NAMI launches new health education program for people with serious mental illness
March 23, 2016
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.
"Hearts and Minds" is funded by OptumHealth and the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at the University of California-San Francisco.
SOURCE National Alliance on Mental Illness