low self esteem, which then places them at increased risk of future depression, anxiety, more disordered eating, and other mental health problems as they mature through their teens and adults. Breaking this cycle of obesity, self esteem and mental health is important to have today’s children free from mental and physical health problems.
The National Federation of Families for Childrens Mental Health began National Childrens Mental Health Awareness Week was created by The National Federation of Families for Childrens Mental Health to raise awareness and to highlight childrens mental health issues.
While the intentions of Michelle Obamas Lets Move! Campaign are good, there is notable percentage of adolescents whose obesity is merely a symptom of a more profound underlying ailment, commented John Gordon, CEO, WellBalances health coaching curriculum is continually refined in order to identify mental health barriers that prevent adolescents from making healthier diet and activity choices and provide new strategies for improved health.
The National Federation of Families for Childrens Mental Health invites all participating organizations to use the 2012 event to encourage positive mental health, wellness, and social development for children and teens. The National Federation of Families for Childrens Mental Health has provided the following guidelines to successfully implement a comprehensive wellness program that meet the goals of this years theme:
Emphasis how mental health is essential to overall wellness
Teach families that profound emotional and mental health ailments in youth are real and can be treated.
Provide information to families with children that develop mental health challenges about services and support systems that are family guided, child driven, and culturally sensitive
Promote the values of dignity, social inclusion, and acceptance to children and families.
Publicize to families and youth that their voice is needed when determining appropriate services and interventions.
For more information about how WellBalance is supporting the mental health of their weight loss campers, please contact WellBalance at (800) 975-0435 or visit http://www.WellBalance.com.
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About WellBalance
WellBalance designed the ME Plan to Motivate & Educate on what medical research shows works for sustainable fitness, weight loss, and health success. Founded by professionals and guided by experts who have led some of the largest behavioral health, mental health, and treatment programs in the country, WellBalance is working to become the leader with a focus on improving an individuals overall health. WellBalance developed the WellBalance Health Score
