Mirin Brings Antistigma Message to World Health Day

APA Medical Director Steven Mirin, M.D., and a lineup of international health leaders pledged to redouble their efforts to erase the stigma surrounding mental illness at an April 7 World Health Day event sponsored by the American Association for World Health (AAWH) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

Mirin, a member of the World Health Day Advisory Committee and featured speaker, praised event organizers for “making mental health a global priority” and commended Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., one of the speakers, for his “outspoken mental health advocacy on behalf of America’s patients and families.”

“Open Minds. . .Open Doors” is the theme of the international public education campaign, launched by the World Health Organization and its partners to increase awareness and support for the more than 400 million people worldwide who suffer from mental disorders.

George Alleyne, M.D., PAHO director, lamented that mental health, while a pressing public health issue, does not get the priority attention it deserves.

In his remarks, Satcher referenced his 1999 Report on Mental Health, pointing out that mental illness ranked second after heart disease as the leading cause of disease in market economies worldwide.

Citing a 1999 study by the Society for Human Resources Management, Mirin noted that the “cost of not treating mental disorders is enormous. The societal costs associated with mental illness in terms of disability, lost productivity, and absenteeism are staggering, with an estimated cost to business of $40 billion annually.”

Mirin also said that efforts to meet the increasing mental health needs of the nation’s elderly—an often underserved population—need to be stepped up.

“Vulnerable and often underdiagnosed, between 10 percent and 20 percent of our nation’s elderly living at home have a diagnosable mental disorder such as depression often masked by medical, cognitive, and social problems. Unfortunately, this often complicates and limits their access to needed mental health care.”

Other program participants included Richard K. Nakamura, Ph.D., deputy director at the National Institute of Mental Health; Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; Richard L. Winenberg, president and CEO of the American Association for World Health; and Larry Siegel, M.D., senior deputy director for medical affairs/administrator in the District of Columbia’s Department of Health. ▪

Laurie Oseran is director of APA’s Division of Communications and Marketing.