title: Treated prevalence of and mental health services received by children and adolescents in 42 low-and-middle-income countries.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about the treated prevalence and services received by children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries (LAMICs). The purpose of this study is to describe the characteristics and capacity of mental health services for children and adolescents in 42 LAMICs.
  
  
  METHODS
  The World Health Organization Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS), a 155-indicator instrument developed to assess key components of mental health service systems, was used to describe mental health services in 13 low, 24 lower-middle, and 5 upper-middle-income countries. Child and adolescent service indicators used in the analysis were drawn from Domains 2 (mental health services), 4 (human resources), and 5 (links with other sectors) of the WHO-AIMS instrument.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median one-year treated prevalence for children and adolescents is 159 per 100,000 population compared to a treated prevalence of 664 per 100,000 for the adult population. Children and adolescents make up 12% of the patient population in mental health outpatient facilities and less than 6% in all other types of mental health facilities. Less than 1% of beds in inpatient facilities are reserved for children and adolescents. Training provided for mental health professionals on child and adolescent mental health is minimal, with less than 1% receiving refresher training. Most countries (76%) organize educational campaigns on child and adolescent mental health.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mental health services for children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries are extremely scarce and greatly limit access to appropriate care. Scaling up of services resources will be necessary in order to meet the objectives of the WHO Mental Health Gap Action (mhGAP) program which identifies increased services for the treatment of child mental disorders as a priority.
authors.affiliation: World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. morrisj@who.int
authors.forename: Jodi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: Myron
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Belfer
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Daniels
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flisher
authors.forename: Liesbet
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Villé
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lora
authors.forename: Shekhar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saxena
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019049:Developed Countries / Q000191:economics; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D014944:World Health Organization / Q000458:organization & administration