Depression Survey: Implications For Diverse Communities
SOURCE: Medical News Today

Americans do not believe that they know much about depression , but are highly aware of the risks of not receiving care, according to a survey released in November by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

See full survey results at http://www.nami.org/depression, an interactive Web site that includes resources for people of diverse communities.

Though depression is a common and highly treatable medical illness, research demonstrates that people of different cultural groups are at increased risk for untreated depression and suicide.

- One in five Latina teenagers in the United States has seriously considered or attempted suicide.

- More than 15 million Asian Americans live with depression; it's the second leading cause of death for Asian American and Pacific Islanders.

- Misdiagnosis and under-treatment are common in the African American community. Only 12 percent of women seek treatment.

The survey provides a "three-dimensional" measurement of responses from members of the general public who do not know anyone with depression, caregivers of adults diagnosed with depression and adults living with the illness.

Survey findings include:

Demystifying Psychiatry For The General Public
SOURCE: Medical News Today

Psychiatric disorders are underdiagnosed, poorly treated and highly stigmatized, according to psychiatrists Charles F. Zorumski, M.D., and Eugene H. Rubin, M.D., Ph.D. So these Washington University physicians have written a book to address those problems.

In "Demystifying Psychiatry," Zorumski and Rubin, who have more than 50 years of experience treating psychiatric patients and helping patient families, say some of the problems related to psychiatric illness and treatment result from a lack of understanding psychiatry and what psychiatrists can and can't do.

"This book comes from many conversations we've had with people in the community, and individuals in our own families, who not only misunderstand psychiatric illnesses but don't understand who psychiatrists are and how they fit into health-care delivery," says Zorumski, the Samuel B. Guze Professor and head of the Department of Psychiatry. "Part of the impetus behind writing this was to emphasize those things in ways a lay audience would understand."

Psychiatric disorders can contribute to substantial suffering, disability and death. And the costs related to medical care and lost productivity can be high. Although it's possible to diagnose and provide effective therapy for many disorders, misunderstanding psychiatric illnesses and treatments can lead to major disparities in the likelihood that an individual patient will