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MENTAL HEALTH EVIDENCE AND RESEARCH (MER)
The Mental Health: Evidence and Research team (MER) at WHO is deeply committed to closing the gap between what is needed and what is currently available to reduce the burden of mental disorders worldwide and to promote mental health. The MER team transforms this objective into action through the following core projects: Atlas, WHO-AIMS and Mental Health in Emergencies. All of these projects aim to increase the information and evidence base on mental health. In turn, this information can be used to strengthen mental health care systems which will result in better care and services to individuals and communities. Detailed information is provided on each of these projects through the links below.
CORE PROJECTS:
Revision of ICD-10 Mental and Behavioural Disorders
WHO is revising the classification of mental and behavioural disorders as a part of the overall revision of ICD-10. An International Advisory Group has been established for this purpose. Click below to see the Summary Report of the first Meeting of the Advisory Group held in January 2007.
Summary Report: first Meeting of the Advisory Group January 2007 [pdf 62kb]
Summary Report: second Meeting of the Advisory Group September 2007 [pdf 257kb]
Summary Report: third Meeting of the Advisory Group March 2008 [pdf 1.11Mb]
Summary Report: fourth Meeting of the Advisory Group December 2008 [pdf 90kb]
Project Atlas
Project Atlas map's mental health resources in the world. These data are needed at the country level to assess the current situation and to assist in developing plans, and at the regional and global levels to develop an aggregate picture of the available mental health resources and the overall needs. Click below for more information on the ATLAS project and to access the interactive website with the entire database.
Project Atlas: Resources for Mental Health
Atlas project summary
WHO-AIMS
The World Health Organization Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) is a new WHO tool for collecting essential information on the mental health system of a country or region. The goal of collecting this information is to improve mental health systems and to provide a baseline for monitoring the change. Click below for more information on WHO-AIMS.
http://who.int/mental_health/evidence/WHO-AIMS/en/index.html
WHO-AIMS Country Reports
Mental Health in Emergencies
The target group for WHO work on mental health in emergencies is any population exposed to extreme stressors, such as refugees, internally displaced persons, disaster survivors, and terrorism, or war-exposed populations. Click below for more information and resources on mental health in emergencies.
http://www.who.int/mental_health/emergencies/
New MER publications:
Atlas: Global Resources for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (Atlas-ID)
This new publication from WHO and the Montreal PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Reference in Mental Health presents evidence on existing resources and services for people with intellectual disabilities around the world. Intellectual disabilities is a neglected area with little information available in the majority of countries on resources and services as well as human rights protection, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Atlas-ID summarizes information from 147 countries, covering the 95% of the global population, thus can be considered as the leading global assessment on intellectual disabilities.
Atlas: Global Resources for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities [pdf 5.86Mb]
Research capacity for mental health in low- and middle-income countries: Results of a mapping project
This report provides an account of the current status of mental health research in 114 LMICs of Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The scale of the study makes it the first systematic attempt to confirm the pressing needs of improving research capacity in mental health.
Research capacity for mental health in low- and middle-income countries: Results of a mapping project [pdf 5.34Mb]
Atlas: Nurses in Mental Health 2007
This new publication from WHO and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) summarizes information on the numbers, training, roles and responsibilities of nurses in the mental health field. The most consistent finding in the study is the severe shortage of nurses providing mental health care in most low and middle income countries. This information has been collected from 172 countries from all regions of the world.
Atlas: Nurses in Mental Health 2007 [pdf 2.29Mb]
Economic Aspects of Mental Health: Key messages to health planners and policy-makers
The aims of this short report are: to highlight the need for and relevance of an economic perspective in planning, providing and evaluating mental health services; and to assist mental health planners and evaluators in understanding and using economic arguments for (a) increasing the allocation of resources for mental health and (b) improving cost-effective utilization of resources to strengthen mental health systems.
Economic Aspects of Mental Health: Key messages to health planners and policy-makers [pdf 225kb]
Dollars, DALYs and Decisions: Economic Aspects of the Mental Health System
The aims of this report are to highlight the need for and relevance of an economic perspective in the assessment of mental health systems in WHO Member States and in planning and implementing action for their strengthening; and to provide a summary of results from mental health economic analyses undertaken both at the level of WHO regions and Member States, including key messages for strengthening of mental health systems.
Dollars, DALYs and Decisions: Economic Aspects of the Mental Health System [pdf 1.60Mb]
Disease Control Priorities related to Mental, Neurological, Developmental and Substance Abuse Disorders
This publication brings together five chapters from Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries, 2nd edition (2006), along with an introduction and a conclusion by WHO. The chapters cover mental disorders, neurological disorders, learning and developmental disabilities, and alcohol and illicit opiate abuse. The purpose of this special package is to provide information on cost-effectiveness of interventions for these specific groups of disorders.
Disease Control Priorities related to Mental, Neurological, Developmental and Substance Abuse Disorders [pdf 1337 Kb]
Atlas: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Resources
A key to the development of all mental health services, especially child and adolescent mental health services, is the development of a country or regional commitment to provide appropriate needed services. This commitment is demonstrated through policy, legislation, and governance.
Atlas: Child and adolescent mental health resources [pdf 1.04Mb]
Atlas: Psychiatric education and training across the world
Psychiatrists play an important role in the delivery of mental health services. However, global information about the quality of training of psychiatrists is scarce. Do countries train adequate numbers of psychiatrists
for their mental health needs? How satisfactory is the training in view of the changing roles of a psychiatrist? Does the training take into account enormously different environments in which psychiatrists work across the world?
These and similar questions need urgent answers.
Atlas: Psychiatric Education and Training across the World 2005 [pdf 3.02Mb]
Promoting mental health: Concepts, emerging evidence, practice - Full Report
The Report aims to bring to life the mental health dimension of health promotion. Like health promotion, mental health promotion involves actions that allow people to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles and create living conditions and environments that support health. This book describes the concepts relating to promotion of mental health, the emerging evidence for effectiveness of interventions and the public health policy and practice implications.
Promoting mental health: Concepts, emerging evidence, practice - Full Report [pdf 2.07Mb]
Promoting Mental Health: Spanish version [pdf 1.01Mb]
Promoting Mental Health: Chinese version [pdf 694kb]
Prevention of mental disorders
Mental disorders are inextricably linked to human rights issues. The stigma, discrimination and human rights violations that individuals and families affected by mental disorders suffer are intense and pervasive. At least in part, these phenomena are consequences of a general perception that no effective preventive or treatment modalities exist against these disorders. Effective prevention can do a lot to alter these perceptions and hence change the way mental disorders are looked upon by society.
Prevention of Mental Disorders: Effective interventions and policy options [pdf 688kb]
Prevention of mental disorders: Arabic [pdf 1.30Mb]
Prevention of mental disorders: Spanish [pdf 473kb]
Prevention of mental disorders: Chinese [pdf 594kb]
All MER Publications
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For more information, please refer to the list of publications.
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