Healthcare
Challenges and priorities for global mental health research in low- and middle-income countries: symposium report
Challenges and priorities for mental health research in developing countries
Authors:
G. MacArthur
Publisher:
The Academy of Medical Sciences, 2008
With mental disorders constituting a significant proportion of the global health burden, there is a pressing need for co-ordinated efforts in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) to address their impacts. This symposium report, published by The Academy of Medical Sciences, notes that the mental health burden disproportionately affects LMIC, where the majority of the world’s population reside, but scarce resources are available to address mental health in these countries.
To showcase the latest findings on mental health in LMIC, a one-day symposium on the topic of ‘Challenges and priorities for mental health research in low- and middle-income countries’ was held on 4 September 2008 at the Royal Society in London. This report, a summary of key presentations made at the symposium, consists of 6 sections:
- Epidemiology of major mental disorders
- Global mental health research capacity
- The treatment gap in mental health and the impact of stigma
- Management of mental illness through task shifting
- Mental health in emergency settings
- The translation of research to policy and practice for health sector reform.
Arising from the symposium, the author draws implications for the global mental health research. These include: need for a greater understanding of how best to develop and evaluate interventions for people with mental disorders; epidemiological research to characterise the causes, outcomes, and burden of mental illness in different settings; and evaluation of mechanisms by which health systems can scale up feasible and efficacious interventions in fragile states, emergency and routine care settings.
The report concludes with a call for improved communication between researchers and policymakers in developing countries to raise awareness of the burden of mental disorders and facilitate evidence-based priority setting and policymaking processes. Additionally, the author recommends a scaling up of human resources for mental health treatment and care - in part through the provision of training programmes and financial support for community-based health programmes.
[adapted from author]
