Press Release
Date: 09-18-09Name: Lynn McFarlane Phone: 973-972-8539
Email: mcfarlld@umdnj.edu
Minority Mental Health is Focus of 10th Annual Perinatal Health Disparities Conference
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Newark, NJ- Strategies to address mental health issues affecting black families will be explored at the 10th Annual Perinatal Health Disparities Conference hosted by the Black Infant Mortality Reduction Resource Center (BIMRRC). The daylong event begins at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, September 22 at the UMDNJ Oral Health Pavilion, 50 Twelfth Avenue, Newark.
The conference, entitled Improving Mental Health among Black Women, Children & Families, is designed for community leaders, physicians, psychologists, nurses, social workers, counselors, administrators, educators, students and anyone interested in minority mental health.
The UMDNJ-School of Nursing is a co-sponsor of the event, along with the six Maternal/Child Health Consortia of New Jersey, the New Jersey Department of Health & Senior Services, and the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.
UMDNJ President William F. Owen, Jr., MD will present a welcoming address. His subject will be “Ties that Bind: The Connections Between Mental and Physical Health.” Other topics to be covered through the day include maternal mental health disparities, fatherhood and mental health, family-centered approaches to mental health, and promoting mental health among children and adolescents. The conference will also feature a session offering a historical perspective on black infant mortality. Continuing education credits and contact hours will be provided.
Each year, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, almost 44 million Americans experience a mental disorder. From 80 to 90 percent of mental disorders are treatable using medication and other therapies. Yet, as documented in a landmark Surgeon General’s report, African Americans have less access to mental health services than do their Caucasian counterparts, are less likely to receive needed care, and are more likely to receive poor quality of care when treated. They are also underrepresented in mental health research.
“A critical mission focus of the UMDNJ-School of Nursing is to alleviate healthcare disparities wherever they are found—whether in mental or physical health,” said Dee Campbell, PhD, APN, the school’s chief operating officer and a conference organizer. “This conference will bring a host of key stakeholders together to address these important issues.”
Advance registration is recommended, as last year’s conference sold out with more than 400 attendees. The $60 registration fee includes conference materials and lunch. Online registration is available at www.maternalchildhealth.org. For more information call Renee Webster at 201-843-7400, ext. 11.
The Black Infant Mortality Reduction Resource Center is a clearing house on topics related to black infant mortality. The BIMRRC was established by the Northern New Jersey Maternal/Child Health Consortium to promote research on the topic of black infant mortality and stimulate the implementation of strategies to decrease the frequency of low birth weight and pre-term infants in the African American community.
With campuses in Newark and Stratford, New Jersey, UMDNJ-School of Nursing offers a comprehensive academic program and continuing education for healthcare professionals. The school’s community outreach programs include a mobile health project serving Newark, Irvington and Elizabeth; and a community health clinic in Camden.
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,500 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health, on five campuses. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a mental health and addiction services network.
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