After 27 reports over 209 years the Surgeon General of the United States has issued the first report dealing with mental health. It calls for a public health approach, showing that mental disorders are disabling, mental health and mental illness can be seen as points on a continuum, with mind and body being inseparable. It finds that stigma has deep roots and remains very strong. It summarizes key findings in the neurosciences and treatment research, the reorganization of services, and the emergence of powerful family and consumer movements. It deals with mental illness across the life span: special issues relating to children and mental health, adults, older adults, and cultural, ethnic, and racial groups. One in five Americans has a mental disorder inany one year. Fifteen per cent of the adult population and twenty-one per cent of children use some form of mental health service during any year. Costs estimates for various illness, both direct and indirect, have been mounting, with depression recognized as the fourth major cause of disability-adjusted life years. Recommendations include: a) continue to build the scientific base, b) overcome stigma, c) improve public awareness of effective treatment, d) ensure the suply of mental health services and providers, e) ensure delivery of state-of-the-art treatment, f) tailor treatment to age, gender, race, and culture, g) facilitate entry into treatment, h) reduce financial barriers to treatment. The session will hear the Surgeon General's remarks and break out by mental health section committees to formulate recommendations for the APHA.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session participants will have developed recommendations for the APAHA based on the Surgeon General's report
Keywords: Epidemiology, Treatment Efficacy
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.