Project Description Narrative:
One-in-five people will experience a significant episode of mental illness at some point in his or her lifetime. Moreover, among economically established countries, neuropsychiatric disorders are the leading cause of illness burden, as reflected in lost days of life, severity of symptoms, compromised quality of life, and diminished productivity in society. Major depression and suicide, in particular, are among the top causes of illness burden for men and women in the United States. Addiction to alcohol and other drugs of abuse are also very severe, and they frequently co-occur with many physical and mental disorders. Mental illness and addictive disorders are prevalent in Wisconsin, especially among culturally distinct and immigrant populations. Fortunately, many mental illnesses and addictive disorders are amenable to treatment and have outcomes better than most chronic physical disorders, such as coronary artery disease. Sadly, however, many such illnesses are neither diagnosed or treated due to stigma, limited access to care in many settings, insufficient expertise of multidisciplinary professionals, and lack of societal understanding about the nature and optimal care of mental illnesses and related conditions.
Academic medical centers are ideally positioned to provide evidence-based new knowledge of importance to the care of persons with mental illness and related or coexisting disorders to multidisciplinary colleagues. With new technologies (e.g., web-based learning, video streaming, etc.) it is possible to provide learning opportunities in a manner that is engaging, accessible at a distance, and permits immediate evaluation of key elements of learner satisfaction and impact. Academic medical centers, moreover, are especially able to enhance public awareness through collaborative educational and community outreach.
This project team will establish an office for outreach, partnering and education. This office will serve as a “door” to the community, fostering better relations and supporting education for multidisciplinary professionals and lay neighbors in Wisconsin. They will also explore partnering with private foundations to launch initiatives of mutual interest. They will work to create a strategic business plan for the development of educational outreach services in mental health for Wisconsin. They will also identify or create innovative educational materials or modules to introduce state-of-the-art findings in response to educational needs. Establishing distance learning contracts with key partners in rural Wisconsin will also be pursued. These efforts will be targeted especially toward evidence-based clinical approaches to the prevention, diagnosis, and optimal treatment of mental illnesses and related disorders and toward public health and policy issues including stigma, transcultural and special population issues, Native American and immigrant issues, and suicide prevention across genders and the age spectrum.