Biomaterial Database

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness: reframing inequities experienced by people with severe mental illness. 2014

Rob Whitley, and Benjamin F Henwood

Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University.

OBJECTIVE In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson stated that citizens of the new republic had fundamental and inalienable rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." OBJECTIVE The purpose of this article is to reframe inequities experienced by people living with severe mental illnesses in terms of violations of Jeffersonian rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." We simultaneously consider governmental and clinical efforts to address identified inequities and uphold these rights. METHODS The broad research literature on severe mental illnesses was examined. CONCLUSIONS People with severe mental illnesses experience numerous inequities regarding "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." These inequities include diminished life expectancy, excessive involuntary commitment and elevated rates of unemployment and homelessness. Governmental and clinical responses to such inequities include the Affordable Care Act and the Olmstead Decision, as well as recovery-oriented interventions such as Supported Employment and Supported Housing.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D011638	Public Housing	Housing subsidized by tax funds, usually intended for low income persons or families.	Housing, Public
D011788	Quality of Life	A generic concept reflecting concern with the modification and enhancement of life attributes, e.g., physical, political, moral, social environment as well as health and disease.	HRQOL,Health-Related Quality Of Life,Life Quality,Health Related Quality Of Life
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D006806	Human Rights	The right of the individual to cultural, social, economic, and educational opportunities as provided by society, e.g., right to work, right to education, and right to social security.	Linguistic Rights,Right to Housing and Shelter,Rights of Indigenous Peoples,Collective Human Rights,Equal Rights,Human Rights, Collective,Indigenous Peoples Rights,Rights, Collective Human,Rights, Equal,Rights, Linguistic
D012959	Socioeconomic Factors	Social and economic factors that characterize the individual or group within the social structure.	Economic and Social Factors,Social Inequalities,Social Inequality,Social and Economic Factors,Socioeconomic Characteristics,Factors, Socioeconomic,High-Income Population,Land Tenure,Standard of Living,Characteristic, Socioeconomic,Factor, Socioeconomic,High Income Population,High-Income Populations,Inequality, Social,Living Standard,Living Standards,Population, High-Income,Socioeconomic Characteristic,Socioeconomic Factor,Tenure, Land
D014481	United States	A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.
D016832	Employment, Supported	Paid work for mentally or physically disabled persons, taking place in regular or normal work settings. It may be competitive employment (work that pays minimum wage) or employment with subminimal wages in individualized or group placement situations. It is intended for persons with severe disabilities who require a range of support services to maintain employment. Supported employment differs from SHELTERED WORKSHOPS in that work in the latter takes place in a controlled working environment. Federal regulations are authorized and administered by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.	Supported Employment
D054624	Health Status Disparities	Variation in rates of disease occurrence and disabilities between population groups defined by various factors including socioeconomic characteristics (see SOCIOECONOMIC DISPARITIES IN HEALTH), age, ethnicity, economic resources, or gender and populations identified geographically or similar measures.	Health Status Disparity,Disparity, Health Status
D058991	Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act	An Act prohibiting a health plan from establishing lifetime limits or annual limits on the dollar value of benefits for any participant or beneficiary after January 1, 2014. It permits a restricted annual limit for plan years beginning prior to January 1, 2014. It provides that a health plan shall not be prevented from placing annual or lifetime per-beneficiary limits on covered benefits. The Act sets up a competitive health insurance market.	Affordable Care Act,Affordable Care Act (ACA),Health Care Reform Act,Obamacare,PL 111-148,PL111-148,Public Law 111-148,111-148, PL,Act, Affordable Care,Acts, Affordable Care,Acts, Affordable Care (ACA),Affordable Care Acts,Care Act, Affordable,Care Act, Affordable (ACA),Care Acts, Affordable,PL 111 148,PL111 148,Public Law 111 148
D028642	Mentally Ill Persons	Persons with psychiatric illnesses or diseases, particularly psychotic and severe mood disorders.	Mental Patients,Mentally Ill,Ill, Mentally,Mentally Ill Person,Person, Mentally Ill,Persons, Mentally Ill