As part of a UCLA-sponsored program which aims to understand how mobile phones and smartphones can be used to empower individuals to make lifestyle changes, several ladies from the Faithful Central Bible Church congregation were given a smartphone app to help them achieve their own heathy lifestyle goals. The app used each of the lady’s eating and activity patterns to deliver to her tailored advice on healthy diet and exercise habits.

Two studies within the UCLA-sponsored program are currently looking for volunteers. If you are interested in joining one of these studies or want more information please contact

Nabil Alshurafa: nabil@cs.ucla.edu

OR

Jo-Ann Eastwood: jeastwoo@sonnet.ucla.edu

To read a recent LA Times article highlighting the program click here. hairy girls

APHA’s Annual Meeting & Exposition serves as the home for public health professionals to convene, learn, network and engage with peers. Dr Mays and BRITE Center participants will present on the following topics at this year’s APHA meeting:

• Racial/Ethnic Differences in Perceived Need for Mental Health Care
• Sexual orientation, relationship status, and mental health/substance use morbidity: Results from the California Quality of Life Surveys
• Increasing Acupuncture Utilization As An Adjunct Treatment in African American Breast Cancer Survivors
• Mental health correlates of sexual orientation concealment and disclosure in the California Quality of Life Survey

The Board of Professional Affairs is responsible for recommending and implementing APA policy, standards and guidelines for the profession of psychology, maintaining relationships with other professional organizations and groups appropriate to its mission, recognizing contributions to the profession of psychology through awards and honors, proposing to the association ways to enhance the profession of psychology and fostering the application of psychological knowledge to promote public welfare.

The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics was established by Congress to serve as an advisory body to the Department of Health and Human Services on health data, statistics and national health information policy. It fulfills important review and advisory functions relative to health data and statistical problems of national and international interest, stimulates or conducts studies of such problems and makes proposals for improvement of the Nation’s health statistics and information systems.

On Wednesday, August 13, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will recognize television and film screenwriters and producers, and more who educate the public about substance use and mental disorders at the 2014 Voice Awards, held on the UCLA campus.  Now in its ninth year, the Voice Awards event brings together the behavioral health community and the entertainment industry to improve public awareness about behavioral health and recovery.

“There is no discounting the power of media and particularly film and television to educate others about inclusion and recovery for people living with mental and substance use disorders,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde. “Voice Award winners illustrate how we’re getting better at representing the realities of behavioral health and promoting how recovery from these conditions is commonplace and that people in recovery contribute to their communities every day.”

This year’s theme — Learning About Young Adult Behavioral Health — underscores SAMHSA’s commitment to educate the public about the challenges young adults face in dealing with mental and/or substance use disorders and empower them to help those young adults find a path to recovery.

The Voice Awards program is a collaborative effort among behavioral health and entertainment industry organizations. For a complete list of the 33 program partner organizations involved in this year’s effort, visit http://beta.samhsa.gov/voice-awards/partners.

The 2014 Voice Awards event will be streamed live on the Voice Awards’ Web page on Wednesday, August 13, beginning at 7 p.m. PDT/10 p.m. EDT. To learn more about the Voice Awards program and view the live Webcast, visit http://www.samhsa.gov/voiceawards.

Follow #VoiceAwards to join the conversation about the Voice Awards on Twitter.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation. SAMHSA’s mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities.