Addressing Related Health Issues

The Obama administration is closely focused on improving the overall health and well-being of Americans. A variety of initiatives focus on finding more effective approaches to disease prevention and early intervention that address the whole person and examine the interrelationship of various health issues.

The connection between health issues has been documented by research. People addicted to alcohol and other drugs, for example, are approximately twice as likely to suffer from mental health disorders. And youth who drink alcohol are more likely to experience other problems such as poor or failing grades, unwanted or unprotected sexual activity, legal problems due to an arrest for physically hurting someone or driving while drunk, as well as injuries from alcohol-related car crashes, burns, falls, and drowning.

“You have to treat the human being as a whole person. It doesn’t make sense to look at the substance abuse part or the mental health part separately since they are often linked,” said Dr. Al Yee, a senior project director in EDC’s Health and Human Development Division. He explains that the factors that can put a person at risk for substance abuse—or protect them from it—are similar for other problems, like mental illness. So it makes sense to address related problems together.

Through the SAMHSA-funded National Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies, run by EDC, Yee and his colleagues are examining states and communities that offer models for collaboratively addressing substance abuse prevention.

“This is not a new idea,” said Yee. “It’s just hard to do well.”

Yet across the country there are some outstanding examples where substance abuse prevention agencies collaborate with departments of mental health or with primary care practices. Working together, they have a more seamless approach to prevention and providing the services that people need.

Yee and his colleagues want to understand what makes these collaborations successful—specifically, how they develop a common vision and work together effectively, overcoming differences in perspectives, cultures, priorities, and approaches.

What they learn will be used by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to inform the development of materials, trainings, and technical assistance so that individuals, families, schools, workplaces, and communities can promote well-being and prevent or reduce mental illness and substance abuse across the lifespan.