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Welcome to the 11th issue of the HealthInsite Newsletter.
It's hard to believe that the Newsletter is about to reach its first birthday! The time has just flown by. We started with just 37 subscribers last July and we now have nearly 700 subscribers with more users joining us every day. Thanks for all your support! We're pleased that so many of you have taken time to send us feedback about what you like, what you would like us to do differently and your suggestions for topics.
This month I'm particularly grateful to one of our users who pointed out an error in the last issue. Last month I wrote about the potential confusion between viral and bacterial infections and mentioned 'recent media coverage and warnings about the dangers of some of the more serious viruses like meningococcal and pneumococcal .' These infections are actually bacterial, not viral, and I aplogise for inadvertently adding to the confusion.
Thanks again to our sharp-eyed subscriber for spotting the mistake and for taking a moment to let us know.
This month we take a look at resources about managing mental illness and maintaining good mental health. Around 20% of people are affected by mental illness every year so there's a good chance that you or someone you know may be affected.
Subscribers living in Brisbane or surrounding regions may be interested in attending this year’s AMA Health and Lifestyle Expo at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, from 23-25 July. HealthInsite will have a stand in the exhibition hall and we'd love to meet you. Free entry is available to HealthInsite Newsletter readers - just bring the newsletter along with you. Look at our 'In Brief' section for further details.
As always, please feel free to also let us know if you have any problems or if you have any suggestions for future editions by sending an email to
mailto:healthinsite.feedback@health.gov.au
IN THIS ISSUE Volume 1, Issue 11
Mental Health Resources
Good mental health is a vital part of overall good health and wellbeing. It is just as important to maintain good mental health as it is to maintain good physical health.
Mental illness is a general term that refers to a group of illnesses affecting the mind, in the same way that physical illness refers to a group of illnesses affecting the body.
Episodes of a mental illness can come and go in periods through people's lives. Some people experience their illness only once and then fully recover. For others, it recurs throughout their lives. Most people with mental illness recover well and are able to lead fulfilling lives in the community - when they receive appropriate ongoing treatment and support.
Not only do people and their families have to cope with an illness that can radically alter their lives, they often experience rejection and discrimination in the community and at work.
According to Sane Australia (one of our information partners) around 20% of adults are affected by some form of mental health disorder every year. Anxiety disorders and depression are the most common mental illnesses. About 3% of adults are affected by a severe mental health disorder every year. With these sorts of statistics it's likely that someone you know will be affected by mental illness at some point.
HealthInsite has lots of topic pages covering mental illness which you may find helpful. I've included just a few of them here but there are lots more. For a more comprehensive list take a look at the topics map or use the search function.
Mental Illnesses
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Mental_Illnesses
Alzheimer's Disease
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Alzheimer_s_Disease
Anxiety and Fears
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Anxiety_and_Fears
Bipolar Disorder
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Bipolar_Disorder
Dementia
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Dementia
Depression
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Depression
Personality Disorder
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Personality_Disorder
Post Traumatic Stress
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Post_Traumatic_Stress
Schizophrenia
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Schizophrenia
Treating Mental Illness
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Treating_Mental_Illness
Suicide Prevention
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Suicide_Prevention
Mental Health of Children
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Mental_Health_of_Children
A number of HealthInsite information partners have a particular interest in mental health including:
Alzheimer's Association WA
http://www.alzheimers.asn.au/
Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression (CRUfAD)
http://www.crufad.com/cru_index.htm
DepressioNet
http://www.depressionet.com.au/
InfraPsych
http://www.infrapsych.com/root/1033/default.htm
Inspire Foundation (Reach Out)
http://www.reachout.com.au/home.asp
Kids Help Line
http://www.kidshelp.com.au/Menu.htm
Mental Health Association NSW Inc.
http://www.mentalhealth.asn.au/home.htm
SANE Australia
http://www.sane.org/
Maintaining good mental health
Mental health is an important component of an individual's overall health and wellbeing. However, sometimes unexpected events occur that affect our physical and mental health. Not surprisingly, simple things like exercise, nutrition and sleeping well are important factors in maintaining good mental health. The following links provide information that you may find helpful:
Good Mental Health
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/topics/Good_Mental_Health
Support for People with a Mental Illness, their Carers and Families
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/shortlinks/sLink.cfm?n=14&l=1
Your Feedback - Rare Conditions
We received an email during the week asking us to include a very rare condition in the HealthInsite database. This condition is not currently covered and after doing an exhaustive search for material we found that very little online information exists internationally and virtually nothing from Australia. There are probably quite a few people who suffer from very rare conditions who may experience similar problems in finding relevant information.
HealthInsite works by linking you to resources on the websites of our information partners who have been through a rigorous process to ensure that their information is of the highest quality. This means that you can trust that the information you find on HealthInsite is reliable and relevant to Australia. But it also means that we do not include the full range of information that you might find on the Internet at large.
In the case of very rare conditions it is worthwhile searching using a general Internet search engine such as Google for relevant information. Of course, those search engines do not apply any quality control measures on information the way HealthInsite does, so it is important to consider whether the information you find is reliable. HealthInsite has developed a topic page to help you assess online information available at:
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/shortlinks/sLink.cfm?n=14&l=2
It's also worthwhile remembering that health information on web sites (including HealthInsite) should not take the place of your health provider/patient relationship and should not be used for self-diagnosis. There are many factors that need to be considered in relation to your health and the diagnosis of any condition. You should use the Internet as an information resource and ask a health professional about any issues raised by the information or anything that you don't understand.
If you have any ideas for topics that you would like HealthInsite to cover,send an email to:
mailto:healthinsite.feedback@health.gov.au
In Brief
CELEBRITY health experts Dr James Wright, Dr Rosie King, Michelle Trute, and Dr Sandra Cabot will be headlining this year’s AMA Health and Lifestyle Expo at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, from 23-25 July.
The unique Expo, now in its third year of operation, is an Australian Medical Association innovation that brings the dynamic world of health and lifestyle options direct to the public for three days.
With 220 interactive health, medical, and lifestyle exhibits, doctors available to talk one-on-one with members of the public, health checks, demonstrations, fashion parades, exercise and sporting activities, as well as major prize giveaways, the Expo offers all there is to know about leading a healthy and active life.
For more information on the other exciting activities, booths and specialists involved in this year’s AMA Health and Lifestyle Expo visit the website at www.amahealthexpo.com.au
Partner Spotlight- ADIN
Every month we include a brief overview of one of our information partners. This month we look at the Australian Drug Information Network (ADIN) which provides a central point of access to quality Internet-based alcohol and drug information provided by prominent organisations in Australia and overseas. ADIN is funded under the National Illicit Drug Strategy and managed by the Australian Drug Foundation.
ADIN is a bit like a specialised HealthInsite in that it focusses specifically on information about alcohol and drugs. Like HealthInsite , it brings together information from a range of different websites that have been through a quality assurance process which is clearly explained on the site.
ADIN is designed for both local and international communities, including:
- Universities and researchers;
- Health professionals and Health Care facilities;
- Parents and school students;
- People living in rural and remote communities;
- People from diverse cultural backgrounds;
- Indigenous Australians; and
- People with concerns about their own alcohol or drug use.
You can find ADIN at:
http://www.adin.com.au/
Latest Resources
The HealthInsite team regularly adds new items to the database including
new information partners, new topic pages and news items. You can
find a list of new and updated material added to the database in the
past month at:
http://www.healthinsite.gov.au/search/newsletter_search.cfm?id=14
Hot Tip - Help Page
Last month I mentioned that I would cover a few more Power Search functions but as we're about to revamp Power Search as part of our redevelopment it might be best to leave it for a later issue of the Newsletter. Instead I thought we might look at the Help page.
Have you ever used it? It's the last button on the left hand navigation bar. This page gives lots of useful information to help you get the most out of HealthInsite. It covers things like how to search, how to set up a personal profile and how to solve some common printing problems. It also answers questions that you might have about privacy and security issues. Take a look and if there is anything that you would like to see added just send us an email.
What's on next month?
Next month we'll highlight all the information HealthInsite links to that is useful for families.
That's it for now, stay warm and have a great month
from all of us at HealthInsite
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