Good Intentions, Bad Habits: Reforming Mental Healthcare In LatAm

The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region is a vast patchwork of countries, cultures and ethnicities with a total population of more than 645 million, ranging from 209 million-plus in Brazil to islands with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants.The diversity is also economic; recent years have seen marked improvements in income distribution and a burgeoning middle class, particularly in countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Nicaragua. Yet, LAC remains the region with the highest levels of income inequality worldwide.All of this has a significant bearing on the state of mental health, where good intentions and genuine progress in reforming infrastructure and attitudes are clouded by treatment gaps, inadequate funding, over-centralization, meagre human resources and persistent stigmatization.The burden of illness remains substantial. Mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) disorders account for an estimated 21% of all disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and for 34% of years lived with disability (YLDs) across the region. Worldwide, MNS disorders are responsible for 10% of all DALYs and 29% of YLDs.Depressive and anxiety disorders are the main contributors. According to the World Health Organization, depressive disorders are the leading cause of YLDs in the Americas (including the US and Canada), accounting for 9% of the total, well above the global figure of 8%. Anxiety disorders rank third, with 6% of all YLDs across the Americas (3% worldwide).Underlying...
Source: EyeForPharma - Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Source Type: news