Developing child mental health services in resource-poor countries.
Despite significant gains in tackling the major causes of child mortality and evidence of an urgent need for child mental health services, resource-poor countries continue to lag behind in child and adolescent mental health service development. This paper analyses possible barriers to the development of child mental health services in resource-poor countries and attempts to proffer solutions. Obstacles identified are the magnitude of child mental health problems that remain invisible to policy makers, an absence of child mental policies to guide the process of service development, and overburdened child mental health professionals. The belief systems about mental illness also prompt help seeking in alternative health systems, thereby reducing the evidence for the burden associated with health seeking. Solutions that may support child mental health service development are the provision of adequate advocacy tools to reveal the burden, poverty alleviation, health awareness programmes, enforcing legislation, training centred within the region, and partnerships with professionals in developed countries. These solutions require simultaneous approaches to encourage service development and utilization. Reductions in child mortality in resource-poor countries will be even more dramatic in the years to come and preparations need to be made to take care of the mental health needs of the children who will survive.
Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan & University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. yomigbodun@comui.edu.ng
Olayinka
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Omigbodun
D000293:Adolescent; D016497:Adolescent Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000600:supply & distribution; D015982:Bias; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000600:supply & distribution; D046688:Child Mortality / Q000639:trends; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003906:Developing Countries; D005544:Forecasting; D006291:Health Policy / Q000639:trends*; D006295:Health Resources / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000600:supply & distribution; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data