Mental health policies in Commonwealth countries

Evaluating the WHO Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems by comparing mental health policies in four countries.

Mental health is a low priority in most countries around the world. Minimal research and resources have been invested in mental health at the national level. As a result, WHO has developed the Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) to encourage countries to gather data and to re-evaluate their national mental health policy. This paper demonstrates the utility and limitations...

Principles that should guide mental health policies in low-and middle-income countries.

Guiding principles for the development of mental health policies in low- and middle- income countries.

Professor Graham Thornicroft, drew the guidelines for taking the necessary steps towards the implementation of a communitybased mental health care program and for overcoming obstacles and avoiding mistakes preventing this. The Task Force’s main recommendations address the need for coordinated policies, plans and programs, the requirement to scale up services for entire populations, the importan...

What are the principles that should guide mental health policies in low- and middle-income countries?

Principles to guide mental health policies in low- and middle-income countries.

this editorial, we focus on the practical implementation of policies related to people living with mental disorders, as opposed to the wider population for whom policies related to health promotion and prevention are important. Broadly speaking, there are two major principles which should underpin these policies: improving access to evidence-based care and respecting the human rights of affecte...