World Mental Health

by Desjarlais, Robert; Eisenberg, Leon; Good, Byron; Kleinman, Arthur

• ISBN13: 9780195095401
• ISBN10: 0195095405
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-01-01
• Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr

Summary

This timely volume describes the emergence of a crisis in world mental health. It analyzes the growing burden of mental, behavioral and social problems in low-income countries, examines the sources of the substantial morbidity rates and their relation to development, and assesses currentefforts to cope with them. It identifies opportunities for effective mental health interventions, methods of treatment, culturally appropriate prevention programs, and sound policy formation. It relates the mental health consequences of violence, dislocation, poverty, and the disenfranchisement ofwomen to the most pressing economic, political, and environmental problems of our time. Because many of the problems reviewed in this Report occur in both low-income and high-income societies, fruitful comparison and collaboration between North and South can lead to mental health policies that canbe applied in many settings. The book is the result of several years of collaboration between experts from more than 19 countries and researchers in the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. The authors examine key findings on mental illness and mental health services; suicide; substance abuse; the mentalhealth problems of women, children and the elderly; violence; dislocation; and health-related behavior in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. They recommend new actions in mental health services, in public health and public policy, as well as an agenda for research. For all who areinterested in the global context of mental health and in development, this very readable volume with its numerous case studies, illustrations and tables will be an invaluable resource.

Table of Contents

1. The Global Context of Well-Being2. Mental Illness and Psychiatric Services3. Suicide4. Substance Abuse5. Violence6. Dislocation7. Children and Youth8. Women9. The Elderly10. Behavior and Health11. Conclusions and an Agenda for Action12. An Agenda for Research