SAMHSA’s new report tracks the behavioral health of America | WPN World People News

A new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) illuminates important trends – many positive -- in Americans' behavioral health, both nationally and on a state-by-state basis.

SAMHSA's new report, the "National Behavioral Health Barometer" (Barometer), provides data about key indicators of behavioral health problems including rates of serious mental illness, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, underage drinking, and the percentages of those who seek treatment for these disorders. The Barometer shows this data at the national level, and for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The Barometer indicates that the behavioral health of our nation is improving in some areas. For example, the rate of prescription pain reliever abuse has fallen for both children ages 12-17 and adults ages 18-25 from 2007 to 2011 (9.2 percent to 8.7 percent and 12.0 percent to 9.8 percent respectively).

The Barometer also shows more people are getting the help they need in some crucial areas. A case in point is that the number of people getting buprenorphine treatment for a heroin addiction has jumped 400 percent from 2006 to 2010. Similarly, the number of people getting outpatient behavioral health treatment through Medicare has increased by more than 30 percent from 2006 to 2010.

The data in the Barometer is drawn from various federal surveys and provides both a snapshot of the current status of behavioral health nationally and by state, and trend data on some of these key behavioral health issues over time. The findings will be enormously helpful to decision makers at all levels who are seeking to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America's communities.

"The Barometer is a dynamic new tool providing important insight into the "real world' implications of behavioral health issues in communities across our nation," said SAMHSA's Administrator, Pamela S. Hyde. "Unlike many behavioral health reports, its focus is not only on what is going wrong in terms of behavioral health, but what is improving and how communities might build on that progress."

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)