Healthy Living Mental Wellness In Addition To Data Technology

NAMI of Indiana Conference

I only returned from a wonderful conference virtually mental illness at NAMI of Indiana. NAMI—the National Alliance on Mental Illness—founded inwards 1979, is the nation's largest grassroots arrangement for people amongst mental illness in addition to their families amongst affiliates inwards every state. Their mission is "to eradication of mental illnesses in addition to to the improvement of the lineament of life for persons of all ages who are affected yesteryear mental illnesses" yesteryear providing support, education, in addition to advocacy. One memorable lawsuit was a poignant in addition to enlightening keynote address virtually the journeying to recovery from schizophrenia yesteryear NAMI board fellow member Frederick J. Frese, Ph.D.
The session inwards which I participated was a panel intelligence virtually wellness information technology for persons amongst mental wellness problems. Following is an expanded version of my contributions.

Understanding Mental Health Problems from a Whole-Person Perspective

Mental wellness problems arrive at from severe psychiatric disorders (such equally schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, PTSD, etc.) to a really broad arrive at of less severe psychological disorders adversely affecting one's social in addition to emotional life (such equally phobias in addition to anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders, compulsions, household unit of measurement strife, learning disabilities, heart abuse, in addition to numerous other problems).
Viewed from a whole-person perspective, all mental wellness problems tin live understood yesteryear grouping them into these 4 categories of disturbance:

1. Disturbances of sensory perception. This refers to hallucinations, such equally seeing or hearing things that produce non exist.
2. Disturbances of cognition (thoughts, attitudes, beliefs). This ranges from psychotic delusions in addition to idea disorders to neurotic, irrational, self-defeating ways of thinking that only virtually everyone has at times (such equally exaggerating things, existence narrow-minded, having faulty opinions, making pitiful judgments, etc.)
3. Disturbances of emotion. This refers to excessive, deficient, in addition to inappropriate emotions, including emotions that experience proficient for a acre (e.g., manic euphoria), painful emotions (e.g., deep depression in addition to chronic anxiety), in addition to lack of emotion (alexythimia).
4. Disturbances of behavior. This includes irresponsible in addition to self-destructive actions (e.g., non managing one's health, abusing drugs or alcohol, in addition to attempting suicide); excessive passivity/avoidance; excessive aggression; etc. Such behaviors tend to live closely related to one's perceptions, beliefs, in addition to emotions.

And all of these disturbances are linked to one's physiology, including one's hormones, brain, genetics, etc.
Since everything inwards interconnected, it's why I telephone proper name upward it a whole-person perspective.

Benefit of Integrating Psychological amongst Biomedical Information

The produce goodness of integrating these 4 types of psychological information (above) amongst biomedical (biological/physiological) information is also related to the whole-person perspective of human health. This is because it helps us empathize the:

• Interplay betwixt biomedical in addition to psychological factors
• Link betwixt mental/emotional/behavioral problems in addition to many physical problems.

Examples of this mind-body connector include:

• Disturbances of physiology that are related inwards roughly agency to situational/psychological conditions, but without actual permanent end-organ damage, such equally migraines, functional bowel affliction in addition to types of chronic pain
• Disturbances where actual physiological in addition to psychological pathologies are evident, such equally hypertension, peptic-ulcer disease, hyperthyroidism, asthma in addition to chronic peel disorders
• Serious physiological disorders that tend to seem or flare upward amongst meaning life changes in addition to stress, such equally disturbances inwards autoimmunity
• Mental wellness problems caused yesteryear biomedical factors such equally delirium, dementia, organic hallucinosis, in addition to organic delusional, mood, personality in addition to anxiety syndromes
• Illnesses such equally coronary midpoint affliction in addition to cancer that may live helped amongst adjunctive treatments which promote changes inwards patients' behaviors (e.g., improve eating, sleeping, in addition to practice habits) in addition to psychological states (e.g., reducing resentful anger in addition to stress-proneness)
• Emotional difficulties oftentimes associated amongst medical illnesses in addition to procedures such equally AIDS, os marrow transplants, severe burns, midpoint or liver transplants, end-stage kidney affliction entailing dialysis, hip fracture, open-heart surgery, in addition to plastic surgery
• Maladaptive behaviors in addition to attitudes that take away maintain obvious deleterious wellness effects on oneself and/or others, such equally heart in addition to alcohol abuse, anorexia, bulimia, excessive eating, smoking, dangerous sex, recklessness, suicidal tendencies, in addition to abusive conduct toward others.

Integrating psychological in addition to biomedical to empathize the whole-person is important, thus because, for example:

• People amongst severe mental illness are more prone to die from things such equally midpoint affliction in addition to complications from diabetes due to smoking, pitiful diet, inactivity, failure to follow doctor's orders, etc.
• Up to one-half of all primary attention physicians' cases are either accompanied by, or constitute, psychological problems.
• Psychological problems cause, exacerbate, or impede healing of many physical illnesses.
• Psychological in addition to psychiatric handling mental wellness problems helps improve people's physical wellness in addition to thus reduces overall medical costs.
• People who contend their physical in addition to mental wellness to a greater extent than effectively are to a greater extent than focused in addition to productive, tend to alive longer, take away maintain a meliorate lineament of life, in addition to bask a greater feel of wellbeing. [See this link for more]

It is of import for people amongst mental wellness problems, along amongst their caregivers, to empathize how specific maladaptive cognitions in addition to emotions Pb to irresponsible conduct in addition to worsening health. And they should live helped to usage knowledge of the whole mortal to brand positive changes inwards their lives yesteryear making to a greater extent than informed decisions in addition to acting to a greater extent than responsibly. This includes adhering to evidence-based handling plans designed to trim down symptoms in addition to improve overall wellness & wellbeing. It also includes meliorate "self-maintenance" (i.e., taking meliorate attention of oneself), which promotes wellness yesteryear (a) avoiding novel wellness problems in addition to complications in addition to (b) preventing existing chronic weather condition from worsening.

In addition, since side-effects from psychotropic (and other) medications tin live annoying, debilitating, or fifty-fifty deadly, it's of import to know how whatever medication existence taken may
be causing or exacerbating a person's physical in addition to psychological symptoms.
Thus, at that spot are many reasons to integrate psychological amongst biomedical information for a whole-person perspective.

Whole-Person Health Information Technology for the Consumer

Health information technology focused on the whole-person must take away maintain into occupation concern human relationship all aspects of an individual. And if it is designed for the consumer, it must useful in addition to inexpensive. So, a cost-effective wellness information technology able to contend a huge multifariousness of information over a person's entire lifetime, in addition to to delivery this information inwards an understandable in addition to helful mode is essential.
The type of technology I'm describing—a Personal Health Profile (PHPro) —is related to Personal Health Records (PHRs) since it is for the consumer, equally opposed to Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), which are designed for the healthcare professional. There are of import differences, however, betwixt a PHR in addition to PHPro:

• A PHPro is more comprehensive (complete) than a PHR. PHRs typically rail immunizations, allergies, lab tests, medications, doctors' information, business office visits in addition to hospitalizations, physical exams, living wills in addition to advance directives, insurance information, emergency contact information, in addition to other similar information. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 PHPro, on the other hand, extends the information it manages to include detailed psychological information virtually a person's emotional state, along amongst a broad arrive at of behaviors, perceptions, in addition to cognitions. It also adds a person's physical symptoms, endangerment factors, wellness activities, coping strategies, motivation in addition to confidence, environmental influences, in addition to more. In other words, a PHPro genuinely focuses on the whole-person yesteryear pulling together all the information related to the interplay betwixt mind, body, emotions, behaviors in addition to environment. As such, a PHPro is to a greater extent than similar a personal wellness encyclopedia due to the depth in addition to breadth of the information it contains.
• The PHPro is also more useful. Now I'm non maxim PHRs aren't useful; they produce contend sure enough wellness information, in addition to may allow wellness information to live exchanged. But a PHPro goes good beyond accessing in addition to sharing basic wellness information. That's because it also focuses on enabling deep self-understanding in addition to promoting responsible activeness yesteryear increasing awareness in addition to meliorate self-care. It does this yesteryear providing actionable information & instruction that assistance the mortal gain practical knowledge in addition to usage it to preclude physical in addition to mental wellness problems, equally good equally to displace toward healing in addition to recovery. How does a PHPro produce it? By, for example:
  • Comparing people's symptoms to the possible side-effects of their medications, identifying the symptoms that may live caused or exacerbated yesteryear each medication existence taken, in addition to advising them what to produce virtually it.
  • Using interactive, personalized, coping in addition to occupation solving guides, including ones that assistance people bargain amongst stressful situations through a systematic physical care for of evaluation in addition to guidance, such equally the physical care for depicted inwards the "Stress in addition to Coping Process Model" flowchart overview at the terminate of this post.
  • Giving people constructive feedback inwards ways that inform in addition to motivate.
  • Providing warnings, alerts in addition to reminders.

Protecting the Privacy of Personal Health Information

Although a corking bargain has been done inwards recent years to improve the safety of information stored inwards remote databases "in the cloud," (i.e., inwards the Internet), many people experience to a greater extent than confident that their personal wellness information would live kept private if they could:

• Input sensitive information virtually their mental in addition to physical wellness into their ain computers in addition to take away maintain it stored inwards a securely encrypted information file that stays at that spot locally, inwards their computers, rather than inwards a remote database containing wellness records of thousands or millions of other people …
• And at the same time, if they had the pick to call back basic in addition to less sensitive medical information from remote places (such equally their doctors' EMRs, Google Health, Microsoft Health Vault, etc.), in addition to take away maintain this information added automatically into their locally stored information file …
• And, when it comes to sharing their information, if they could select the specific pieces of data they wishing to part in addition to the specific people they authorize to have it.

Evolving the First PHPro

I envision that most PHRs volition evolve into whole-person focused PHPros over the adjacent few years. Currently, at that spot is exclusively i PHPro; it is our PH Profiler™, a next-generation software tool we've been developing off in addition to on since the early on 1980's. I take away maintain written virtually the PH Profiler on this weblog inwards a serial of posts starting at this link. It is currently existence prepared for next-stage beta testing, in addition to nosotros are forming alliances amongst universities in addition to consumer organizations to evaluate it in addition to render feedback that volition guide its continued evolution.
I say this because people amongst special needs—including people amongst severe mental illness, the elderly, in addition to persons amongst physical disabilities—would produce goodness from peculiarly constructed instruments that run into their exceptional needs. For whatever consumer-facing information technology tools to live genuinely useful, grassroots organizations serving these individuals, such equally NAMI, must take away maintain considerable input into their development. That is why I am committed to working closely amongst such organizations inwards companionship to prepare multiple versions of the PH Profiler, which are tailored to their needs.
And collaborating amongst academia is in addition to then of import because researchers are the ones who prepare evidence-based guidelines that promote high-value attention for the consumer. Being able to render researchers amongst a wealth of aggregated, de-identified information (to protect everyone's privacy) virtually symptoms, causes, treatments in addition to outcomes (results) provides in addition to ongoing "feedback loop" that generates ever-increasing knowledge, which leads to always to a greater extent than cost-effective attention through meliorate determination back upward systems (see this link for a continuous lineament improvement feedback loop).


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