Health News
- Bankruptcy Filing By Mental-health Agency Is A Loser For Kentucky, Where Such Services Can Be Scarce And Little Used
By Molly Burchett Kentucky Health News The decision of Seven Counties Services Inc. to file bankruptcy to avoid paying into the Kentucky Employee Retirement System has created a "no win" situation for the state, and the issue may add yet another...
- Online Training Could Help Rural Doctors Offer Better Mental Health Care
More than half of all U.S. mental health care takes place at the primary-care level, and that percentage is even higher in rural areas, where mental-health doctors are often hundreds of miles away, reports Newswise, a research-reporting service....
- Rosalynn Carter Fellowships Help Journalists Report About Mental Health; Applications Due April 16
The Carter Center Mental Health Program is providing six Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for journalists to report on a selected mental-health or mental-illness topic for one year. The center overseen by former president Jimmy Carter says its intention is...
- Monday, Oct. 10 Is World Mental Health Day
Oct. 10 is World Mental Health Day, observed with the aim of raising public awareness about mental health issues. On average, Kentuckians report four mentally unhealthy days per month. Adults in Pike County reported having the most days a month ? seven...
- Fellowships Of $10,000 Available For Reporting On Mental Health
Each year the Carter Center Mental Health Program awards six Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism to six American journalists. They get a stipend of $10,000 to report on a mental health topic of their choice. "The...
Health News
Veteran journalist offers advice on covering mental health issues: Be careful, creative, and balanced, not discriminatory
The term 'mental health' has been tossed around a lot lately in stories about Kentucky's mental health funding and mental health coverage through Medicaid expansion. It's important to use precise language when writing about the topic, because a fourth of Americans are affected by mental-health issues each year, and many don't seek treatment due to its stigma.
"Fair, accurate and balanced portrayals of mental health in the news media are so important," says Melissa McCoy of the California Newspaper Publishers Association. She notes that studies show coverage of mental health is mostly reactive, responding to a school shooting or n act of violence, which could skew public perceptions about mental illness. She says journalists should "provide accurate coverage of mental health without adding to its stigma" or to the discrimination faced by those with mental illness.
Journalists can seek balance by asking themselves about the relevance of mental health to the story and making sure to use the right type of language, says McCoy; be creative about mental health coverage by integrating it into stories about general health, veterans returning from war, substance abuse recovery, unemployment or even stress among students.
"Fair, accurate and balanced portrayals of mental health in the news media are so important," says Melissa McCoy of the California Newspaper Publishers Association. She notes that studies show coverage of mental health is mostly reactive, responding to a school shooting or n act of violence, which could skew public perceptions about mental illness. She says journalists should "provide accurate coverage of mental health without adding to its stigma" or to the discrimination faced by those with mental illness.
Journalists can seek balance by asking themselves about the relevance of mental health to the story and making sure to use the right type of language, says McCoy; be creative about mental health coverage by integrating it into stories about general health, veterans returning from war, substance abuse recovery, unemployment or even stress among students.
- Bankruptcy Filing By Mental-health Agency Is A Loser For Kentucky, Where Such Services Can Be Scarce And Little Used
By Molly Burchett Kentucky Health News The decision of Seven Counties Services Inc. to file bankruptcy to avoid paying into the Kentucky Employee Retirement System has created a "no win" situation for the state, and the issue may add yet another...
- Online Training Could Help Rural Doctors Offer Better Mental Health Care
More than half of all U.S. mental health care takes place at the primary-care level, and that percentage is even higher in rural areas, where mental-health doctors are often hundreds of miles away, reports Newswise, a research-reporting service....
- Rosalynn Carter Fellowships Help Journalists Report About Mental Health; Applications Due April 16
The Carter Center Mental Health Program is providing six Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for journalists to report on a selected mental-health or mental-illness topic for one year. The center overseen by former president Jimmy Carter says its intention is...
- Monday, Oct. 10 Is World Mental Health Day
Oct. 10 is World Mental Health Day, observed with the aim of raising public awareness about mental health issues. On average, Kentuckians report four mentally unhealthy days per month. Adults in Pike County reported having the most days a month ? seven...
- Fellowships Of $10,000 Available For Reporting On Mental Health
Each year the Carter Center Mental Health Program awards six Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism to six American journalists. They get a stipend of $10,000 to report on a mental health topic of their choice. "The...