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Supporting Governments and Policy-makers

出版	Division of Mental Health and Prevention of Substance Abuse, World Health Organization, 1998
URL	http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=RPl2NgAACAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api

註釋Sets out the facts, arguments, and advice needed to persuade governments and policy-makers to develop a comprehensive national strategy for dealing with mental health problems. Noting that mental health rarely receives adequate funding in government budgets, the report uses compelling economic and social arguments, as well as human rights issues and findings from recent research, to explain the many advantages of tackling mental health disorders in a planned strategic way. The consequences of not taking action are also clearly explained. The discussion opens with basic definitions of mental health and mental illness. The social, psychological, and biological causes and consequences of mental disorders are also briefly outlined. The next section considers the public health significance of mental illness and related disorders. Recent global estimates are used to profile the huge burden imposed by mental disorders, including a global death toll from suicide alone that is roughly equivalent to the number of lives lost in road traffic accidents. Section three, on the social and economic consequences of mental disorders, indicates the high costs to society that arise when mental disorders are not tackled effectively. The main sociodemographic predictors of mental disorders are considered in the next section, which discusses such factors as conditions in inner city areas, malnutrition, age structure of the population, household composition, and low occupational status. The next most extensive section identifies 13 essential components of a national strategy for mental health and explains how these components can be used to develop a realistic plan of action that responds to real needs and aims to reach clear goals. The report concludes with a framework for mental health legislation and accompanying guides of good practice. Five general principles for mental health legislation are presented together with several human rights issues, relevant to mental health, that should be covered in mental health. [Summary of the web site: www.who.int]