Development of Psychosomatic Medicine in Myanmar

Abstract

The 2015 Global Burden of Disease Study reports that in Myanmar, both depressive and anxiety disorders are among the top 10 contributors to years lived with disability, and both have increased over the past decade (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Myanmar. What health problems cause the most disability. http://www.healthdata.org/myanmar; 2017). Mental health services are provided primarily through 2 psychiatric hospitals, 22 psychiatric wards of general hospitals, and 35 outpatient mental health facilities (WHO 2015). Primary care physicians can prescribe psychiatric medications and have access to mental health treatment manuals, but the majority has not received training on mental health within the past 5 years (WHO 2011). For every 100,000 people, only 0.6 trained mental health workers (e.g., psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses) are available, and only 16% of them work in outpatient settings. For comparison, there are 125.2 per 100,000 in the USA and 318.9 per 100,000 in the UK (WHO 2015). Psychological and psychosomatic disorders and problems are insufficiently recognized and treated, and there is a need for bio-psychosocially orientated medical care. Little is known about the transferability of Western-oriented psychosomatic training programs in the Southeast Asian cultural context. The transferability of Western concepts should be tested locally and adaptations undertaken where necessary (Fritzsche K., et al. BioPsychoSocial Medicine 2012, 6:17. http://www.bpsmedicine.com/content/6/1/17).