Mental Health Policy Development Research Articles

Individual Differences in Collective Memory: Heterogeneity of Personal Emotional Memory in Social Groups

This research investigates the nuanced landscape of emotional memory within diverse social groups in the United States, focusing on the period from 2010 to 2020. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study explores individual differences in emotional memory scores across three distinct social groups (Social Group A, Social Group B, and Social Group C). The findings reveal significant variations in emotional memory, with Social Group B exhibiting consistently higher mean scores. These variations underscore the intricate interplay between group identity and the encoding of emotionally charged events. The study contributes to the fields of psychology and sociology by emphasizing the importance of examining individual differences within social groups, particularly through the lens of emotional memory. Practical implications extend to mental health interventions, community outreach, and policy development, emphasizing the need for tailored strategies that acknowledge and address the diverse emotional needs of different social groups.

Early developments of psychiatric epidemiology in Chile: a local history with global implications

Abstract This viewpoint discusses a conference paper titled: “Epidemiological research on mental morbidity in Chile”, which summarizes a handful of studies from 1950s in Chile covering conditions such as alcoholism, psychosis, epilepsy, and neurosis. These were the first psychiatric epidemiological population studies conducted in the Southern hemisphere, but they are largely unknown globally. We argue that the Chilean studies have important implications for modern psychiatric epidemiology, as well as for related fields such as global mental health and mental health services research. This piece starts by describing the general sociopolitical context and presenting the main methodological features of the studies. It focuses then on three specific implications for the field: 1) promoting decoloniality in psychiatric epidemiology; 2) ensuring methodological rigor and feasibility; and 3) informing the development of mental health policy and services.

An integrated knowledge translation (iKT) approach to advancing community-based depression care in Vietnam: lessons from an ongoing research-policy collaboration

BackgroundEvidence-based mental health policies are key to supporting the expansion of community-based mental health care and are increasingly being developed in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Despite this, research on the process of mental health policy development in LMICs is limited. Engagement between researchers and policy makers via an integrated Knowledge Translation (iKT) approach can help to facilitate the process of evidence-based policy making. This paper provides a descriptive case study of a decade-long policy and research collaboration between partners in Vietnam, Canada and Australia to advance mental health policy for community-based depression care in Vietnam.MethodsThis descriptive case study draws on qualitative data including team meeting minutes, a focus group discussion with research team leaders, and key informant interviews with two Vietnamese policy makers. Our analysis draws on Murphy et al.’s (2021) findings and recommendations related to stakeholder engagement in global mental health research.ResultsConsistent with Murphy et al.’s findings, facilitating factors across three thematic categories were identified. Related to ‘the importance of understanding context’, engagement between researchers and policy partners from the formative research stage provided a foundation for engagement that aligned with local priorities. The COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst to further advance the prioritization of mental heath by the Government of Vietnam. ‘The nature of engagement’ is also important, with findings demonstrating that long-term policy engagement was facilitated by continuous funding mechanisms that have enabled trust-building and allowed the research team to respond to local priorities over time. ‘Communication and dissemination’ are also crucial, with the research team supporting mental health awareness-raising among policy makers and the community, including via capacity building initiatives.ConclusionsThis case study identifies factors influencing policy engagement for mental health system strengthening in an LMIC setting. Sustained engagement with policy leaders helps to ensure alignment with local priorities, thus facilitating uptake and scale-up. Funding agencies can play a crucial role in supporting mental health system development through longer term funding mechanisms. Increased research related to the policy engagement process in global mental health will further support policy development and improvement in mental health care in LMICs.

Understanding Emerging Adults’ Perspectives on Mental Health in Togo

Mental health worldwide is extremely important to address; unfortunately, many aspects of mental health are not visibly known or treated in the world. Moreover, some developmental groups are more affected than others; in fact, emerging adulthood is a crucial developmental phase that is prone to depression. With most mental health conditions beginning before the age of 24 and depression as the leading cause of disability globally, this study sought to identify emerging adults’ understanding of depression, a common disease among this population. A qualitative study was used to understand depression during emerging adulthood in Togo. There were 35 participants recruited for this study. With the growing younger population in Sub-Saharan Africa projected to double in a decade and the dearth of studies in the mental health field on the continent, this study serves as a foundation for research into emerging adults’ mental health. Like most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the inexistence of a stand-alone mental health program, the shortage of qualified mental health professionals, and insufficient civil society education on mental health problems remain the fundamental barriers to accessible care in Togo. As the study indicated, there are many ways to provide new opportunities for emerging adults to self-educate about mental health. By increasing our understanding of depression among emerging adults, the findings of this research study offer valuable data as a foundation not only for future studies, but also for mental health policy development and targeted programming for emerging adults in Sub-Saharan Africa and Togo in particular.

Panic disorder: Epidemiology, disability, and treatment gap from nationally representative general population of India.

Panic disorder (PD) is one of the most common and debilitating anxiety disorder. Individuals with PD seek frequent healthcare and emergency services leading to frequent work absenteeism and economic burden. However, its prevalence patterns in the Indian context are poorly understood. Hence, this article discusses the epidemiology, disability, and treatment gap from India's National Mental Health Survey 2016. National Mental Health Survey 2016 was a nationally representative epidemiological survey of adult respondents from 12 states of India. Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview 6.0.0 is used to diagnose psychiatric disorders. Sheehan disability scale was used to assess the disability. The current weighted prevalence of PD was estimated. Association between PD and its sociodemographic correlates was done using Firth penalized logistic regression. The treatment gap and disability in PD were also calculated. The lifetime and current weighted prevalence of PD was 0.5% (95% confidence interval 0.49-0.52) and 0.3% (95% confidence interval 0.28-0.41), respectively. The male gender and unemployed have significantly lesser odds with current PD. The elderly, Urban metro, and the married/separated group have significantly higher odds with current PD. The most common comorbid psychiatric disorder is agoraphobia (42.3%) and depression (30.9%) followed by Generalized Anxiety Disorder (10%). Among respondents with current PD in the past 1 month across three domains, around 80% had a disability of any severity and 20%-25% had marked disability. The overall treatment gap of current PD is 71.7%. It is the first study reporting prevalence from a nationally representative sample from the general population of India. The survey has shed light on the epidemiology and the challenges faced by those with PD which emphasizes the urgency of bridging the treatment gap. These findings are paramount to the development of more inclusive and effective mental health policies and interventions to tackle the current burden due to PD.

Mitigating mental health and wellbeing challenges among young populations: A scan of youth-led initiatives across Canada to inform psychosocial program development

Youth across Canada are developing creative initiatives that address blind spots and inadequacies in youth mental health services and support, yet few have been formally documented. This study fills this gap, compiling and distilling learnings from youth-led initiatives about the approaches and spaces they have created to support the mental health and wellbeing needs of their peers. Using a decolonizing framework, a systematic scan of the grey literature was conducted to identify youth-led initiatives across Canada. A total of 107 youth-led initiatives were included and information regarding their governance structure, mission, delivery of their programs, and definition of mental health and wellbeing was collected and thematically analyzed using an intersectionality lens. Three important themes were identified that ground the work of youth-led initiatives: 1) Facilitating education, capacity building and access to resources, 2) Ensuring inclusive spaces for healing and social support, and 3) Fostering diversity and pride. The unique narratives, values and approaches projected in youth-led initiatives offer important insights regarding what youth want, and emphasize the importance of engaging youth in the design and development of mental health and wellbeing policies, services, and strategies to improve their responsiveness and cultural safety.

A study on the representation of mental disorders in Turkish newspapers

Background Newspapers that address mental disorders affect health care positively or negatively and can affect the public’s perspective with the way they explain mental disorders. Aims To examine the representation of news about mental disorders published in Turkish newspapers. Methods Using the document analysis method, 230 news about mental disorders published in the six most read newspapers in 2022 were examined. Results It has been concluded that the descriptive characteristics of individuals with mental disorders are often stated, schizophrenia and psychotic disorders are mentioned most, mental disorders are associated with delinquency and violent behaviour, these people are mostly represented by being detained as a result of the events, and negative concepts are frequently used in newspaper reports. Five sub-themes were determined under the main theme of “Negative Concepts”: “Exaggerated Discourses”, “Stigmatizing Discourses”, “Discourses Targeting Mental Health”, “Discourses That May Cause Negative Emotions”, “Discourses Containing Misdescription”. Conclusions Newspaper items about mental disorders are represented as stigmatizing and misleading by using negative concepts. The sensitivity of media workers, the development of mental health policies and cooperation with mental health workers contribute to the recovery process of individuals with mental disorders.

Horticulture Activities and Mental Wellness in Young Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Descriptive Correlational Study

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected mental health and coping strategies, particularly among young Filipino adults. Evidence suggests that social isolation and extreme routine changes brought by the pandemic are associated with mental wellness issues, including depression, stress, and loneliness. Horticulture activities have emerged as a potential coping mechanism, supported by Roy's Adaptation Model and Kaplan's Attention Restoration Theory. Material and Methods: This descriptive correlational study was conducted among 361 randomly selected young adult respondents (18-25 years) of the "Iloilo Plant Exchange" Facebook group. Data were obtained through a validated and reliability-tested three-part questionnaire, assessing demographics, horticulture activities, and mental wellness. Descriptive analysis employed frequency, percentage, means, and standard deviations, while inferential analysis utilized t-test, One-Way ANOVA, and Pearson's r at a 0.05 alpha level. Results: Young adults exhibited a high extent of horticulture activities overall, with variations from moderate to high based on individual profiles. The mental wellness level during the pandemic was average, except for postgraduates who reported high levels. Higher educational attainment and family income were significantly associated with increased horticulture engagement. College and postgraduate respondents had significantly higher mental wellness levels compared to high school graduates. During the pandemic, a highly significant positive relationship was found between horticulture activities and mental wellness. Conclusion: The study's findings suggest that promoting horticulture activities may enhance mental wellness among young adults during the pandemic, providing valuable insights for mental health interventions and policy development.

Understanding components and predictors of delay of first treatment for mental health problems: A hospital-based study in China.

Understanding components and predictors of delay of first treatment for mental health problems are crucial to inform interventions for earlier treatment. However, Chinese-context knowledge of this theme is still limited. We conducted an inpatient survey among 206 patients with various mental disorders in China. Delay of first utilization of mental healthcare (Delay-Total) and its two components of help-seeking delay (Delay-H) and referral delay (Delay-R) were assessed in terms of occurrence and duration. Binary logistic regression was performed to test predictors of Delay-Total, Delay-H and Delay-R, and multiple linear regression was used to test predictors of delay durations. Overall, 66.0% patients experienced Delay-Total, with a duration range of 0 to 353 months; 49.5% patients had Delay-H (duration range = 0-207 months) and 29.6% with Delay-R (duration range = 0-323 months). Multivariate logistic regression analysis found that the diagnosis of severe mental disorders was a consistent predictor for a reduced chance of Delay-Total, Delay-H and Delay-R. Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that younger age of disorder onset and disorder onset before 2016 were significantly associated with longer delay. Delay of first treatment for mental health problems is still common in China. However, the development of mental health policy and services promotes shorter treatment delay. The diagnosis of common mental disorders and younger age of onset are risk factors of the occurrence and duration of delay, respectively. Thus, education of the public and non-mental-healthcare professionals are needed for better disorder recognition and more efforts should be inputted to support youngsters' utilization of mental healthcare.

An exploratory study on the 10-year dynamic changes of mental health policy development and media stigma reporting in China (2011-2020).

China has introduced a large number of national mental health policies over the past decade. However, few studies have touched on what changes the policies brought to the media. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between stigma reports, classifications of mental disorders (SMI: severe mental illness vs. CMD: common mental disorders) and sources of information (mental health professionals vs. non-mental health professionals) from 2011 to 2020 in China Daily, an established official media of China. This study consists of policy review and media review. The policy review reviewed the media management content in Chinese national plans, policies, and laws on mental health from 2011 to 2020. China Daily news articles reporting mental illness-related topics were included in this study as the media material. After a two-step review, the eligible news articles were coded with a structured codebook. The proportion and frequency of stigma depiction of mental disorders, classifications of mental disorders and source of information were counted by year. Chi-test was undertaken to determine the relationship between stigma reports and different classifications of mental disorders and sources of information. An exploratory analysis was conducted to explore the changes in depiction around time points of policy publications. The number of anti-stigmatizing articles increased significantly from 2011 to 2020. There is a statistical difference in the proportion of stigmatizing codes between articles featuring SMI and CMD (χ2 = 44.56, p < .001) and different sources of information (χ2 = 78.49, p < .001). And the statistical difference remained over the decade. The results of the research indicate that the media may have alleviated the problem of stigma. But the subtle stigmatization still exists, which needs joint efforts of the government and media.

Mental health service accessibility, development and research priority setting in Cambodia - a post-conflict nation

BackgroundThe limited health and social care infrastructure that existed in the 1970s in Cambodia was destroyed due to the Khmer Rouge. Mental Health service infrastructures have developed in Cambodia in the last twenty five years, however, they have been shaped significantly by very limited funding being made available for human resources, support services and research. The lack of research on Cambodia’s mental health systems and services is a significant barrier to the development of evidence-based mental health policies and practice. In order to address this barrier, effective research and development strategies are needed in Cambodia, which are based on locally well-informed research priorities. There are many possibilities for mental health research in LMIC countries such as Cambodia, therefore focused research priorities in these areas are needed to guide future research investment. This paper is the result of the development of international collaborative workshops, which focused on service mapping and research priority setting in the field of mental health in Cambodia. MethodsA nominal group technique was used to gather ideas and insights from a range of key mental health service stakeholders in Cambodia. Results: The key issues in service provisions for people with mental health issues and disorders, the interventions and programmes of support available, and currently needed, were identified. This paper also identifies five key mental health research priority areas which could form the basis for effective mental health research and development strategies in Cambodia. ConclusionThere is a clear need for the Cambodian government to devise a clear policy framework for health research. This framework could focus on the five research domains identified in this paper and could be incorporated within its National Health Strategic plans. The implementation of this approach would likely lead to the development of an evidence base which would allow the development of effective and sustainable strategies for mental health problem prevention and intervention. This would also contribute to promote the Cambodian government’s capacity to take the deliberate, concrete, and targeted steps necessary to address the complex mental health needs of its population.

Turning challenges into opportunities: mental health and coping styles among Filipino youth during pandemic towards program and policy development framework

The pandemic of COVID-19 represents a direct and indirect global crisis, affecting the physical and psychological health of young people directly and indirectly. Significant restrictions and rules imposed to respond to the prompt growth of COVID-19, mainly social constraints, have represented a risk factor for developing depressive and anxious symptoms. Beyond getting sick, many young people’s social, emotional, and mental well-being has been impacted by the pandemic. Trauma at this developmental stage may have long-term consequences across their lifespan triggered by physical distancing, loss of security and safety, and missed significant life events. Changes in routines and educational challenges triggered a problem with Filipino youth’s mental health. The researcher aims to assess Filipino youth’s mental health status and to investigate the effects of Covid-19 pandemic. A descriptive correlation study was conducted to describe and measure levels of mental health (depression, anxiety, and stress) and coping strategies among Filipino youth as basis for psycho-social intervention programs. The results emphasized the consequences of promoting mental wellness and psychological tactics due to the unanticipated nature of stressful event and emotional responses. The study used of standardized scales such as DASS-21 and Brief Cope Inventory respectively. The survey administered randomly to 200 Filipino youths ages 12 to 17, 80 of which are males and 120 are females. The findings and insights discussed a great addition to the growing knowledge of young people’s mental health and program and policy development for youth protection and intervention in the local settings.

Construction Workforce’s Mental Health: Research and Policy Alignment in the Australian Construction Industry

The Australian construction industry is facing a mental health crisis; poor mental health indicators are significantly higher than the all-industry average. Despite a growing body of research into the mental health of the industry’s workforce, concerns have been raised about its alignment with regulatory developments in this area. This raises questions about the relevance of research to support mental health policy development in Australia and evidence-based research on mental health policy relating to the construction industry. However, there has been no research to explore the extent of this problem. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by reporting the results of a systematic review of peer-reviewed mental health research using the PRISMA scoping review methodology. The results reveal significant misalignment between existing research and Australian government regulation in this area. A particularly low level of research–policy alignment is found in the areas of: violence and traumatic events at work, financial concerns, poor organizational change management, workplace injustice, and social support. The paper concludes with recommendations for new avenues of mental health research to address these gaps, enabling closer alignment between mental health research and regulatory reform. It is concluded that this will facilitate more relevant research and improved evidence-based decision-making in this important field of research and policy development.

A retrospective study exploring how South African newspapers framed Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders over an 11-year period (2004–2014)

Background:The way schizophrenia is portrayed in the media contributes to the dissemination of misinformation about the symptoms, causes, and treatment of mental disorders and has the potential to perpetuate or mitigate the stigmatization of schizophrenia. While research on the news media’s role in exacerbating or mitigating the stigmatization of schizophrenia has been conducted widely in other contexts, our search did not yield any study on media framing of schizophrenia in South Africa. Therefore, this study used the framing theory to examine the media framing of schizophrenia following the enactment of two mental health policies in South Africa.Methods:We examined 216 news stories that covered the schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders from 20 South African newspapers retrieved from the SABINET – SA Media online archive over an 11-year period (2004–2014). Thematic analysis was used to analyse the news stories.Results:The findings show that most of the news stories had problems as their main frame. These were followed by stories framed to diagnose the causes of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders; and stories that made moral judgements about issues around the schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders. Stories that were classified as suggesting remedies were relatively less frequent. A common thread in the news stories was the misperceptions about schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Media framing of the cultural interpretations of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders tended to be derogatory and therefore stigmatising. Most news stories framed schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders as mainly caused by using psychoactive drugs/substance with Cannabis as the most frequently mentioned psychoactive drug.Conclusion:The study underscores the role of media analyses in framing schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders following the development of major mental health policies. The study showed that the media framing of schizophrenia could perpetuate stigmatisation, discrimination and social rejection of people with lived experiences of the condition. Our findings highlight the need for collaboration between researchers and the media to enhance opportunities for improved and more nuanced reporting of mental health issues.

Engendering a monoculture of the mind: implications for mental health policy development in Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT The contextualization of mental health in a medical context in the age of neoliberalism within a Northern disciplinary context has been generalized to the global South through health management. Though many cultural and social idiosyncrasies shape the understanding of mental health in Saudi Arabia, it has been well documented that, by far, the most decisive influence is religion. Muslim beliefs predominantly structure every aspect of life, including ways of dealing with pathology and stress. Critical discourse theory and post-colonial hybridity theory can help integrate local discourses to alter the “discursive fabric” of mental health and subsequent policy initiatives.

Mental health of the Slovak population during COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUNDPopulation’s mental health surveillance is essential for knowing the distribution of mental well-being and mental disorders in the society. This allows for the establishment, evaluation, and revision of preventive measures and curative services. The results of such monitoring should serve as a database for evidence-based mental health policy. Mental disorders are among the top ten causes of burden globally and crisis situations such as the pandemic increase the risk of mental health problems, as they cause constant fear of contagion and the implementation of restrictive measures. The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the general population of the Slovak Republic has not yet been studied. The hypothesis was that more than one fifth of the population (women to a greater extent) will have symptoms of anxiety and depression.AIMTo assess the mental health of the general Slovak population aged 15 years and older in the summer of 2021 by determining the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms.METHODSAn anonymous cross-sectional survey was implemented in a sample of 1501 respondents in the summer of 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The inclusion criteria were age of 15 years and older and ability to complete the survey questionnaire online or in a face-to-face interview. The survey assessed anxiety symptoms by the seven-item general anxiety disorder and depressive symptoms by the nine-item patient health questionnaire instruments. Recognized cut-off scores of 10 or greater were used for both. RESULTSAnxiety symptoms were present in 19.32% and depression in 24.65% of the sample. Symptoms of both disorders were more common in females: 15.00% of males and 24.00% of females experienced anxiety symptoms, and 19.00% of males and 30.00% of females experienced symptoms of depression. Symptoms of both disorders were the most common in the youngest age group (15-25 years old): One fifth of males (20.29%) and one third of females (35.32%) had symptoms of anxiety, and 26.09% males and 43.79% females had symptoms of depression. Mean score for anxiety was 5.44 [standard deviations (SD) = 4.96] for the overall sample, 6.15 (SD = 5.14) for females, and 4.67 (SD = 4.63) for males. The youngest females of the 15-25 years age group had the highest score (7.55, SD = 5.27) among all age groups, for both sexes. Mean score for depression was 6.74 for the overall sample (SD = 5.75), 7.43 for females (SD = 5.87), and 5.99 (SD = 5.52) for males. The highest depression score was observed in the youngest females of the 15-25 years age group (9.34, SD = 6.07). We found a significant association between anxiety or depressive symptoms and younger age [odds ratio (OR): 1.69, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.16-2.45 and OR: 1.65, 95%CI: 1.17-2.34, respectively], being female (OR: 1.86, 95%CI: 1.42-2.42 and OR: 1.76, 95%CI: 0.20-0.29, respectively), and having primary education (OR: 1.66, 95%CI: 1.08-2.54 and OR: 1.65, 95%CI: 1.16-2.63, respectively).CONCLUSIONResults of our study indicate that anxiety and depression are frequent in the Slovak Republic during the COVID-19 pandemic. This important observation should serve as an information basis for the development of effective mental health policies, consisting of preventive programs, and early detection and effective treatment services. The study results provide strong argument for the necessity of mental health reform that is currently being shaped in the Slovak Republic.

A Program for Valuing Mental Health Lived Experience in Social Work Education

ABSTRACT Participation and involvement of service users, carers, and families into the design, delivery, evaluation, and development of mental health policy and services is now a standard expectation. As social workers are employed in mental health settings, it is vital that graduates understand and ethically engage with mental health consumers, survivors, ex-patients, and family (CSX + F) in a meaningful and authentic manner. We argue this extends to fostering critical understandings of dominant discourses about distress, trauma, diagnosis, and intervention as a routine component of social work education. The Valuing Lived Experience Program (VLEP) described in this article within the Curtin University School of Allied Health aims to meaningfully embed the voices of people with lived experience of mental distress, trauma, and service use into the education of tertiary students and academics. Lived experience education in social work is vitally important and requires appropriate resourcing, clear purpose and principles, and attention to the democratisation of knowledge in order to achieve epistemic justice. In this article, the authors describe and contextualise the VLEP as a contemporary example of how lived experience in social work education can occur and be developed. IMPLICATIONS Meaningful participation of people with mental health lived experience is important to social work education. Lived experience education needs to be underpinned by clear ethical and theoretical principles for teaching and learning. Programs that rigorously engage with lived experience in mental health education can make a positive contribution to critical understandings of mental distress.

Demographic Losses due to Women’s Suicide in Lithuania 2007–2020: Social Disparities and Challenges for Mental Health Policy

In many countries of the world, including Lithuania, suicide rates for men are several times higher than for women. Therefore, the phenomenon of men’s suicide is receiving a lot of attention in public, scientific, and political discourses. In contrast, much less attention is paid to tackling women’s suicides and women’s mental health problems. Lithuania has been among the countries with the highest suicide rates for both men and women in the world for several decades, but research on the social and demographic aspects of women’s suicide in Lithuania is lacking. This paper aims to examine the demographic losses that Lithuania suffers from women suicides and assess the socio-demographic differentiation of these losses. The empirical part of the study was based on the calculation of years of life lost methodology. The years of life lost method is acknowledged as an accurate measure for assessing the impact of specific causes of death on premature mortality. Data sources for this study were the World Health Organization, Institute of Hygiene, and Human Mortality Database. The results of our study show that the number of years of lives lost due to women’s suicide decreased statistically significantly from 376 [321; 431] in 2007 to 287 [238; 335] in 2020. In Lithuania, the total number of women suicide was the highest among the 80+ year age group, however, the number of years of life lost due to suicide was the highest among the 30-39 year age group. The change in women’s suicide rates was inconsistent and for women, the decline in demographic loss due to suicide was twice as slow as for men. Nevertheless, the number of years of lives lost due to women’s suicide was about 5 times smaller than that of men in 2020. In Lithuania, high rates of women’s suicide reflect the poor state of women’s mental health, which poses challenges to the country’s mental health policy and sustainable demographic development.

Rethinking Accessibility in Light of the Orange Declaration: Applying a Socio-Ecological Lens to Rural Mental Health Commissioning.

The prevalence of mental illness is a critical public health issue. In Australia, the prevalence of mental illness is similar across all settings, however, people living in rural and remote areas experience worse outcomes than their urban counterparts. Access to mental health services is critical, however, the notion of accessibility needs to be understood in the context of the uniqueness and variability of the rural experience. The Orange Declaration on Rural and Remote Mental Health recognized that rural areas face a series of interconnected challenges and called for place-specific responses and new funding models that reward collaboration and local partnerships. In this paper, we argue that recent mental health planning, policy and service development uses a narrow interpretation of the notion of accessibility that is out of step with current thinking on the heterogeneity of the rural experience. We use some examples of our own research and experience in rural Western Australia to argue that the current commissioning model is not aligned with the Orange Declaration, and remains largely metro-centric and reliant on a narrow conceptualization of service accessibility. We argue that what is needed is a dynamic, responsive, context-sensitive understanding of accessibility that is informed by the distinctiveness of rural adversity, and recognizes the heterogeneity and variability of the rural experience whilst acknowledging rural agency and social capital, and we suggest that applying a socio-ecological approach to the development of new commissioning models provides a way forward.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on population mental health policy: A Scottish case study

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged many mental health systems across Europe. As whole populations experienced extended social restrictions of various levels, there has been an emerging appreciation of the importance of prevention and early intervention to population mental health. In response some countries and nations produced COVID-19-specific mental health plans or updated existing strategies. Mental health policy development can play an important role in countries' recovery from the effects of the pandemic. Policy can be defined as the position that a government takes on a particular issue including descriptions of how the government will respond, statements of scope, values, responsibilities, resource allocation, delivery, engagement and governance structures, as well as detailed commitments to actions. Policy frames the allocation of resources and effort in the direction of agreed social goals. Scotland had a progressive history regarding mental health service delivery, but less focus on prevention in its policy. This workshop will explore the mental health response to the pandemic in Scotland with a focus on prevention and early intervention. It will describe the pandemic context in Scotland, drawing on findings from the Coronavirus: Mental Health in the Pandemic study led by the Mental Health Foundation in partnership with Cambridge, Swansea and Strathclyde Universities and Queens University Belfast. This study has utilized repeated cross-sectional surveys of a representative sample of adults in Scotland to explore the emotional and psychological responses of adults to the evolving circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. The workshop will then describe the process of developing Scotland's COVID-specific mental health policy and highlights of the policy. It will report on implementation of the preventative and early intervention policy elements to date and discuss the implications of the pandemic for Scotland's medium-term mental health policy landscape.