Mental health systems capacity in European Union Member States, Iceland and Norway

Overview

WHO, with the support of the European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, created a survey to explore the capacity of EU Member States, Iceland and Norway (‎29 countries)‎ to promote mental health and prevent and manage mental health conditions. The survey also sought to identify the key challenges to and enablers of policies and health systems for improved prevention and management of mental health conditions. All countries responded to the survey. Nearly every country had a mental health policy or strategy in place, but implementation varied according to the policy area. The most common barrier to implementation was a lack of availability and coverage of the workforce, whereas the most common enablers concerned mechanisms for stakeholder cooperation and strong buy-in from said stakeholders. Recommendations for countries include scaling up capacity building for the mental health workforce and building policies with implementation in mind, including better monitoring and evaluation data.