What does it take to heal from mental illness? A documentary film

I wanted to share with all of you some amazing work that my colleague Pearl Park is doing with the Asian community and mental illness.  Please check out the below film trailer.

BOUT THE FILM

What does it take to heal from mental illness? This 56-minute
documentary film Can follows 37-year-old Can Truong’s journey of
trying to overcome depression and bipolar disorder over a 3 and 1/2
year period. After trying more than 20 different medications and
undergoing 7 hospitalizations and 15 electro-convulsive shock
treatments without success, he falls into suicidal despair. Shortly
after, he embarks on healing journey of the emotional and spiritual
kind as he becomes one of the few Asian Americans active in the mental
health consumer movement, a national civil rights effort by people
with mental illnesses for autonomy and dignity.
http://youtu.be/V720lROtoPE

Health Equity Council New Guide--Public Health Call to Action: Decreasing High School Dropout Rates

Some of us may say - what high school dropout has to do with public health?  Well, it does relates very closely.  By taking action in looking at the different factors of why young people dropout of high school, the better we can understand and take action in preventing negative ripple effect later in life.  The more poverty, lack of education, poor healthy life styles, the more public health problems will arise.


The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors has just released a new Community Action Guide--A Public Health Call to Action: Decreasing High School Dropout Rates (attached). The new guide produced by the Association's Health Equity Council explores the impact of education on health and offers guidance to communities and state health departments on effective ways to increase the number of students graduating high school.


A publication by Reimer and Smink (2005) indicates that the U.S. death rate for those with fewer than 12 years of education is 2.5 times higher than the rate of those with 13 or more years. Graduation rates and therefore health impact vary by socioeconomic class, race, gender, disability status and geographic location. The Guide provides resources to understanding dropout rates, steps for action, and current promising practices. 


Please feel free to share this guide and refer to the NACDD Health Equity Council website for more great resources and tools. 


If you have questions about this guide or would like more information on the Council please contact Gail Brandt at gbrandt@chronicdisease.org 

Dao Management Consulting Services, Inc.: The Functionality of a Cultural Broker and a Healt...

Dao Management Consulting Services, Inc.: The Functionality of a Cultural Broker and a Healt...: (This article is a revised version from the one published online June 10, 2011 by author) Health educators have the opport...

The Functionality of a Cultural Broker and a Health Educator in Multicultural Communities

(This article is a revised version from the one published online June 10, 2011 by author)

Health educators have the opportunity of being agents of change, mediators, cultural brokers, and catalyst.  Hospitals, community health centers, individual practitioners, community health educators are implementing a variety of strategies to effectively communicate with patients/consumers.  How we approach this is a matter of deciding which strategies work best in different settings.  There are two ways that have proven to be effective in enhancing communication with patient/consumers, cultural broker and health promoter/promotora.  However, it is important to know the functionality of these roles.  A cultural broker and a community health educator have similar goals and responsibilities, but it is important to understand the differences in training, knowledge and needed skills.

To read full article copy and paste below link.

http://knol.google.com/k/helen-dao/the-functionality-of-a-cultural-broker/1kq8x54vjej41/5#