Severe mental and neurological disorders in Mozambique

摘要

Mental illness is affected by many factors, from biological determinants and low socioeconomic conditions to substance abuse, war, and political repression, which alone or in combination affect patients and their families. National health systems are required to provide assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation services to people who are affected by mental disorders. However, the provision of services has been neglected; neither the importance of mental disorders, nor their human and economic burden, has been understood or acknowledged; the nature of such disorders and their association with physical illness has been misunderstood; national governments have had laissez-faire attitudes to provision of mental health services; and mental patients, their families, and service providers have had insufficient political voice. These factors have conspired to lower the priority given to mental health services, and reduce their quality and quantity below that of services provided for physical conditions. Underfunding and underdevelopment of mental health systems are common in most countries. WHO has provided information about mental health resources in its 203 member countries on six dimensionsnfrastructure, surveillance, community support, special programmes, personnel, and psychiatric beds. Although most countries reported some national infrastructure and services, these were mostly in mental hospitals and often consisted of no more than a custodial system of care. Many countries reported deficiencies in all sixdimensions, most importantly in human resources and programmes for special populations. Human resources were scarce even in developed countries#