Open AccessReducing the treatment gap for mental disorders: a WPA survey
Author(s) -
PATEL VIKRAM,
MAJ MARIO,
FLISHER ALAN J.,
SILVA MARY J.,
KOSCHORKE MIRJA,
PRINCE MARTIN,
Tempier Raymond,
Riba Michelle,
Sanchez Mauricio,
Campodonico Fabrizio Delgado,
Risco Luis,
Gask Linda,
Wahlberg Henrik,
Roca Miquel,
LecicTosevski Dusica,
Soghoyan Armen,
Moussaoui Driss,
Baddoura Charles,
Adeyemi Joseph,
Rataemane Solomon,
Jalili S. Ahmed,
Mohandas E,
Shinfuku Naotaka,
Freidin Julian,
Stagnaro Juan Carlos,
Puig Ines Josefina,
Kirkby Kenneth,
Musalek Michael,
Ismayilov Nadir,
Rabbani Golam,
Harvey Sharon,
Sabbe Bernard,
NoyaTapia Nils,
BurgicRadmanovic Marija,
Hetem Luiz Alberto,
Vasconcellos Fatima,
Maass Juan,
Miranda Carlos,
Papaneophytou Neophytos,
Raboch Jiri,
FinkJensen Anders,
Okasha Ahmed,
Korkeila Jyrki,
Guelfi Julien Daniel,
Schneider Frank,
Ohene Sammy,
Christodoulou George,
Soldatos Constantin R.,
King Emilio Quinto Barrera See,
Mendoza Mario,
Kallivayalil Roy Abraham,
Gudarzi Shahrokh S.,
Lafta Mohammed R.,
Bassi Mariano,
Clerici Massimo,
Gibson Roger,
Kojima Takuya,
Nurmagambetova Saltanat,
Cho SooChurl,
Kadyrova Tamilla,
Mikati Nabil,
Bajraktarov Sojan,
Yen Teck Hoe,
Ayushjav Bayanhuu,
Stevovic Lidija Injac,
Molina José Santiago Sequeira,
Gureje Oye,
Johannessen Jan Olav,
Chaudhry Haroon Rashid,
AlAshhab Bassam,
Araszkiewicz Aleksander,
Prelipceanu Dan,
Krasnov Valery,
Bogdanov Anatoly,
JasovicGasic Miroslava,
Vavrusova Livia,
Pregelj Peter,
Liria Alberto Fernandez,
Abdelrahman Abdallah,
Udomratn Pichet,
Ulas Halis,
Gokalp Peykan,
Kigozi Fred N.,
Richardson Greg
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
world psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 15.51
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 2051-5545
pISSN - 1723-8617
DOI - 10.1002/j.2051-5545.2010.tb00305.x
Subject(s) - mental health , global mental health , psychiatry , medicine , stakeholder , psychology , political science , public relations
The treatment gap for people with mental disorders exceeds 50% in all countries of the world, approaching astonishingly high rates of 90% in the least resourced countries. We report the findings of the first systematic survey of leaders of psychiatry in nearly 60 countries on the strategies for reducing the treatment gap. We sought to elicit the views of these representatives on the roles of different human resources and health care settings in delivering care and on the importance of a range of strategies to increase the coverage of evidence-based treatments for priority mental disorders for each demographic stage (childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age). Our findings clearly indicate three strategies for reducing the treatment gap: increasing the numbers of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals; increasing the involvement of a range of appropriately trained non-specialist providers; and the active involvement of people affected by mental disorders. This is true for both high income and low/middle income countries, though relatively of more importance in the latter. We view this survey as a critically important first step in ascertaining the position of psychiatrists, one of the most influential stakeholder communities in global mental health, in addressing the global challenge of scaling up mental health services to reduce the treatment gap.