I am interested in the Mind Matters project and what stage it is at.
Someone mentioned that the School Board stopped or cancelled the
program. Any comments ?
Thanks,

Peter

-----Original Message-----
From: Health Promotion on the Internet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Manjari Valluri
Sent: September 17, 2001 2:12 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Mental health and HP

Adolescent suicide prevention in Australia
Male adolescent suicide rates in Australia are among  the highest in the
world.
The rate has increased dramatically from 1966 to 1998,resulting in loss
of potential years of life lost(PYLL) which is signifiacnt because of
the loss of human potential to the society.
The most common causes for male adolescent suicides in Australia are
1.      Depression and other mental disorders
2.      Alcohol and drug abuse
3.      Domestic and peer violence
The Australian government has recognized this new epidemic and had
implemented new suicide prevention programs.
The earliest one was the Here for Life Program,which was later followed
by the Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy
Mental health especially adolescent meantal disorders are the targets of
such programs with help lines for the depressed.
GPs are alos trained to act as gate keepers who have a vigil over
suspicious attitudinal changes in an adolescent and take measures to
target interventional therapy for them.
Local police are also included in the program,who monitor neghbourhoods
for youth violence and drug abuse.
Since all these strategies are implemented before the onset of the
disease(suicide and suicidal attempt),we can say that this is an
effective Health promotion approach,although the approach is targeted
mainly at adolescents.
Community participation which is also an effective health promotion
strategy has been effectively employed by the Government.
As mental disorders are increasing in incidence and prevalence,health
professionals should use health promotion strategies effectively,because
mental ill health could be devastating not only to the individual but
also to the community as a whole.
Manjari Valluri


  _____

Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
<http://go.msn.com/bql/hmtag_itl_EN.asp>