Mental health
- Gender disadvantage and reproductive health risk factors for common mental disorders in women
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This paper examines the associations between factors indicative of gender disadvantage and reproductive health with the risk of common mental disorders (CMDs) such as depression and anxiety amongst women in India. It finds that the risk for CMDs was significantly higher for women who had experienced gender disadvantage and economic difficulties.
Of the estimated 400 million persons affected by mental disorders, most live in developing countries which command only a fraction of global mental health resources. Mental disorders account for 5-10 per cent of the burden of disease in these countries. However, budgetary allocations in national health budgets rarely exceed 1 per cent. Vulnerable populations, such as the poor and those affected by disasters, are at greater risk.
Mental disorders can be effectively and affordably treated at local or community level. However, most of those in need do not receive any treatment. Mental health remains a low priority on the global public health agenda, in part due to the stigma associated with mental disorders.
Recommended reading
- Neurological disorders: public health challenges
- ( World Health Organization , 2007)
- This report from the World Health Organization examines the public health aspects of neurological disorders. Neurological disorders, ranging from epilepsy to Alzheimer disease, from stroke to headache...
- Insights Health, issue 6: no health without mental health
- ( id21 Development Research Reporting Service , 2005)
- Recommended reading
- Mental health services are under-resourced and neglected in many developing countries, according to a recent issue of the id21 Insights health bulletin. This is at a time when the demand for such serv...
- Achieving the millennium development goals: does mental health play a role?
- ( J. J. Miranda; V. Patel / Public Library of Science Medicine , 2005)
- This paper from the journal PloS Medicine notes that mental health is absent from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). However, it cites evidence which indicates that mental health-related conditi...
Latest Additions
- Demands to reduce the use of antipsychotics for people with dementia
- ( S. Banerjee / Department of Health, UK , 2009)
- There have been increasing concerns over the past years about the use of these drugs in dementia. The findings of this review confirms that there are indeed significant issues in terms of quality of c...
- Mechanisms for effective dementia care treatments
- ( M.J. Prince;D. Acosta;E. Castro-Costa;J. Jackson;K.S. Shaji / Public Library of Science Medicine , 2009)
- Two-thirds of people with dementia live in low- and middle income countries (LMICs), where there are few services available and levels of awareness is low. This paper focuses on the effective ma...
