The following is out of a press release so it is of questionable value, but there may be some info in it that might be useful, Brian.

New Tools Help Michigan Communities Tackle Health Problems and Improve Health Systems, Announces Michigan Public Health Institute

OKEMOS, Mich., June 23 -- Under W.K. Kellogg Foundation support, Michigan communities now have access to three new tools to help them assess and improve the health status of their populations. In many Michigan communities, collaborative groups from public health, human services, education, medicine, law enforcement, consumers, and others are evaluating the health status of their residents and planning local changes to address the most pressing problems. The Michigan Department of Community Health has encouraged and assisted local health departments to spearhead these initiatives over the past three years. Communities identified the need for guidance and data sources to use in assessing four areas which are especially difficult to impact: substance abuse, mental health, environmental health, and health systems. To date, there have been few resources on these topics and no comprehensive sources of Michigan-specific data. A series of tools has been created by the Michigan Public Health Institute to assist communities. Three just released include:

Promotion of Mental Health Treatment of Mental Disorders, and Habilitation of Developmental Disabilities

This report assists communities in considering mental health issues as a part of overall health status assessment. "It provides a much-needed framework that Michigan's communities can use to study risk factors and protective factors related to mental well-being for children and adolescents, adults, and the elderly," said Donna Strugar-Fritsch, chair of the authoring committee. The report also describes the most common mental illnesses in children and adolescents, adults, and the elderly, and provides county-level incidence and treatment services data from the public mental health system and hospitals. Communities can use this information as a way to compare themselves with one another. The final chapter describes the mental health service delivery system, both public and private. "This report is the first of its kind to put useful mental health information into the hands of local decision makers," said Karen Pawluck, RN, MPH, community health planner for Huron-Sanilac-Tuscola Associated Health Departments. "It will help communities wisely decide where to put local resources to prevent and treat mental health problems."

SOURCE Michigan Public Health Institute -0- 06/23/97 /CONTACT: Barbara Schillo, Ph.D., Research Scientist, 517-381-1142, or Donna Strugar-Fritsch, Program Director, Rural Health, 517-349-7110, both of Michigan Public Health Institute