Health Advocacy Campaign
Health Advocacy Campaign: Fighting Mental Illnesses one Day at A Time
Millions of American’s are affected by mental health illnesses. As a nurse I understand that mental health illnesses have no respect of person. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reported that approximately 61.5 million Americans are affected by mental illness in a given year, and almost 13.6 million individuals live with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, depression, or bipolar disorder (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2013). http://www.nami.org/factsheets/mentalillness_factsheet.pdf. Further, data revealed that 20 percent of youth ages 13 to 18 years old have experienced severe mental disorders within a given year, and about 13 percent of these populations are pediatrics patients that range between the ages of ages 8 to 15 years old. The United States spends nearly $193.2 billion per year on mental health diseases (NAMI, 2013) proving that mental health illnesses are a major public health concern. Crises around the world have caused a greater shift in the efforts to promote wellness within communities. Public health priorities are more geared towards communities working together to combat the devastating tragedies that continue to affect many schools and communities within the United States. It has been estimated that by the year 2020 depression will be the second largest killer, and many communities and schools have already begin to experience the horrific repercussions. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop a health advocacy campaign that will more readily identify mental health illnesses as well as explore realistic methods to promote policies as well as improve community health outcomes.
Population Health Issue and Population Affected
Depression is a chronic medical condition that affects the way in which individuals feel, think, and behave. At some time in every individuals life sadness will be experienced; however, depression is far more serious.
Millions of American’s are affected by mental health illnesses. As a nurse I understand that mental health illnesses have no respect of person. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reported that approximately 61.5 million Americans are affected by mental illness in a given year, and almost 13.6 million individuals live with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, depression, or bipolar disorder (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2013). http://www.nami.org/factsheets/mentalillness_factsheet.pdf. Further, data revealed that 20 percent of youth ages 13 to 18 years old have experienced severe mental disorders within a given year, and about 13 percent of these populations are pediatrics patients that range between the ages of ages 8 to 15 years old. The United States spends nearly $193.2 billion per year on mental health diseases (NAMI, 2013) proving that mental health illnesses are a major public health concern. Crises around the world have caused a greater shift in the efforts to promote wellness within communities. Public health priorities are more geared towards communities working together to combat the devastating tragedies that continue to affect many schools and communities within the United States. It has been estimated that by the year 2020 depression will be the second largest killer, and many communities and schools have already begin to experience the horrific repercussions. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop a health advocacy campaign that will more readily identify mental health illnesses as well as explore realistic methods to promote policies as well as improve community health outcomes.
Population Health Issue and Population Affected
Depression is a chronic medical condition that affects the way in which individuals feel, think, and behave. At some time in every individuals life sadness will be experienced; however, depression is far more serious.
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