A Case Study of Mental Illness and Psychiatric Services on the Caribbean Island of Nevis

Abstract

Objective: This case study describes the burden of psychiatric disease and mental health services available on the Caribbean island of Nevis. Methods: Hospital and clinic records and government reports were retrospectively collated and analyzed. Previously unpublished information pertaining to psychiatric cases on the island from 2003 to 2005 was collated and analyzed. The personal experience of the authors as primary care providers participating in mental health care is integrated into the analysis. Results: Mental health services on the island of Nevis are provided free of cost as part of community health services. A psychiatrist visits the island twice a week from the adjoining island of Saint Kitts and is aided by two resident psychiatric nurses. Local primary care providers at the island's only hospital are providers of emergency, urgent, and hospital psychiatric care. The most common psychiatric diagnoses are depression, schizophrenia, and drug-induced psychosis. Conclusions: Psychiatric disease and provision of care on the island is compared with other Caribbean islands and isolated settings. The provision of psychiatric care by primary care physicians and nurses on the island highlights the importance of training primary care providers in basic psychiatric care.