Mental Health

Health professionals that treat mental health in Ghana, such as community nurses and pharmacists, lack proper training but have become the default practitioners in dealing with illnesses. This brief explores the shortcomings of Ghana’s mental health policies, and highlights the implications and outcomes for the country’s population. [adapted from author]

The overall objective of this study was to conduct a prospective, randomized controlled trial to evaluate the feasibility, implementation, and effectiveness of internet based training in cognitive behavioral therapy techniques for mental health providers, including a standardized telephone-delivered supervision method. [from author]

Poor case detection and inadequate numbers of mental health staff have been associated with increased morbidity among individuals with depression presenting to primary care. In Nigeria, as in most developing countries, general practitioners (GPs) may fill this treatment gap. This study surveyed the knowledge of and attitudes of GPs towards depression.

This article reports the findings of a qualitative study of therapist workforce and service delivery in the disability sector in rural and remote Australia. The aim was to investigate issues of importance to policy-makers, managers and therapists providing services to people with disabilities in rural and remote areas. [from abstract]

This article aims to present the service-specific features and pilot study results of a new mental health service, named “Psychologist in the Neighbourhood,” which was created to intercept unexpressed needs for psychological assistance. The service allows everyone to ask for free psychological consultation, consisting of no more than four meetings with a psychologist, in certain chemists’ shops around the city of Milan. [adapted from abstract]

Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy for depression has been proven effective when guided by a clinician, less so if unguided. This study sought to determine if guidance from a technician would be as effective as guidance from a clinician to increase the capacity of existing mental health services. [adapted from abstract]

This article presents the finding of a study to assess the feasibility, acceptabilty and effectiveness of short online courses for mental health professionals and service users. [adapted from author]

This article reports on a three week-long program of collaborative learning courses, in which 19 mental health professionals and 12 mental health service users participated. Data were analysed to consider the ways in which participants interacted, and how this contributed to the goal of online learning about using internet technologies for mental health practice. [adapted from abstract]

This study sought to contribute to the development of a more sustainable and effective regional mental health workforce by complementing earlier research on common factors in health workforce difficulties with those of leading administrators, managers and senior clinicians in the field. [from abstract]

This paper describes a systematically developed intervention for a lay health worker delivered, community-based intervention for schizophrenia care in three sites in India. [adapted from abstract]

Based on a small inquiry to a number of experienced mental health professionals in sub-Saharan Africa, the authors discuss what a community concept of mental health care might mean in Africa. [from author]

This study explored which characteristics of health worker quality improvement collaboratives were related to changes in healthcare for patients with anxiety disorders, dual diagnosis, or schizophrenia. [adapted from abstract]

The Mental Health Gap Action Program (mhGAP) aims at scaling up services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders for countries especially with low- and middle-income. This guide for mental, neurological and substance use disorders for non-specialist health settings, is a technical tool developed to assist in implementation of mhGAP. [from publisher]

Clinical activities that trainees can be trusted to perform with minimal or no supervision have been labelled as Entrustable Professional Activities. The authors sought to examine what activities could be entrusted to psychiatry trainees in their first year of specialist training. [from abstract]

India is facing shortage of qualified mental health manpower. Recognizing this key constraint, the government of India has formulated a manpower development scheme to address the issue. This article outlines the scheme’s primary initatives: centers of excellence in mental health, departments in mental health specialties, upgrading of psychiatric wings of medical colleges, and modernization of state-run mental hospitals. [adapted from abstract]

Community-based rehabilitation (CBR) is a model of care which has been widely used for physical disabilities in resource-poor settings. This study aimed to compare CBR with out-patient care (OPC) for schizophrenia in a resource-poor setting in India to determine if it is a feasible model for treatment in areas without specialized mental health care providers. [adapted from author]

This study aimed to provide 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 focused on eight priority problems as defined by the World Health Organization. [adapted from introduction]

Traditional healers shoulder a large burden of care of patients with mental health problems. The purpose of this study was to describe the profiles and outcome of traditional healing practices for severe mental illnesses in Jinja and Iganga districts in the Busoga region of Eastern Uganda. [adapted from author]

This article argues that the combination of the widespread use of traditional healers and the shortages of biomedical human resources highlights the need for innovative experiments in making traditional healers potential co-partners in mental health care.

This article outlines the pilot of a low-cost multi-component intervention for depression and other common mental disorders, locally adapted from problem-solving therapy and delivered by trained and supervised female lay workers, to learn if was feasible and possibly effective and how best to implement it on a larger scale. [adapted from abstract]

This document reviews and evaluates the effectiveness of mental health programmes in primary health care in the developing countries. It argues that the scaricity of trained mental health professionals necessitates the use of non-specialized health workers, including primary health workers, nurses and doctors working in collaboration to bring basic mental health care within reach of the mass of the population in developing countries. [adapted from author]

This publication provides the latest estimates on available resources for treatment and prevention of neuropsychiatric disorders globally, in WHO regions, and in groups of countries with different levels of economic development. [from preface]

The overwhelming worldwide shortage of human resources for mental health, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries, is well established. This article reviews the current state of human resources for mental health, needs, and strategies for action. [from summary]

The reported study sought the views of mental health organisation leaders from Gippsland to identify current approaches and potential solutions to the challenges of workforce recruitment, retention and training in rural areas. [from abstract]

This report estimates the number of mental health workers required to treat mental, neurological and substance use disorders, which account for an estimated 14% of the global burden of disease. The workforce shortage is estimated based on comparing this needed number of mental health workers with the supply. [from summary]

This article reports on cross-sectional survey documenting staff/population ratios in public sector mental health services in South Africa. [from abstract]

This article reports on cross-sectional survey documenting staff/bed ratios in public sector mental health services in South Africa. [from abstract]

This article documents the key stages of a project to develop and implement an online resource for facilitating local implementation and delivery of a program to provide improved access to mental health care. The article also reports on the use of this resource 12 months after its launch. [adapted from abstract]

This document provides individual country profiles detailing basic mental health resources around the world. Section I describes the methodology used, as well as the global and regional analyses, while Section II provides short descriptive profiles for each country. [adapted from introduction]

This study was implemented to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a home based intervention in reducing caregiver burden, promoting caregiver mental health and reducing behavioural problems in elderly persons with dementia. [from abstract]