THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., May 20 CA-Anthem-campaign
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Depression is a serious but
treatable health condition that affects more than six million American men.
This condition will be the focus of a national campaign during Mental Health
Awareness Month in May, called Men Get Depression, which is supported by the
Anthem Blue Cross Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Anthem Blue Cross.
The Men Get Depression National Awareness Campaign is an effort to
increase knowledge, reduce stigma, and promote screening and treatment for
male depression. State of the Art, an Academy Award(R)-winning communications
company began developing the project more than six years ago. Funding for the
research, development and evaluation of the outreach materials was provided by
a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. In addition to Anthem
Blue Cross Foundation, support for the outreach, and broadcast dissemination
was provided by Charles E. Kubly Foundation, Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation,
Community Voices: Healthcare for the Underserved at Morehouse School of
Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Carson J. Spencer Foundation.
"Men and women of all ages, economic status, racial and ethnic backgrounds
can be affected by symptoms of depression," said Leslie A. Margolin, president
of Anthem Blue Cross. "Given the continued prevalence of depression and its
associated costs to individuals and society, we are pleased to support,
through our charitable foundation, this effort to create awareness around the
symptoms and treatments for this condition."
Included in this campaign is a one-hour documentary, which began airing on
public television stations in California in early May 2008, that explores the
corrosive effect of depression on the self, relationships and careers through
the intimate profiles of real men, including a former NFL Quarterback, a
Fortune 500 CEO, an Iraq War veteran, a university professor, a pastor and
others.
To broaden the reach of the campaign, outreach partnerships have already
been established with a number of leading national and community-based mental
health organizations. On May 22nd, Mental Health America of San Diego County
will be featuring Men Get Depression at their annual Healthy Minds Luncheon in
the Presidential Ballroom of the US Grant Hotel. Eric Hipple, former NFL
quarterback for the Detroit Lions and campaign spokesperson, will speak at the
event.
A Web site was also developed to serve as a resource center and guide for
community organizations, employers, churches and individuals, who can download
free resources, a community toolkit and film clips at
www.mengetdepression.com. Additionally, due to the barriers to both awareness
and treatment of mental illness and mental health care within the Latino and
African American communities, outreach activities will include a specific
focus on reaching men and their families within these communities. To increase
access and usability, all materials have been developed in English and
Spanish, reviewed for low literacy and closed captioned.
About the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation
Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation promotes
Anthem Blue Cross' inherent commitment to enhance the health and well-being of
individuals and families in communities that the company serves. The
Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and
provide innovative solutions to reduce the number of uninsured as well as
organizations and nonprofit charities that promote the Healthy Generations
Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets specific disease states
and medical conditions. These include: prenatal care in the first trimester,
low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that
decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult
populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking
cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company's annual associate
giving campaign and provides a 50 percent match of associates' campaign
pledges.
The Anthem Blue Cross Foundation is an affiliate of the WellPoint
Foundation. To learn more about the WellPoint Foundation please visit
http://www.wellpointfoundation.org .
About Anthem Blue Cross:
Anthem Blue Cross is the trade name of Blue Cross of California. Anthem
Blue Cross and Anthem Blue Cross Life and Health Insurance Company are
independent licensees of the Blue Cross Association. (R) ANTHEM is a
registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross names
and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross Association.
SOURCE Anthem Blue Cross
