Statistical Data Reveal That 25% Of Adult Americans Have

Bernstein et al (2011) affirm that in the United States, “25% of adults have a diagnosable mental disorder” (as Cited in Ghodse, 2011, pg. 451, ¶2) and “the high rate of mental illness

What was once believed to be a form of neglect has resulted in a change in practice with the idea that doing less is more. Culture is an important factor in how care is rendered and thus, the limitations of palliative and hospice care lie within the desires of the family and patients. A thorough understanding of our surrounding demographics helps to ensure a seamless approach to providing care without bias or imposition of ones beliefs. However, just as with all things, providing care for the sick and comforting the dying should be rendered in moderation as to prevent the effects of burn out. Likewise, the same effects occur in the caregivers who sacrifice their responsibilities in order to care for their love ones. Finally, and with some closing thoughts, the writer wishes to express with gratitude the benefit of having taken this course to better understand oneself and others in the realm of healthcare. The lessons learned throughout have expanded this writer's knowledge and understanding of the human desire to make a connection through communication, emotion, compassion, and spiritually - the platform from which this writer wishes to continue seeking further knowledge and

Mental health ailments and conditions have traditionally been considered less treatable than medical and surgical ailments. Although advances in science have shown that mental health

In the New York Times bestseller Being Mortal, surgeon and author Atul Gawande tackles just what may be the most difficult challenge of his profession, learning how to handle the ‘end-of-life process.’ Throughout his book, he recites the stories of several individuals, in which the trajectory from a state of independence to one of death can easily be traced in each. Although Gawande does acknowledge that death is inevitable, he emphasizes that individuals of society, especially those that work in the health care field, have not yet learned how to deal with this slow process well, if at all. Surprisingly, he does not blame patients or the intrinsic difficulty that death itself brings, but in fact is relentless in the criticism of his fellow physicians, stating ‘we’ve been wrong about what our job is in medicine. We think our job is to ensure health and survival…it is to enable well-being.’ (Gawande, Atul. Being Mortal pp.259) This paper aims to further analyze Gawande’s position on end-of-life care, understand why palliative care must play a larger role than interventional medicine during a patient’s last few weeks and determine whether a physician’s role during this crucial time should be that of a ‘healer’ or a ‘sustainer of the soul.’

The world population all around the globe are continuing to age, and live longer lives and are striving to live healthier and robust lifestyles. According to American Physiological Association ( 2001) by 2050 older adults aged sixty-five years and beyond is expected to triple. Nearly 60 percent.of this age group will have some type of mental health issues, for example depression, bipolar, eating disorder, alcohol and substance problems and Schizophrenia..

Statistical data reveals that 25% of adult Americans have a mental illness and more than half of the U.S. population will develop a mental illness at some point during their lifetime (CDC; APA). "Major Depressive disorder is a leading cause of disability for ages 15-44. Major depressive disorder affects approximately 14.8 million American adults or 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year” while anxiety affects …40 million…adults ages 18 and older…” (NIMH; APA). Comparatively, cardiovascular, diabetes, epilepsy, obesity, cancer, and asthma, and other chronic diseases are surfacing with increased frequency among the mentally ill (CDC; APA). The aforementioned finding elicits question about medical care

Whereas comorbidities associated with diabetes are preventable such as hypertension, lipid abnormalities and obesity, the lack of data for the additional comorbidity of mental illness, often overlooked by health care providers, potentiates the development of comorbidities. According to Dickerson, Wohlheiter, Medoff, Fang, Kreyenbuhl, Goldberg, Brown and Dixon, (2011) patient reported data for mental illness, with 9 to 14 % having schizophrenia and the remainder comprising bipolar disorder and depression, have twice the risk to develop diabetes.

The nationwide health promotion and disease prevention plan, Healthy People 2020, recognizes that mental health promotion and mental health reduction as one of the most significant health objectives. Statistic indicated that mental health disorders are the leading cause of disability in United States and Canada, while suicide is the 11th leading cause of death that killed approximately 30,000 American each year (“Mental Health and Mental Disorders”, n.d.). The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has commended series of guideline once patients are identified with mental health disorder.

Whereas, comorbidities associated with diabetes such as hypertension, lipid abnormalities and obesity are preventable, the lack of data for the additional comorbidity of mental illness, often overlooked by health care providers, potentiate the development of comorbidities. Dickerson, Wohlheiter, Medoff, Fang, Kreyenbuhl, Goldberg, Brown and Dixon (2011) reported data for the connection between mental illness and diabetes risk, with 9 to 14 % having schizophrenia and the remainder comprising bipolar disorder and depression, have twice the risk to develop diabetes.

Mental disorder is more common than most think. WHO reports that mental disorder is not only those that are institutionalized, in fact 1 in 5 Americans are. That’s about 42.5 million people, which suffers with some form of mental illness (BEKIEMPIS, 2014). Unfortunately, most individuals are not aware of their disorder and those that are might not seek treatment or become dependent to the antipsychotic drugs. The 2008, Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act provisions expanded mental health services to 62 million of people (Health Insurance and Mental Health Services, n.d.). The ACA mental health expansion requires for health insurance plans to provide mental health screening as part of their preventive services. ACA is mandatory and

In the United States, the topic of mental health tends to be overlooked because of the negative stigma behind mental illness. Also, mental illness is not generally seen as a public health issue because it does not fit the narrative of epidemiology. However, mental illness is a topic of public health because mental illness can be prevented and treated. Mental illness is the central cause of many risky behaviors around the United States, such as gun violence, drug abuse, unhealthy eating, and suicidal tendencies. The damage does not stop there. Having mental illness causes risky behaviors, and then those risky behaviors cause even more health problems, for example, unhealthy eating leading to hypertension. Helping prevent mental illness and keep

Recent years have seen a movement to help destigmatize mental illness and encourage people to receive mental health treatment if they are in need of it; however, the movement has neglected one of the groups of people who are most in need of mental health treatments. People suffering from terminal illnesses and those receiving palliative care, care that is designed to provide relief from symptoms, often do not receive treatment for mental illness, and this can have an extremely detrimental effect on their overall health. Untreated mental illness can lead to worsened physical symptoms, and can also severely decrease the quality of life of these patients. Doctors are not spending as much time looking after their patients’ mental health as they

Mental illness is a concern worldwide with over 350 million people suffering from depression annually. The World Health Organization has predicted that by 2020 depression will be the 2nd highest disease in the world. They predicted it will be the #1 disease by 2030 (Tucci page 4). Depression will have affected more people than

Mental illnesses are becoming more and more prevalent among the population in the United States. In 2014, 1 in 5 adults were diagnosed with any mental illness (AMI) as evidence by statistics presented by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (SAMHSA, 2015); of those 1 in 5 adults, 18 years and older in the United States, accounts for 18.1% of the population, or 43.6 million people diagnosed with depression and/ or anxiety (Kessler RC, Chiu WT, Demler O, Walters EE, 2005). From changes in mood, to changes in thoughts and behaviors, mental illnesses are sought to be higher in adults ages 18-25 (SAMHSA, 2015).

According to the 2014 U.S. census there are approximately 318 million people residing in the United States and 1 in 5 people are diagnosed with a mental condition. As a society we have continued to evolve physically, mentally, and emotionally. With this growth, we have become better equipped to handle many situations that we once found difficult to understand and treat, such as mental conditions. With the rise in the number of people diagnosed with a mental condition, society has become more interested in studying the causes and possible treatments of these conditions. Not only are mental conditions widely studied by scientists, the entertainment industry has capitalized on our fascination and has made many others aware of the mental conditions