AUSTRALIAN ROTARY HEALTH

Professor Anthony Jorm & Betty Kitchener Mental Health First Aid MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID – Professor Tony Jorm and Betty Kitchener A Mental Health First Aid training course was started in Australia in 2001. A project was funded by Australian Rotary Health to develop the guidelines on the best way for a member of the public to help people in various sorts of mental health crisis situations, such as being suicidal or out of contact with reality. The resulting guidelines were used to develop the Mental Health First Aid training course which has been widely disseminated in Australia and other countries – including courses held in Rotary Clubs around Australia through ARH. Following the school shooting in American, on January 16th 2013, President Barack Obama announced his “Now Is the Time” plan, which put forward a new series of executive actions and legislative proposals to help curb gun violence. The plan includes several mental health proposals focused on recognising and treating mental health issues in children and youth. As part of the plan, Obama recommends Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training to help teachers, staff and other adults interacting with young people to recognise the signs and symptoms of mental illnesses and to assist them with finding appropriate professional treatment.  

A/Professor Felice Jacka Association between diet and depression NUTRITION AND MENTAL HEALTH – A/Prof Felice Jacka Diet has been comparatively neglected as a potential risk factor for mental disorders. Felice Jacka was awarded a PhD scholarship by ARH to research the association of diet and depression and anxiety. She looked at dietary patterns as “traditional”, “western” and “Modern”. The traditional diet consisted of vegetables, fruit, beef, lamb, fish and whole grain, was associated with lower risk of mental health problems while the western diet – consisting of meat pies, processed meats, pizza, chips, hamburgers, white bread, sugar, flavoured milk and alcohol was associated with a higher risk. This study was published as the lead article by the prestigious American publication “American Journal of Psychiatry”. Additionally, it was very recently voted one of the top ten papers in psychiatry (and it was the first paper cited) by Medscape Psychiatry, which is the webnews service for psychiatry that goes out to practitioners and researchers all over the world. This is a significant honour, but the main point of both the editorial and the Medscape nomination was that it flagged a shift in the thinking in psychiatry to the possibility of prevention, rather than just a continuing focus on treatment.

Media Reporting of Suicide Professor Jane Pirkis MEDIA REPORTING ON SUICIDE – Prof Jane Pirkis There has been international concern that media reporting of suicide can lead to an increase in suicides. A project was funded by ARH to see whether this was occurring in Australia. Data on over 4,000 media reports were linked to data on suicides in the regions covered by the media reports. Increases were associated with multiple reports on suicide, broadcasts on television and items on completed suicide. This project influenced the Australian Government’s Mindframe National Media Initiative on responsible media reporting on suicide. Following this initiative, the quality of media reporting on suicide in Australia was found to have greatly improved. Media Reporting of Suicide

Influences on childhood mental health problems Dr Monique Robinson CHILDHOOD MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS – Dr Monique Robinson For many years we have seen an increasing number of children experiencing mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. We have also come to realise that prevention is better than treatment. It is known that specific things a mother can experience while pregnant can increase the chances that her child will develop a mental health problem – eg high stress levels, smoking, high alcohol consumption and high blood pressure. ARH is funding a post-doctoral fellowship for Dr Wright to look at other events that happen during pregnancy that could develop into a mental health problem for the child. Last year, Dr Wright was named as one of WA’s Young Tall Poppy Science award winners and one of six Outstanding Young Investigators at the University of WA. Influences on childhood mental health problems

1st Indigenous Podiatrist James Charles 1st Indigenous Podiatrist in South Australia FIRST INDIGENOUS PODIATRIST IN SA – Dr James Charles From being illiterate at 14, James turned his life around and graduated in 2004 as a podiatrist. James sees his future role as a practising podiatrist and surgeon as well as education and treatment with a focus on diabetic assessment in rural aboriginal communities. James was selected as a member of the first Indigenous GSE team to travel to California in District 9500 in SA. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Adelaide East but is currently lecturing at Charles Sturt University and is currently undertaking his PhD in Indigenous Podiatry. ARH provides scholarships to approximately 80 Indigenous Health Scholars each year. 20% of all graduated Indigenous Doctors have received scholarships through ARH.

Deputy commissioner to NSW Mental Health Commission Fay Jackson Deputy commissioner to NSW Mental Health Commission OUR FAY JACKSON! Fay Jackson from Kiama approached us initially back in 1999 – when we first became interested in Mental Health. Fay has Bipolar disorder and rang to thank Rotary for taking on Mental Illness as our main health area for funding. At that time she had no involvement in mental health and this was the first time she had spoken of it to anyone outside her family. After her introduction to Rotary, Fay has spoken at numerous Rotary Clubs, Rotary Conferences – even addressing our leading politicians on mental health issues – from a consumer’s point of view. Fay proudly calls herself a “nutter” and enjoys the shock and surprise on our faces when says so. Fay has often said she is a PCP or a Psychologically Challenged Person! Last week the NSW Government announced that Fay has been named as a Deputy Commissioner in the NSW Mental Health Commission – joining renowned psychiatrist Professor Alan Rosen, psychiatrist Dr Robyn Shields and Bradley Foxlewin a community educator. Congratulations Fay – she has come a long way!

AUSTRALIAN ROTARY HEALTH