INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS

Experiences of treating individuals with mental disorders

Experiences of treating individuals with mental disorders

Introduction

More than 75% of those with mental disorders in the developing world receive no treatment or care. A new WHO program launched today, on World Health Day 2008, highlights a huge gap in treatment of a number of mental, neurological and substance use (Dickerson, Wohlheiter, Medoff, Fang, Kreyenbuhl, Goldberg, Brown & Dixon, 2011). Across Africa, for example, nine in 10 people with epilepsy are deprived of treatment, with no possibility of access to simple and inexpensive anticonvulsant drugs which cost less than $ 5 per year per person. WHO is now urging governments, donors and stakeholders in mental health to rapidly increase funding and basic mental health services to fill this immense void. The Global Programme of Action in Mental Health (mhGAP), aimed at scaling up care for mental, neurological and substance use, says that with proper care, psychosocial assistance and medication, it could be tens of millions of people suffering from depression, schizophrenia or epilepsy, and those people could begin to lead healthy lives even where resources are scarce.

Governments of all countries of the world should consider mental health as a vital component of primary health care (Raffard, Trouillet, Capdevielle, Gely-Nargeot, Bayard, Laroi & Boulenger, 2010). We need to change policies and practices. Only then can we provide essential mental health services to the tens of millions in need, said Dr. Margaret Chan, Director General of the World Health Organization. The program focuses on the gap that needed filling to treat a range of priority disorders and what of what is currently available in the world. In most countries, less than 2% of health funds are spent on mental health. Annually, the third of those living with schizophrenia, more than half of those suffering from depression and three quarters of those with disorders associated with alcohol use without access to treatment or care simple and affordable. Worldwide, every 40 seconds a person commits suicide, suicide, one of the leading causes of mortality of young adults, is preventable.

The situation does not necessarily have to be as it is. In Chile, the national program now covers primary care treatment of depression for all who need it, through which hundreds of thousands of people receive the care essential (Picardi, Adler, Chang, Lega, Gigantesco, Pasquini, Matteucci, Zerella, Caredda, Tarsitani, Biondi & Rogers, 2012). In China, a project on epilepsy excellent results obtained by integrating a model of epilepsy control into local health systems and confirmed that epilepsy can be treated with inexpensive anticonvulsant drugs administered by health professionals have received basic training. The project initiated in six provinces has been extended to 15 provinces, and allowed to treat tens of thousands. The additional costs of scaling up services to address mental disorders are not too large. A study by WHO has shown that low-income countries scaling up of a set of essential interventions for three types of mental disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression) and a risk factor (hazardous ...