Factors contributing to the effective functioning of veterans mental health councils.

Veterans Mental Health Councils (VMHCs) have been established at many Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers to promote recovery and improve mental health services. Though research shows that consumer-led advisory councils may produce a number of positive outcomes, the aspects of implementation critical for VMHC effectiveness have not been identified. The purpose of this study was to identify factors influencing effective functioning of VMHC, including contextual factors affecting council success. A key goal was to understand how participants defined effective council functioning. In-depth semistructured phone interviews were conducted with 15 council members and VA-employed staff liaisons sampled purposively from a broader group of volunteer participants. Inductive and iterative grounded theory analytic techniques were used to identify influential structural and process elements. Findings suggested that characteristics of council members, staff liaisons, and VA medical centers interact over time to shape council implementation and the effective functioning of councils along two dimensions-setting and accomplishing council goals and supporting recovery among members. VMHCs can develop members and improve the quality of VA mental health services when they are well implemented and supported. Mental health clinicians and supervisors can support councils in several ways. Additional research is needed to explore contextual differences in councils and to quantify the value added to VA mental health services by effective VMHCs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Ending preventable child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea by 2025. Development of the integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea.

Despite the existence of low-cost and effective interventions for childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea, these conditions remain two of the leading killers of young children. Based on feedback from health professionals in countries with high child mortality, in 2009, WHO and Unicef began conceptualising an integrated approach for pneumonia and diarrhoea control. As part of this initiative, WHO and Unicef, with support from other partners, conducted a series of five workshops to facilitate the inclusion of coordinated actions for pneumonia and diarrhoea into the national health plans of 36 countries with high child mortality. This paper presents the findings from workshop and post-workshop follow-up activities and discusses the contribution of these findings to the development of the integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea, which outlines the necessary actions for elimination of preventable child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea by 2025. Though this goal is ambitious, it is attainable through concerted efforts. By applying the lessons learned thus far and continuing to build upon them, and by leveraging existing political will and momentum for child survival, national governments and their supporting partners can ensure that preventable child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea are eventually eliminated.