"Hearts and Minds" Education Program Launched: On Average,
People with Mental illness Live 25 Years Less than Other
Americans
February 17,
2010
Arlington, VA, —The
National Alliance on Mental Illness (
NAMI
) has launched a new health education
program to promote sound "mind and body" health practices among
individuals who live with serious mental illness.
The
"Hearts and Minds"
initiative takes aim at risk
factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and
obesity for major illnesses such as heart disease, cancer and
diabetes.
“Hearts and Minds" is
funded by OptumHealth and the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center
at the University of California-San Francisco.
The self-help program's
focus on wellness will inspire health and fitness practices
familiar to many Americans—such as diet, exercise and smoking
cessation. The main difference is the size of the
challenge.
"Wellness is everyone’s
concern," said NAMI Executive Director Mike Fitzpatrick. "But it is
especially urgent for people living with serious mental
illness."
People living with serious
mental illness such as major depression, bipolar disorder and
schizophrenia
live on average 25 years less
than other Americans.
The program consists of
five key components:
-
A special interactive
“Hearts & Minds” Web site including discussion
groups
-
A facilitator’s guide and
tool kit for local community discussions
-
A DVD that can be
downloaded or purchased through NAMI’s online store
-
A booklet on health
strategies and risks that also can be downloaded or
purchased
-
Printed fact sheets on a
broad range of topics
"Many kinds of risk
factors contribute to health challenges for people with mental
illnesses," said NAMI Medical Director Ken Duckworth, M.D. "Many
are preventable or reversible."
"They include isolation,
relatively low incomes, sedentary lifestyles, smoking as a form of
self-medication and the side-effects of some medications for mental
illness."
"There has been
significant progress in treatment options for mental illness to
support recovery, but for every individual, each option requires
careful assessment of benefits and risks."
"Hearts and Minds will
empower people to minimize and manage health risks to support
wellness and recovery,” Duckworth said.
"Strong partnerships can
create new resources and opportunities to help people with mental
illness live full and productive lives," said Andy Sekel, executive
vice president, OptumHealth. "We are proud to sponsor NAMI's
'Hearts and Minds' education program because it bridges mental and
physical health to address the needs of the whole
person."
"Persons with mental
illnesses deserve to live a full and healthy life," said Steven A.
Schroeder, M.D., director of the Smoking Cessation Leadership
Center. "At present, far too many compromise that opportunity
because they smoke cigarettes, are overweight and don’t get
sufficient exercise."
"'Hearts and Minds'
includes a timely video that provides helpful suggestions for how
to attain wellness. It should be watched by all persons
affected by mental illness, including family members and other
loved ones."
About
NAMI
NAMI (National Alliance on
Mental Illness) is the nation's largest grassroots mental health
organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and
families affected by
mental
illness
. NAMI
has over 1100 state and local affiliates that engage in research,
education, support and advocacy. For more information
see
www.nami.org
About OptumHealth
OptumHealth Inc. helps
individuals navigate the health care system, finance their health
care needs and achieve their health and well-being goals. The
company’s personalized health advocacy and engagement programs tap
a unique combination of capabilities that encompass public sector
solutions, care solutions, behavioral solutions, specialty benefits
and financial services. Serving nearly 60 million people,
OptumHealth is one of the nation’s
largest health and wellness businesses, and is a UnitedHealth Group
(NYSE: UNH) company
. More information about OptumHealth can be found at
www.optumhealth.com
.
About the
Smoking Cessation Leadership Center
The Smoking Cessation
Leadership Center of the University of California-San Francisco is
a national program office of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
that aims to increase smoking cessation rates and increase the
number of health professionals who help smokers quit. The Center
creates partnerships for results with a variety of groups and
institutions to develop and implement action plans around smoking
cessation. For more information see
http://smokingcessationleadership.ucsf.edu
.
Contacts
NAMI
Christine
Armstrong
christinea@nami.org
703-312-7893
Optum
Health
Brad
Lotterman
Brad.lotterman@optumhealth.com
714-445-0453
SCLC
Catherine Saucedo
csaucedo@medicine.ucsf.edu
415-502-8880
www.nami.org/heartsandminds
http://twitter.com/namicommunicate
http://www.facebook.com/pages/NAMI/85273022315
www.optumhealth.com
http://smokingcessationleadership.ucsf.edu
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