newsletter december 2001
news update

The Mental Health Information Centre successfully achieved all the goals set for 2001. We have focussed on delivering quality products and services to mental health practitioners through our publications, CME's and the Psychopharmacology Congress. Our public emphasis has shifted to addressing the public at large through talks, media releases, radio interviews and awareness campaigns in partnership with other mental health role players.

Publications

• Early in the year, together with the Dept of Psychiatry at Stellenbosch University, we published the Handboek vir Psigiatrie, the first Afrikaans psychiatry textbook in South Africa for undergraduate use.
• The 2nd edition of the patient guide False Alarm! How to Conquer the Anxiety Disorders, was published in March and distributed at the WONCA GP congress in Durban and at other GP workshops and CME's.
• The 4th edition of the prescribing guide Psychiatric Medications in Primary Care: Algorithms and Guidelines, was published and distributed in June.
• The 5th edition of the Mental Health Resource Guide of Southern Africa was published and distributed in September.

Awareness campaigns

• International Brain Awareness Week , 12 to 18 March. The campaign included various awareness and advocacy activities such as: media releases and library displays, distribution of posters to schools, libraries and old-aged homes, free memory testing, as well as talks, shows and a full weekend programme at the MTN ScienCentre. This contributed towards the worldwide goal of educating the public about the importance of brain functions and research.
• National Anxiety Disorders Awareness Week , 5 to 11 October. Our annual anxiety awareness campaign was a great success. The media used many of our press releases, numerous radio interviews were conducted, and our national mental health film festival was well received (particularly in Cape Town). We forged closer ties with the SA Federation for Mental Health, the Dept of Health: Mental Health Programmes, SASOP, DASG, and other consumer groups through their participation in our activities.

Educational activities

• Psychopharmacology Congress 2001, Spier, September 20-22. The congress was a huge success with many compliments for the quality of talks, choice of speakers, and interesting topics. Our initial estimate of 150 delegates rose to almost 300 with many last minute registrations.
• CME Activities: We hosted 3 GP talks during the year addressing depression and anxiety disorders.
• Consumer health days and talks: Members of Sanlam Health were informed about mental health on-site at a number of companies in Cape Town. Charmaine gave talks to various businesses, schools, and consumer bodies.
• Global Stigma & Health Conference: Bethesda, MA, USA . Charmaine was invited and attended the stigma conference in September, bringing back many ideas on de-stigmatising mental illness and lessening discrimination towards those with mental illness/disorders.
• Rotation of 4th year & post-basic psychiatric nursing students: The students are exposed to issues of psychoeducation and the importance of de-stigmatising mental illness, as well as the significant role of research in improving understanding of the aetiology, diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.
• Dept of Family Medicine and Primary Care: We have assisted the Stellenbosch University Dept of Family Medicine with their Mental Disorders in Primary Care distance education course by offering expert advice for their bulletin board queries. The Psychiatric Medications in Primary Care: Algorithms & Guidelines book is prescribed for this course.
• Website: Our website offers information that can be downloaded. We also have useful links to relevant mental health sites. Queries via the website have increased considerably and we plan to expand the information offered here.

Research

• MRC Research Unit on Anxiety and Stress Disorders: We continue to work closely with the various projects of the Unit, assisting with media releases and recruitment for studies. The Bathuthuzele Youth Stress Clinic assesses traumatised children and adolescents for post-traumatic stress disorder, while the OCD Genetics Unit is investigating genetic aspects of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
• Stikland Drug Trials Unit: We screened 331 recruits for various drug trials run at the unit. This figure includes those referred to academic studies such as to the genetics team.

Referral and information centre

• The centre continues to offer information and referrals to the lay public and media, as well as specific information for professionals.
• We took 2069 calls in the 11-month period January to November 2001. The majority hailed from the Western Cape (52%), although many calls were taken from the Gauteng (13%) and other provinces. Most calls pertained to the anxiety (33%) or mood (21%) disorders, requesting information on diagnosis (19%) or medication (18%). Notably, 21% of calls were from health care providers such as psychiatrists, psychologists, GP's or nursing sisters. This shows a steady increase in professional usage of our services, which is in line with our shifted focus of professional education. See attached graphic representation of call statistics.