News

One of the challenges in the effort to combat health disparities in the United States is the growing shortage of qualified and diverse health professionals in all aspects of public health. To replenish the nearly one in four public health professionals entering retirement, schools of public health will have to triple the current number of graduates over the next several years. The Pew Research Center reports that Americans are more racially and ethnically diverse than in the past, and that the U.S. is projected to be even more diverse in the coming decades. As the cultural landscape of this country evolves, it is critical that the emerging faces of the public health workforce reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity in communities across the U.S.

In the face of these challenges, the HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) understands the tremendous contribution that young adults can make in reducing health disparities and is dedicated to advancing and disseminating knowledge in the field of health equity. To this end, OMH has launched the Youth Heath Equity Model of Practice (YHEMOP).

The Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is excited to announce that the Youth Health Equity Model of Practice (YHEMOP) Summer 2019 Health Equity Fellow application is now available! Through its YHEMOP program, OMH places students enrolled in higher education studies into short-term health equity fellowships to help meet the needs of diverse organizations.

Application Information

Applications for Summer of 2019 should be submitted via mail directly to the following address with a postmarked date of February 22, 2019:

YHEMOP Program

805 Fifteenth Street NW, Suite 910

Washington, DC 20005

Application requirements include: YHEMOP application with Placement Site rankings, current resume, personal statement, and a letter of recommendation submitted directly by the recommender (also must be postmarked by February 22, 2019).

For more information on the YHEMOP Program experience and requirements, visit the YHEMOP webpage or email OMHYHEMOP@atlasresearch.us.

As part of the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) celebration of 50 years of independent and distinct service as a professional association, dedicated to the mental health and wellness of African American persons, families and community, they invite you to help celebrate the service and significance of the ABPsi at their 51st annual International convention.

The ABPsi International Convention provides an outstanding educational program, which includes continuing education units and general professional development opportunities for attendees. Keynote speakers, guest panelists and general sessions cover a diverse array of topics related to the practice, research and professional training related to the total well-being of our world community. In addition to over 80 presentations, the Annual Business and Committee meetings are held, and students and early career professionals have the opportunities to be mentored by the association’s elders and seasoned members.

Presenter Guidelines: Presentation slots are very limited, and there will not be an extension of the due date; Presenters will be limited to conduct a maximum of two sessions, either as a lead presenter or a co-presenter; All Presenters must be registered for the convention.

Presentations will be organized in the following tracks:

• Traditional Healing Practices
• Mental Health Research & Services
• Community Healing & Restoration Context of Power & Privilege
• Industrial & Organizational Psychology
• School & Education
• Other (specify)

Submission Process: Proposals submitted for presentation consideration must be related to the conference theme: “Afrikan Psychology & Afrifuturism: Psychological Liberation & Spiritual Illumination.”

Abstracts are due February 15, 2019.

Learn more about the 2019 Convention at ABPsi.org.

Click here to submit an abstract proposal packet for the ABPsi 2019 Convention!

Hawaii County currently has no program to assist law enforcement when dealing with those who suffer from a mental illness. However, efforts continue on state and local levels to give officers the resources they need when encountering these individuals.

“Police officers cannot replace mental health professionals and mental health professionals cannot replace police officers,” said Dr. Michael Champion, forensic chief for the Department of Health in the Adult Mental Health Division at the State of Hawaii Police Commissioners’ Conference.

“I think what we see in trends around the country are correctional facilities becoming de facto mental health facilities,” Champion said.

Mental health experts discussed two programs that allow law enforcement and health professionals to work together to help these individuals who deal with mental illness. The Sequential Intercept Model has been operating in Honolulu for a year and was recently rolled out in Maui County.  The model is underway in Hawaii County. Champion said the goal is get the program statewide.

Champion said the Sequential Intercept Model provides a pathway for mental health professionals to understand how a person travels in the criminal justice system and how they can intervene.

Steve Balcom, Crisis Services Coordinator, said there are five intercept points in the model where programs and services are designed to help those with mental illness.

“What we are going to talk about is there are other options that hopefully not have these individuals penetrate the criminal justice system,” Balcom said.

The Mental Health Emergency Worker program is found in Intercept 1. The program is designed to divert individuals with mental illness from arrest in favor of a mental health evaluation when those individuals come into contact with law enforcement.

“It’s important for the mental health emergency workers to understand what their role is as well as what your role is,” he said of police officers.

Read more on WestHawaiiToday.com.

Many people make New Year’s resolutions to live a healthier lifestyle. If you use commercial tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars, and chewing tobacco among others, quitting tobacco (or helping someone quit tobacco) may be on your list of New Year’s resolutions. Stopping tobacco use has many health benefits, including lower risks for many types of cancer and cardiovascular diseases (e.g., stroke, heart diseases), and longer life expectancy. However, changing behaviors is hard. Here is a short guide to help achieve your New Year’s resolution to quit tobacco products.

All commercial tobacco products are harmful

The harms of cigarette smoking, as well as smokeless tobacco use, are well documented. Cigar use is also harmful and particularly common among Blacks in the United States. A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concluded that e-cigarette use likewise poses health risks.

Some cigarette smokers try to quit smoking by switching from cigarettes to products that they believe to be less harmful than cigarettes. However, no studies to date have shown that such a strategy is effective in quitting cigarette smoking. So, it is important for your health to stop using all commercial tobacco products.

Find your allies

Many tobacco users try to quit tobacco “cold turkey”; that is, they stop using tobacco abruptly without using any cessation aids. It is true that people can quit tobacco solely with willpower, just like people can multiply 5-digit numbers in their head. As calculators make math easier for us, cessation aids, including nicotine gums and patches, prescription medications, and support programs, will make quitting tobacco easier. Unfortunately, compared with non-Hispanic White smokers, minority smokers are less likely to use these cessation aids. Try them out and find the right one that works for you! Smoking cessation support programs are available for free at https://smokefree.gov/. 

Read more on NIMHD.gov.

A new faith-based program called Cempa Talks is launching in Chattanooga service provider Cempa Community Care to address HIV disparities among the African-American and Latino communities.

Cempa Talks will include a youth ambassador program as well as symposia held in houses of worship, ministries and youth groups across urban Chattanooga.  The goal is to raise awareness and education about HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and to lower rates of transmission.

Reaching minority communities in the city is important because more than 55 percent of people living with HIV in Chattanooga are African American. Overall in the United States, African Americans represent 12 to 13 percent of the population and account for 44 percent of all HIV diagnoses. In Tennessee, they make up 16 percent of the population but account for 56 percent of all HIV diagnoses, according to data from the state health department.

“With various disparities existing across the state of Tennessee, the Tennessee Department of Health’s Office of Minority Health and Disparities Elimination [OMHDE] work to ensure that we are intentional in our efforts to address those with the greatest need,” said Monique Anthony, director of OMHDE, in the newspaper article. “To protect, promote and improve the health and prosperity of people in Tennessee is our mission. It is our goal to empower communities to support optimal health for all and to eliminate disparities for racial, ethnic and underserved populations. The OMHDE Community and Faith-Based Health Disparities grant is one strategy to build the capacity of our partners and ensure their voices are heard.”

Read more on POZ.com.

With an estimated 115 people dying each day from opioid abuse, the issue has become an epidemic, drawing attention from the White House, Congress, law enforcement and the healthcare industry. To address the crisis, healthcare providers are looking to treatment plans that integrate addiction control with behavioral and psychiatric care, and using platforms that not only span populations but can provide personalized care.

In applying mHealth and telehealth technology to addiction treatment, healthcare providers are looking to create a digital profile of the patient. While traditional treatment plans have focused on group therapy and care in the doctor’s office, connected health platforms enable providers to work with the patient at any time and place, and to see what the patient goes through each day.

“We’re building a panoramic view of your life,” says Jacob Levenson, CEO of MAP Health Management, an Austin, Texas-based, nationwide network of close to 100 addiction treatment providers that has adopted digital health tools for care management and coordination. The idea, he says, is to give providers insight into what triggers a patient’s behaviors, and to create treatment plans that address those triggers and prevent relapses.

Applying Connected Care Solutions to a National Crisis

Healthcare providers are finding many different uses for connected care in the substance abuse space. Examples include:

• mHealth apps that give users access to coping skills and care resources, peer support and on-demand access to caregivers in times of crisis
• Digital messaging platforms that allow care providers,  family members, or peer support group members to deliver timely messages of support
• Mobile health units, deployed to urban neighborhoods, rural communities and even high-traffic areas like schools, prisons and retail centers, that essentially bring the doctor’s office to patients with access issues
• Telemedicine and telehealth platforms that enable patients to engage in virtual visits with their care provider or a mental health specialist from the comfort and anonymity of their own home
• Telemedicine platforms that enable rural providers and those dealing with high-impact populations to collaborate with substance abuse experts and mental health experts on the latest treatments, as well as to talk about difficult cases or chat with peers
• mHealth wearables that monitor a user’s vital signs and issue alerts – to the user and/or the user’s care team – at times of stress
• Apps and wearables that measure medication adherence in medication assisted treatment (MAT) programs
• mHealth devices (including patches, ingestibles and wearables) that can deliver timed doses of medication to help users manage pain or stressful situations

“Collaboration among multiple providers and organizations that address the public health issues associated with opioid abuse are crucial,” The Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) reported in a December 2017 article. “When diagnosing and treating opioid abuse, skilled practitioners (located remotely) can provide an array of integrated patient services using telehealth technology.”

“Through telehealth, participants can receive needed treatment by accessing expert help without current barriers, receive needed medications, be taught new skills to prevent relapse, and make important connections with others with healthcare system change,” the article added.

Read more on mHealthIntelligence.com