Resource Tag: MENTAL HEALTH POLICY

Nearly 3,000 Australians tragically end their lives by suicide each year, underscoring a major national public health challenge with substantial socio-economic ramifications. Australia’s National Mental Health Plans (NMHPs) aim to improve mental health and reduce suicide rates. This study investigates their effectiveness by analyzing how age-standardized suicide rates across Australian jurisdictions have fluctuated alongside the […]

Mental health challenges are a severe issue that could lead to suicide if not properly addressed. South Africa has a significant burden of mental health issues, which contributes to the soaring rate of suicide. Adequate mental health-care provision could reduce the high suicide rate in South Africa. Since the apartheid regime, the country has made […]

There is ample evidence from medical and social sciences that economic crises impact on individual mental health. This makes neuro-psychiatric dynamics and individual mental health, particularly that of entrepreneurs, relevant for economic policy designers. At the same time, economic policies can have an impact on mental health, reducing or increasing economic uncertainty and, consequently, changing […]

Member States of the Reg: ion have initiated processes to strengthen leadership and governance for mental health. Several countries have developed and implemented mental health plans, strategies and legislations. Direct spending on mental health needs to be increased throughout the Region through the health sector as well as other relevant sectors.

Suicide prevention is a complex and context-dependent challenge. About 75% of deaths by suicide occur in low- and middle-income countries; yet, most current suicide prevention strategies build upon data from high-income countries (HIC). The Kisumu County Government (KCG) in Kenya recognized the need for a suicide prevention action plan. In the absence of a Kenyan […]

Over time, increasing prominence has been given to the social determinants of suicide and how these might be addressed (Fitzpatrick, 2018). There has been a shift from viewing suicide as a predominantly clinical problem associated with mental illness, to viewing it as a public health issue that arises from the confluence of a complex range […]

Over 700,000 people die by suicide every year (World Health Organization [WHO], 2021). Despite increasing investment in suicide prevention activities from many governments worldwide, rates have continued to rise over the past 30 years (Yip et al., 2022). This is because suicide is complex and addressing this complexity is our Achilles heel. There are several […]

Profound and unacceptable inequities in access and mental health outcomes persist in Canada. In response, social justice movements have created a range of distinct but complementary frameworks, including sex and gender-based analysis plus (SGBA+), health equity, intersectionality, anti-racism, decolonization, and mental health recovery. Yet the sheer number of frameworks has created challenges for implementing policy […]

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons and those who are questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity (LGBTQ1) experience significant health and behavioral health disparities. Sexual orientation is defined as “an inherent or immutable enduring emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to other people.” Gender identity is an individual’s innermost sense of self as male, […]

New York City is facing a mental health crisis. It is time for a comprehensive mental health plan for NYC to alleviate and prevent emotional suffering, and to save lives. The City’s new, comprehensive plan for NYC’s mental health focuses on three groups of New Yorkers, for which we see the greatest need: Children, youth […]

Global migration is expected to continue to increase as climate change, conflict and economic disparities continue to challenge peoples’ lives. The political response to migration is a social determinant of mental health. Despite the potential benefits of migration, many migrants and refugees face significant challenges after they resettle. The papers collected in this thematic issue […]

Mental health policies and plans (MHPPs) are important policy instruments and powerful tools to facilitate development of mental health systems and services across the world. We aimed to map and analyse methods and tools used to assess the extent, process and impact of implementing MHPPs. We systematically searched peer-reviewed and grey literature across seven scientific […]

Office for National Statistics (ONS) data reveal that there were 18,998 suicides in men and women aged between 20 and 64 years between 2011 and 2015, and that suicide is the leading cause of death in England in adults below the age of 50. Mortality data published by the ONS are collected from the information […]

Under the Canada Health Act, mental health care is only covered by public health insurance when it is provided by physicians and/or in hospitals, Millions of Canadians don’t have a family doctor2 and can wait months, or more, to see a psychiatrist. Family doctors face challenges in caring for patients with mental health concerns, and publicly […]

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the significant value of systems modelling in supporting proactive and effective public health decision making despite the complexities and uncertainties that characterise an evolving crisis. The same approach is possible in the field of mental health. However, a commonly levelled (but misguided) criticism prevents systems modelling from being more routinely adopted, […]

The immediate period following psychiatric hospitalization is marked by increased risk for suicide behavior and rehospitalization. Because adolescents commonly return to school settings following hospital discharge, school-related stressors and supports are important considerations for psychiatric treatment and discharge planning. The current study aimed to inform recommendations provided by hospitals to schools to improve school reintegration […]