Child Media Net

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In the wake with the deadly tornadoes that struck central Florida on February 2, Save the Children is dispatching a team of experts to assist children and their families who live in areas hardest hit by the storm.

“Our focus is to provide support for children affected by this natural disaster,” stated Mark K. Shriver, vice president and managing director for Save the Children’s U.S. programs. “We know from our work on the Gulf Coast right after Hurricane Katrina and our response to emergencies around the world that the exclusive wants of children frequently get lost inside the confusion during an emergency.”

Save the Children plans to work with schools and shelters, providing specially tailored activities to bring some normalcy into children’s lives and help them heal emotionally. The agency is reaching out to area emergency shelters to provide safe play kits and activities for children uprooted by the tornadoes.

Save the Children also will offer its signature emotional-support programs — which have assisted thousands of displaced children in Louisiana and Mississippi during the past 18 months — to schools in central Florida, to assist children and their adult caregivers cope with the disaster and process their experiences. In addition, the agency will assess child-care requirements in the region, offering assistance where needed.

“Save the Children has supplied emotional-support programs to much more than 11,000 children who live within the region impacted by Hurricane Katrina, and we hope to provide similar support towards the children of central Florida who have experienced the loss and insecurity that comes from a disaster,” stated Shriver. “Children are very resilient, but they do want parental and community support to assist them within the recovery process.”

Save the Children
http://www.savethechildren.org

3 (4 votes)

Healthcare Prof:

Amendments that restrict civil marriage rights of same-sex couples – such as Proposition 8 that recently passed in California – have led to greater levels of stress and anxiety amongst lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults, as well as among their families of origin, according to several new studies to be published by the American Psychological Association.

One quantitative and two qualitative studies on the impact of anti-GLBT legislation seem in a special concern of the Journal of Counseling Psychology, published by APA. That concern of the journal, to be published in January, will be titled: “Advances in Analysis with Sexual Minority Individuals.”

The quantitative study was based on an online survey of 1,552 lesbian, gay and bisexual adults from all 50 states and the District of Columbia examining “minority stress,” or the chronic social stress that minorities experience consequently of social stigmatization. Participants were grouped into those living within the seven states with an amendment on the ballot in November 2006 that did pass; those living within the 18 states with an amendment that passed before 2006; and those within the 23 states (plus D.C.) with no amendment. (Those living in Alabama, where an amendment passed in June 2006, had been excluded because of the timing, as had been those living in Arizona, where an amendment was defeated.)

The survey results documented increased minority stress, as well as much more general psychological distress, among LGB individuals following the passage of a marriage amendment in 2006, compared to LGB men and women in states without an amendment on the 2006 ballot. The researchers, led by Sharon Scales Rostosky, Ph.D., at the University of Kentucky, located that those participants living in states that passed a measure in 2006 reported increased exposure to negative media messages and negative conversations.

“The results of this study demonstrate that living in a state that has just passed a marriage amendment is associated with higher levels of psychological stress for lesbian, gay and bisexual citizens,” Rostosky said. “And this stress is not due to other pre-existing conditions or factors; it is a direct result of the negative images and messages associated using the ballot campaign and the passage of the amendment.”

The qualitative studies, while much smaller in scope, give voice to some of the individuals directly affected by anti-gay marriage amendments. The first study, “Balancing Dangers: GLBT Experience in a Time of Anti-GLBT Legislation,” focused on 13 GLBT people living in Memphis, Tenn., who had been interviewed at length about their experiences during the 2006 ballot campaign. The researchers, led by Heidi M. Levitt, Ph.D., at the University of Memphis, grouped the respondents’ reactions into eight major themes, or “clusters.” These included, for example: “Initiatives lead to constant painful reminders that I’m seen as less than human by our government and public laws,” and “The irrationality of anti-GLBT initiatives and movements is baffling, painful and scary: We are not who they say we are.”

Participants reported feeling not just alienated from their communities, but fearful that they would lose their children, that they would become victims of anti-gay violence or that they would need to move to a much more accepting community. Some of these anxieties were mitigated by social support.

For instance, one interviewee said he became “petrified ?-of getting raped or roughed up or killed, you know, for doing nothing, basically. I worry about being picked out as a gay guy because my mannerisms are not entirely masculine.” Another said the marriage amendment supporters had been utilizing the Bible “like a brick on us. They are beating us with it.”

Social support from religious institutions, families, GLBT friends and heterosexual allies led most of the participants “to greater feelings of safety, happiness and strength,” the researchers wrote.

And within the third study, 10 family members of GLBT people living in Memphis had been interviewed regarding how anti-GLBT initiatives and movements had affected their family. Their responses were also grouped into clusters of similar themes.

“Some participants identified so deeply with their family member’s experience that they felt equally attacked by these movements and policies,” the researchers wrote. “They considered themselves members of the GLBT community and experienced rejection by others for being a GLBT family member.”

“Typically, we tend to think of anti-GLBT policies such as marriage bans and Proposition 8 as affecting only GLBT folks. Even so, our study suggests that others in addition to GLBT people are also impacted by this legislation and sometimes quite negatively. For example, we learned that some family members experienced a form of secondary minority stress. Although many participants displayed resiliency and effective coping with this stress, some experienced strong negative consequences to their mental and physical well being,” said Jennifer Arm, M.S.

Brent Mallinckrodt, Ph.D., editor of the Journal of Counseling Psychology, said the three articles offer empirical evidence of the harmful psychological and emotional effects of such measures.

“This data is especially timely, as we see the emotionally charged reactions from GLBT folks in the wake of the Proposition 8 passage in California,” he said. “Psychologists serving GLBT clients and their families need to be aware of the real impact of these political forces on the everyday lives of the folks most directly affected.”

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Article: “Marriage Amendments and Psychological Distress in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) Adults,” Sharon Scales Rostosky, Ph.D., and Ellen D.B. Riggle, Ph.D., University of Kentucky; Sharon G. Horne, Ph.D., University of Memphis; and Angela D. Miller, Ph.D., University of Kansas; Journal of Counseling Psychology, Vol. 56, No. 1.

Article: “Balancing Dangers: GLBT Experience in a Time of Anti-GLBT Legislation,” Heidi M. Levitt, Ph.D., Elin Ovrebo, M.S., Mollie B. Anderson-Cleveland, B.S., Christina Leone, M.S., Jae Y. Jeong, M.S., Jennifer R. Arm, M.S., Beth P. Bonin, B.S., John Cicala, M.B.A., Rachel Coleman, M.S., Anna Laurie, M.S., James M., Vardaman, M.B.A., & Sharon G. Horne, Ph.D., Journal of Counseling Psychology, Vol. 56, No. 1.

Article: “Negotiating connection to GLBT experience: Family members’ experience of anti-GLBT movements and policies,” Jennifer R. Arm, M.S., Sharon G. Horne, Ph.D., and Heidi M. Levitt, Ph.D., The University of Memphis; Journal of Counseling Psychology, Vol. 56, No. 1.

Full text of the articles is available from the APA Public Affairs Office and at:
http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/cou-jan09-Rostosky.pdf. (Marriage Amendments and Psychological Distress)
http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/cou-jan09-Levitt.pdf (Balancing Dangers )
http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/cou-jan09-Arm.pdf (Negotiating connection to GLBT experience)

The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world’s largest association of psychologists. APA’s membership includes much more than 148,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial, and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting human welfare.

Source: Kim Mills
American Psychological Association

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On the eve of World Cancer Day, the International UnionAgainst Cancer (UICC) and sanofi-aventis present their initial interim report on the My child mattersprogramme, launched in 2004 to advance the fight against childhood cancers in countries wherepaediatric oncology is nonetheless struggling to emerge. The initiative so far has funded 26 projects* in 16resource-constrained countries: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Egypt, Honduras, Indonesia, Kenya, Mali,Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Romania, Senegal, Tanzania, Ukraine, Venezuela and Vietnam.

Although childhood cancers represent a small percentage of all cancers, the gap within the survival ratebetween industrialized and developing countries is marked and it is in these resource-constrainedcountries that 80% of children with cancer live. Every year, far more than 160,000 children arediagnosed with cancer and approximately 90,000 die. In industrialized countries, nearly 80% of children being treated for cancer will survive. Unfortunately, this survival rate drops to 20% andeven 10% in developing countries where access to information, early detection, effective care andtreatment are typically not available. And yet today, most childhood cancers can be cured provided theyare detected early and treated on time.

Because every child is important, the My Child Matters programme encourages institutions(hospitals, NGOs, etc.) to develop pragmatic approaches to improve awareness, early diagnosis,access to care and treatment, pain control and better management with the social and cultural aspectsof the disease for both children and their families.

Thanks to financial support (up to ?50,000 per year per project), advice from “mentors” on theAdvisory Steering Committee, and the assistance of local sanofi-aventis teams, the pilot projectsare beginning to bear fruit.

So far, 900 members with the medical professions have participated in training sessions on childhoodcancer and its management, 4,000 children have benefited from these programmes, and two,100families are being given support to assist them gain a better understanding of their child’s disease andhow to live with it. In Tanzania for example, the project that was given support has already helpedto reduce the time needed to analyse the results of a biopsy from six to two weeks. The number ofchildhood cancers diagnosed has improved from 145 to 364 at the end of 2006 (2007 objectives areto reduce the time to analysis to under a week and to diagnose 650 children). In Honduras, thetreatment dropout rate has fallen from 22% at the start of the project to 10% at the end of 2006 (theobjective is to reduce it to 5% by the end of 2007). The number of families who have receivedpsychological and social help has also increased, from only a few dozen to start with to 200families in Egypt, 300 in Bangladesh, 360 in Venezuela and 450 in Vietnam by the end of 2006.

These preliminary and encouraging results show that it is probable to help project managers to reachprogressively the objective of giving children from these countries the same chances of survival asthose living in developed countries.

Dr Franco Cavalli, the president of UICC, says, “We must improve the survival rate of children withcancer worldwide. In developing countries, where 80% of children with cancer live and survivalpercentages are the lowest, government health budgets are insufficient to meet all needs. Thanks tothe ‘My Child Matters’ programme, experts communicating through international networks forgevaluable and lasting relationships. This initiative is helping to raise awareness that childhoodcancers respond to treatment and can frequently be cured.”

This commitment is shared by Jean-Fran?ois Dehecq, Chairman of sanofi-aventis, who adds: “Oneof the essential roles of a company like ours is to identify new avenues for research and to makeinnovative and effective treatment available to patients. Our corporate sponsoring action enablesus to go a step further and construct, with UICC, a programme which encourages initiatives incountries where p?diatric oncology is less advanced, by giving them financial support andpromoting an exchange of experience. Helping to even out the excessive differences betweencountries, in particular to help children also means much more solidarity“.

About UICC

The International Union Against Cancer (UICC) is the only international non-governmentalorganization that is dedicated solely towards the global control of cancer. Its vision is of a world wherecancer is eliminated as a major life threatening disease for future generations. With over 270member organizations in much more than 80 countries, UICC is a resource for action and a voice forchange.

About sanofi-aventis

Sanofi-aventis is one with the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. Backed by a world-classR&D organization, sanofi-aventis is developing leading positions in seven majorMain de San Andres University, La Paz
3. Fighting childhood cancers and increasing early diagnosis in paediatric oncology Dr Yolanda Ernst, Instituto del Oriente Boliviano, Santa Cruz

Egypt

1. Increasing awareness and reinforcing social well-being in children with cancer A Omar, Fakkous Cancer Center, Fakkous.
2. Inform and educate to improve patient management in paediatric oncology SA Hadi, National Cancer Institute, Cairo

Honduras

1. Fighting treatment dropout in paediatric oncology patients through the creation of multi-regional satellite clinics L Fu, Hospital Escuela Tegucigalpa

Indonesia

1. Childhood leukaemia and retinoblastoma early detection and reference treatment campaign Dr Melissa S Luwia, Indonesian Cancer Foundation, Jakarta Pusat
2. Programme for early detection and prompt treatment of retinoblastoma in Indonesia Rita S Sitorus,Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, Jakarta Pusat

Kenya

1. Raising awareness of the prevalence of Burkitt’s lymphoma to increase early detection, prompt treatment along with the identification of associated environmental and familial factors Prof Nicholas Anthony Othieno Aninya, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi

Mali

1. Improving medical management and psychosocial support for children with cancer in Mali Dr Togo Boubacar, Gabriel Toure Hospital, Bamako

Morocco

1. National campaign to increase early diagnosis of childhood cancers FM Alaoui, La Maison de l’avenir, Rabat
2. Pain management in children with cancer M Harif, Moroccan Society of Haematology and Paediatric Oncology, Casablanca

Peru

1. Survey of p?diatric oncology in Peru. Proposal to set up a medical children’s home Dr Gustavo Sarria Bardales, INEN (National Institute of Cancer Patients), Lima
2. Improving care and quality of life of children with cancer Nelly Isabel Therese Huamani and CarlosEnrique Preciado Huapaya, ALDIMI, Lima

Philippines

1. Extending access to treatment and improving care of childhood retinoblastoma and leukaemia – JLecciones, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Quezon City

Romania

1. Improvement of diagnostic services for children with cancer Doina Mihaila, St Mary’s EmergencyChildren’s Hospital, Iasi
2. Assessing childhood cancer burden in Romania and suggesting possible improvements Adela Ratiu, Institute of Oncology “Prof Dr Alex Trestioreanu”, Bucharest
3. Building a future for Romanian children living with cancer Olga Rodica Cridland, PAVEL Association, Bucharest

Senegal

1. Setting up a paediatric oncology continuous care unit C Moreira, H?pital le Dantec, Dakar

Tanzania

1. Extending access to treatment for childhood Burkitt’s lymphoma T Ngoma, Ocean Road Cancer Institute, Dar es Salaam

Ukraine

1. Immunocytochemical diagnosis of leukaemias and malignant tumours in children D Gluzman, National academy of Sciences with the Ukraine, Kiev

Venezuela

1. Nutritional and psychosocial support for paediatric oncology patients and their families C Machuca, Oncology Institute, Dr Luis Razetti, Caracas
2. Improving the safety of parenteral nutrition by the creation of a special unit and the training ofhealthcarers C Zappi, Children’s Hospital, JM de los Rios, Caracas

Vietnam

1. Programmes for prevention, care and support of childhood cancers in Vietnamese provinces N. Ba Duc, National Cancer Institute, Hanoi.

sanofi-aventis
sanofi-aventis

Healthcare Prof:

A new study in the journal Psychology of Females Quarterly examined the effects of workplace sexual harassment and found that workers who were harassed report lower levels of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job performance. Personnel also experienced higher levels of psychological distress and physical problems than those who had been not harassed.

Darius K-S Chan, Chun Bun Lam, Suk Yee Chow, and Shu Fai Cheung examined the job-related, psychological, and physical outcomes of sexual harassment within the workplace. Using some statistical techniques, the researchers analyzed findings from 49 studies on workplace harassment, with a total sample size of 89,382 individuals, to investigate the effects of sexual harassment and job-related outcomes. The sample consisted of staff from various countries, with Americans getting the vast majority.

Female workers did not appear to be far more strongly impacted than males. Nevertheless, age did play a role. Sexual harassment experiences had been discovered to be a lot more consistently tied to job-related outcomes, psychological well-being, and physical well being amongst younger personnel than older staff.

“An accurate understanding of sexual harassment outcomes sustains organizational efforts directed at preventive data and legislation,” the authors conclude. “Our results provide solid information for organizations to address the issue of sexual harassment.”

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This study is published in the December 2008 issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly.

Darius Chan, Ph.D., is affiliated with the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Psychology of Ladies Quarterly (PWQ) is really a feminist journal that publishes primarily qualitative and quantitative research with substantive and theoretical merit, in addition to crucial reviews, theoretical articles, and invited book reviews associated towards the psychology of ladies and gender.

Wiley-Blackwell was formed in February 2007 consequently of the acquisition of Blackwell Publishing Ltd. by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and its merger with Wiley’s Scientific, Technical, and Medical business. Together, the companies have created a global publishing business with deep strength in every major academic and professional field. Wiley-Blackwell publishes approximately 1,400 scholarly peer-reviewed journals and an extensive collection of books with global appeal. For much more info on Wiley-Blackwell, please visit http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/ or http://interscience.wiley.com/.

Source: Amy Molnar
Wiley-Blackwell

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The House on Wednesday approved 286-140 a $463 billion spending resolution (HJ Res 20) for fiscal year 2007 that includes a $1.3 billion increase for international HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria programs, the Washington Post reports (Kane, Washington Post, 2/1). The resolution would bring the total for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to $4.5 billion. PEPFAR is a five-year, $15 billion program that directs funding for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria primarily to 15 focus countries and provides funding to the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The $4.5 billion for PEPFAR includes $3.two billion for the State Department’s Global HIV/AIDS Initiative, $712 million for USAID’s Child Survival and Health Program, and $494 million for CDC and HHS global HIV/AIDS activities, according to a House Appropriations Committee summary. Of these amounts, $724 million would be allocated for the U.S. contribution to the Global Fund, with $625 million coming from the State Department and USAID, and $99 million from HHS. In addition, $248 million would be allocated to expand programs under the President’s Malaria Initiative, an increase of $149 million. The resolution also allocates an additional $75.8 million in funding for the Ryan White CARE Act, which gives care and services to people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S., to bring its funding to $1.2 billion (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 1/30). “With the increase … the U.S. is much better placed to go to other countries and urge them to increase their contributions” to the Global Fund, the Global AIDS Alliance said. According to GAA, there were 4.three million new HIV/AIDS cases worldwide last year, and outbreaks of malaria and drug-resistant TB continued (Cowan, Reuters, 1/31). “Given the incredibly difficult budget situation, the U.S. Congress created a bold decision to help those affected by AIDS, TB and malaria around the world,” Natasha Bilimoria, executive director of Friends with the Global Fight, said (Friends with the Global Fight release, 1/31). “What House and Senate leadership have proposed on HIV/AIDS is nothing short of heroic,” Pamela Barnes, president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, said, adding, “We were facing a nightmare situation where treatment for hundreds of thousands of folks was seriously threatened” (EGPAF release, 1/31). The Senate must pass the continuing resolution by Feb. 15 to prevent a “partial government shutdown,” the Post reports. The White House has indicated that President Bush will sign the measure if it is approved (Washington Post, 2/1).

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . ? 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

5 (1 votes)

Healthcare Prof:

We are faced with uncertainty every day. Will our investments pay off? Will we get the promotions we’re hoping for? When faced using the unknown, many people experience some degree of anxiety and discomfort. Exactly how much anxiety someone experiences throughout uncertain times depends on his or her personality profile. In certain, it is the personality trait of Neuroticism that predicts how distressed individuals will probably be when confronted with the unknown.

In a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, University of Toronto psychologists Jacob Hirsh and Michael Inzlicht examined no matter whether neurotic individuals would react a lot more strongly to clear negative information or to uncertainty. The researchers administered a computerized time-estimation job, in which the participants had to indicate when they thought 1 second had passed from the appearance of a symbol on the screen. The participants were then given clear positive, clear negative, or uncertain feedback (i.e., a question mark). All the whilst, the researchers measured the participants’ brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG).

Hirsh and Inzlicht focused on the responses of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a brain area related to error-monitoring and conflict-related anxiety, instrumental in regulating our behavior to environmental change. The results had been clear: stronger responses were observed in this brain region in neurotic people when they were given uncertain feedback compared to when they were given unambiguous negative feedback.

In other words, neurotic individuals experience an immediate, uncomfortable response to uncertainty, even more so than when they’re faced with clear negative details. This suggests that neurotic people would rather receive clear negative feedback than uncertain feedback, even although the outcome of the uncertain feedback could potentially be positive. “Uncertainty might be quite stressful,” says Hirsh, “and high levels of Neuroticism contribute to this dislike of the unknown.” The results of this study have important implications for human behavior, as they suggest that some individuals, namely those high in Neuroticism, “prefer the devil they know more than the devil they don’t know.”

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Psychological Science is ranked among the top 10 general psychology journals for impact by the Institute for Scientific Data.

Article: “The Devil You Know: Neuroticism Predicts Neural Response to Uncertainty”

Source: Catherine West
Association for Psychological Science

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HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt visited Louisiana on Wednesday to promote a plan to reduce the number of uninsured residents in the state that he developed last year with the Louisiana Health Care Redesign Collaborative, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. The plan over five years would redirect $770 million from the state’s Charity Hospital system, which supplies care for low-income, uninsured residents, to provide private insurance coverage for 319,000 adults with annual family incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level. Leavitt said the plan would provide coverage for about 90% of low-income uninsured adults within the state once the program is fully implemented. About $280 million in funding would remain for the state’s hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, rural hospitals and medical education programs at the end of the five-year phase-in period. Leavitt stated that there would be no additional federal funding for the plan. He stated Louisiana should start planning for ways to restructure the current health system simply because there is no guarantee that federal funding for charity care will continue within the future (Moller, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 2/1). “It’s important that Louisiana and every other state have a safety net to be used to break the fall of 5% or 7% (of the uninsured), not 25% or 30%,” Leavitt said, adding, “This is not about eliminating a system of charity care. It’s about reducing the number of people who depend on it.”

Reaction
State Democratic and Republican leaders stated they likely will oppose the plan because it includes no additional federal funding (Shuler, Baton Rouge Advocate, 2/1). “Even longtime proponents of moving away from the charity model said the financing plan presented by Leavitt is unworkable,” the Times-Picayune reports. State officials say that Leavitt’s plan nonetheless would leave at least 400,000 residents without health coverage and that, without the charity system, the uninsured would be forced to seek care through hospital emergency departments in private hospitals. State Senate President Donald Hines (D) said, “My impression is we’re being presented with an unworkable plan that we’re not going to be able to implement.” State Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Fred Cerise stated, “When the trade-off is (to) close (outpatient clinics and preventive services) to insure 40% of the folks, that’s a tough trade-off.” Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) and legislative leaders recently have indicated that they are planning to seek health care system changes that do not require federal approval (New Orleans Times-Picayune, 2/1).

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . ? 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

3 (2 votes)

Healthcare Prof:

As the Conservative party right now predicts that we will see a staggering 26% increase in the number of men and women experiencing mental well being difficulties by 2010 as a direct result of Britain’s economic crisis, leading mental wellness charity Thoughts says that far more investment is required in services to assist cope with this prospective surge.

Mind’s Chief Executive Paul Farmer stated:

“Financial well being and mental wellness are inextricably linked. If people believe that the recession is just about the expense to industry, then think again – it’s also about the wide-ranging human costs. Job insecurity, redundancy, debt and economic issues are all proven to contribute to mental distress. As much more folks come face to face with these problems, there is no doubt that we will see an improve in depression, anxiety and pressure. We want to make sure that these aren’t the initial steps up a one-way street by delivering mental health support when folks require it.

“All the indications are that next year we will see an increase in redundancies across much more and more professions. As jobs are threatened and more folks need to have to seek new employment, it’s vital that we fight discrimination within the workplace to ensure that folks with mental distress are given an equal chance to remain in and locate work.

“No one is immune towards the recession, and no one is immune to the distress this can trigger. It is never been a a lot more crucial time to invest in mental wellness.”

In May possibly 2008, Thoughts published the report ‘In the red: debt and mental health’ which revealed that for individuals who already skilled mental distress, 91% stated it made their mental well being difficulties worse. We would encourage anyone struggling with their finances to talk about their concerns and seek suggestions and aid. Thoughts recently launched a new section on it is website with advice on money management and exactly where to obtain aid: www.mind.org.uk/money

About MIND

MIND may be the leading mental health charity in England and Wales. We perform to create a greater life for everyone with knowledge of mental distress. http://www.mind.org.uk.

lthcare Prof:

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on Tuesday launched an appeal for almost $50 million to expand HIV/AIDS programs in Southern Africa, VOA News reports (Schlein, VOA News, 1/30). The funds will be allocated to initiatives that are part of a five-year HIV/AIDS control plan launched in 10 Southern African countries in November 2006, according to an IFRC release (IFRC release, 1/30). The plan is part with the new International Federation Global HIV and AIDS Alliance, which seeks to prevent new HIV cases and bolster treatment and support. The five-year initiative will cover Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Francoise Le Goff, IFRC’s chief representative in the region, said. She added that the program aims to reach 50 million individuals, as well as provide services to more than 250,000 HIV-positive men and women and 460,000 children who have lost at least one parent to AIDS-related illnesses (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 11/2/06). “HIV has destroyed the very fabric of communities in many sub-Saharan countries and is on the increase across Asia and Eastern Europe,” Mukesh Kapila, IFRC special representative for HIV/AIDS, stated, adding, “We must not let the virus do to Asia, or any other continent, what it has done in sub-Saharan Africa. That would be unforgivable.” IFRC in 2007 plans to increase HIV/AIDS services in Southern Africa and to increase efforts to combat the disease in Asia and Eastern Europe, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports (AP/International Herald Tribune, 1/30). The $50 million for Southern Africa is part of IFRC’s call for $286 million to fund its work in 2007, especially within the areas of climate change and HIV/AIDS (VOA News, 1/30).

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . ? 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.