Influencing Social Change

Influencing Social Change

Estimated to be between 2.3 to 3.5 million people living with chronic medical and

psychiatric disorders in the United States are homeless. Laps in services tend to be encountered

in the under-served community, such as homeless people, which lead insufficient health care and

hospital readmission. Sometimes they are in distress in the emergency room and add to an

already strained health system. Increased spending and overuse of health care in the United

States continues to grow. Because of some technical advancements and the increased availability

of health insurance, American health care is still a expensive luxury in the US. The financial

condition of hospitals is affected adversely by patients who come back to the hospital due to

associated with the conditions. Many people suffering from mental illnesses are characterized by

their conditions as a result of society's fear and incompetence. Persons with mental disorders are

then under strain to behave in a culture as if nothing was wrong, so it's all right. As psychology

progresses over the years, the reputation of patients treated has continued to improve

(Angermeyer, Matschinger & Schomerus, 2013). The most important impact I can have to help

my community grow is not only to educate them on mental conditions but also to encourage

them to create the change that is required through compassion towards others.

Through informing society around how mental disorders impact people and making them learn

daily about those challenges that have not yet progressed in their lives, they can also be able to

alter their views and stigma may be replaced through understanding (Bennett, 2005).

offer training services to specific groups including health professionals that are likely to

encounter people with mental illness by virtue of their job. Several studies have explored the

implications of delivering education services to still in-training health care professionals (e.g.,

Pharmacy, Medical, students in occupational therapy) (Beltran et al., 2007; Mino et al., 2001;

O'Reilly et al., 2011). Findings suggest that training health workers may have positive attitude

changes many weeks after exposure to education. Improved freedom of police officers in terms

of dealing with crisis staff, increased awareness and more optimistic attitudes in relation to

people with mental illness (Compton et al., 2006) and less stigma in respecting crisis people have

led to comprehensive 40%-hour crisis management training for police officers (Compton et al.

2006). These training sessions may reduce the use of force and unnecessary arrests and increase

References

https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/April-2015/Changing-The-Way-Society-

Understands-Mental-Health

Beltran, R. O., Scanlan, J. N., Hancock, N., and Luckett, T., (2007). "The Effect of First Year

Mental Health Fieldwork on Attitudes of Occupational Therapy Students Towards

People with Mental Illness," Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, Vol. 54, No. 1,

2007, pp. 42– 48.

Compton, M. T., Esterberg, M. L., McGee, R., Kotwicki, R. J., and Oliva, J. R., (2006). "Brief

Reports: Crisis Intervention Team Training: Changes in Knowledge, Attitudes, and

Stigma Related to Schizophrenia," Psychiatric Services, Vol. 57, No. 8, 2006, pp. 1199–