Asian American Teenage Girls Have Highest Rates of Depression (posted 3/4)

Asian American teenage girls have the highest rate of depressive symptoms of any racial, ethnic or gender group according to a report released today by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). The report is based on a "listening session" with mental health experts from different Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities held in Los Angeles in November 2010. Key issues in the report include barriers to mental health services and negative perceptions of mental health problems particular to AAPI communities.  To download the report and learn more about mental health issues and the AAPI comunity, visit the NAMI website.

The report highlights statistics from the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) and National Asian Women's Health Organization (NAWHO) posing concern.

• Asian American girls have the highest rates of depressive symptoms of any racial/ethnic or gender group;
• Young Asian American women ages 15 to 24 die from suicide at a higher rate than other racial/ethnic groups;
• Suicide is the fifth leading cause of death among Asian Americans overall, compared to the ninth leading cause of death for white Americans;
• Older Asian American women have the highest suicide rate of all women over 65; and
• Among Southeast Asians, 71 percent meet criteria for major affective disorders such as depression—with 81 percent among Cambodians and 85 percent among Hmong.

"Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders represent a rich diversity of languages and cultures," said NAMI Executive Director Michael Fitzpatrick. "They include traditions from China, India, Vietnam, Korea and the Philippines to name only a few. Mental health care must recognize cultural differences as well as common inside our broader national community."

Recommendations include:

• A national strategy of outreach and engagement using cultural messages, ambassadors and social media;
• A linguistically and culturally responsive mental health workforce, including recruitment of bilingual and bicultural members of the AAPI community; and
• Recognition of cultural influences such as tight-knit family connections and individual and family desires to avoid stigma and shame from seeking treatment.

To read the full press release and learn more about NAMI, visit the NAMI website.

 

Health Starts Where We Live, Learn, Work and Play (posted 3/4)

These four reports from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) delve into the integral link between our health and key social factors. 

• Live: Living Cities CEO Ben Hecht, an effective social entrepreneur, says “No environment is more influential on health than the home.”
• Learn: Former Education Secretary and former South Carolina Governor Richard W. Riley says education can lead to a longer, healthier life. So we must start by improving the high school graduation rate in this country.
• Work: Timberland CEO Jeffrey B. Swartz believes the relationship between our work and our health is critical, and business leaders and employees should view “work as a place of opportunity—a source of support, satisfaction and motivation.”
• Play: National Institute for Play Director Stuart Brown, M.D., says that play shapes our brains, makes us smarter, more adaptable people and more empathetic.

To download all four reports visit the RWJF website.

HHS Budget Unveiled – Watch the Press Conference (posted 2/24)

On Monday, February 14, 2011, Secretary Sebellius and HHS senior leadership presented the HHS FY 2012 budget.  Secretary Sebelius and HHS senior leadership presented the HHS FY 2012 budget during a live webcast.  Watch the event on YouTube.

The President’s FY 2012 Budget for HHS totals $891.6 billion in outlays. The Budget proposes $79.9 billion in discretionary budget authority. The Budget supports the goals of HHS including to: Transform Health Care; Advance Scientific Knowledge and Innovation; Advance the Health, Safety, and Well-Being of the American People; Increase Efficiency, Transparency, and Accountability of HHS Programs; and, Strengthen the Nation’s Health and Human Service Infrastructure and Workforce.

To download the budget in bried, the full budget, and the Operating Divisions budgets visit the Health and Human Services website.

SAMHSA Releases Mental Health, United States, 2008 (posted 2/24)

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released the most recent version of the report, Mental Health, United States, 2008.  This publication is the latest edition of a biannual publication issued by the SAMHSA since 1980. The current volume provides information on the mental health status of the U.S. population, the providers and settings for mental health services, the types of mental health services and rates of utilization, and expenditures and sources of funding for mental health services. In contrast to previous editions of the publication, which reported primarily on data related to activities funded and operated by state mental health authorities, this volume incorporates information from a wide variety of sources in an effort to provide a broader perspective on many complex components of nation’s mental health system.

Audiences for this report include state officials and policymakers, mental health researchers, advocacy organizations, mental health consumers, family members, and anyone interested in learning about populations served by the U.S. mental health system. Mental Health, United States 2008 includes information on suicide rates and trends by state, gender, age group, and race/ethnicity; risk factors for suicide; suicidal behavior and degree of severity; and the percentage of schools offering suicide prevention services.

New Issue Brief: Infants of Depressed Mothers Living in Poverty (posted 2/23)

Infants of Depressed Mothers Living in Poverty: Opportunities to Identify and Serve

This brief produced by the Urban Institute offers a first-time national look at the characteristics, access to services, and parenting approaches for infants living in poverty whose mothers are depressed. Results reveal that eleven percent of infants living in poverty have a mother suffering from severe depression. At the same time, many of these families are connected to services, such as WIC, health care services, food stamps, and TANF, presenting opportunities for policymakers and service providers to help these families. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation funded this research as part of an Urban Institute project identifying service strategies to help connect depressed mothers with treatment. For more information visit the Urban Institute website.

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