It's going to be held at August 22nd, 10am EST, our 10th Latin-MH Study Group with the theme "Digital Technology for Preventing Early Mortality Among People Living with Serious Mental Illnesses". This webinar will be presented by Dr. John A. Naslund, PhD from Dartmouth College, and will be held in English, online, via Adobe Connect. Come join and build capacity with us!

About the Presentation: Globally, individuals living with serious mental illness, including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, major depressive disorder, or bipolar disorder, experience dramatically reduced life expectancy compared to the general population. Alarmingly high obesity rates, elevated risk of chronic medical conditions, and poor cardiovascular health contribute to this early mortality disparity. Debilitating mental health symptoms, societal stigma, and socioeconomic disadvantage such as homelessness, unemployment, and poverty have further devastating consequences on the health, functioning, and wellbeing of people with serious mental illness. Addressing this early mortality disparity represents a major global public health priority. This webinar will examine the potential for digital technologies to support health promotion efforts among people with serious mental illness. Findings from a series of preliminary studies using wearable devices, mobile technology, and popular social media such as Facebook and Twitter will be summarized and discussed. This webinar aims to highlight how digital technology could advance the development, evaluation, and implementation of interventions to address the early mortality disparity among individuals with serious mental illness.

About the Presenter: John A. Naslund, PhD, is a Research Associate with the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health at Dartmouth College. Dr. Naslund completed his PhD in health policy and clinical practice through The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice at Dartmouth College. His work has focused extensively on applying novel methodologies and leveraging digital technology to address the dramatically shortened life expectancy impacting individuals living with serious mental illness. Dr. Naslund is especially interested in exploring how digital technologies and social media may be leveraged to promote the rights, dignity, and health and wellbeing of individuals living with mental illness worldwide. Currently, Dr. Naslund is Co-Investigator on Proyecto DIADA, a National Institute of Mental Health funded Collaborative Hub with partners at Dartmouth College and Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá aimed at scaling up mental health care in community settings throughout Latin America. He also serves on the Lancet Commission on Global Mental Health focused on the role of digital technology for global mental health. Dr. Naslund has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications, and is recipient of grant funding from the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, the Hitchcock Foundation, and the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding.

Dr. Naslund's latest publications are:

1. Exploring Online Communication About Cigarette Smoking Among Twitter Users Who Self-Identify as Having Schizophrenia (Hswen Y, Naslund JA, Chandrashekar P, Siegel R, Brownstein JS, Hawkins JB);
2. Qualitative Analysis of Social Network Influences on Quitting Smoking Among Individuals with Serious Mental Illness (Aschbrenner KA, Naslund JA, Gill L, Hughes T, O'Malley AJ, Bartels SJ, Brunette MF);
3. An Online Survey of Family Members' Beliefs and Attitudes About Smoking and Mental Illness (Aschbrenner KA, Dixon LB, Naslund JA, Bienvenida JCM, McManus KL, Bartels SJ, Brunette MF);
4. Facebook for Supporting a Lifestyle Intervention for People with Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia: an Exploratory Study (Naslund JA, Aschbrenner KA, Marsch LA, McHugo GJ, Bartels SJ);
5. Systematic Review of Social Media Interventions for Smoking Cessation (Naslund JA, Kim SJ, Aschbrenner KA, McCulloch LJ, Brunette MF, Dallery J, Bartels SJ, Marsch LA).

Science Media:

1. Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/John_Naslund

Join the discussion! Just fill this form and we will inform you about the webinar and about joining the virtual conference room in the day of the event!

Thank you!

Capacity Building