Development of a sustainable community mental health program in a remote region: the Austral Institute for Mental Health

Jose Lumerman,Sarah Conover

doi:10.1590/s1414-462x2013000100012

Jose Lumerman, Sarah Conover

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s1414-462x2013000100012

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Journal: Cadernos saude coletiva	Publication Date: Mar 1, 2013
Citations: 1	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: Austral University, Hunter College

Abstract

This paper described a community-based rehabilitation program in a remote region of Argentina. The program is located in Neuquén Province, in the Patagonia region. At the time it was initiated, about 20 years ago, the province had an excellent system of primary care, but one in which mental disorders were neglected. There were only a few psychiatrists in the province, and none involved in community care of people with severe mental disorders. Starting from this point, the "Austral" program was developed by making use of the local resources (such as primary care doctors) that were available, and it later earned a reputation as a model program.In 2012, Neuquén became a site of the RedeAmericas, a National Institute of Mental Health funded regional mental health network in Latin America.

Highlights

This paper describes a community-based rehabilitation program in the province of Neuquén, in the remote Patagonia region of Argentina, which has been sustained for 20 years
Pamela Collins is no longer involved with the Austral, due to the potential for conflict of interest; as a leader in the field of global mental health, she plays a key role in the development of global mental health initiatives such as RedeAmericas within the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)[5]
The experience of the Austral suggests that good community mental health care is feasible and sustainable in remote settings in middle income countries where there are few psychiatrists and few psychiatric inpatient beds

Summary

Introduction

Sustainable community mental health program in a remote region INTRODUCTION This paper describes a community-based rehabilitation program in the province of Neuquén, in the remote Patagonia region of Argentina, which has been sustained for 20 years. In 1993, aware of the gap in mental health services in the public sector, the medical director of Neuquén’s Social Security Institute (ISSN) asked JL to develop a nongovernmental organization for the care of ISSN members with severe mental disorders.

Results

Conclusion