Resource Spotlight: Mental Health Workforce Gap in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Needs-Based Approach
Mental, neurological, and substance abuse disorders account for an increasing proportion of the global burden of disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) attributes to these disorders 14% of all of the world’s premature deaths and years lived with disability. In addition to imposing high costs on the health system, mental and neurological disorders and substance abuse also lead to lost worker productivity, impaired functioning, personal stigma, caregiver burden on family members, and, in some instances, to human rights violations.
This document aims to provide health planners, policy researchers and government officials with country-specific estimates of the human resources that are required in the area of mental health to adequately care for the population in need of mental health care. It focuses on eight priority problems as defined by WHO: depression, schizophrenia, psychoses other than schizophrenia, suicide, epilepsy, dementia, disorders related to the use of alcohol and illicit drugs, and paediatric mental disorders (conduct or behavioural, intellectual and emotional disorders of childhood). [from author]
View this resource.
The HRH Global Resource Center has other resources on this topic including:
- Mental Health Atlas 2011
- Human Resources for Mental Health Care: Current Situation and Strategies for Action
- Human Resources for Mental Health: Workforce Shortages in Low and Middle Income Countries
For additional resources on this topic, visit the Mental Health subject category.
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