The global burden of disease due to mental disorders continues to rise, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). In addition to causing a large proportion of morbidity, mental disorders – especially severe mental disorders (SMD) – are linked with poorer ...ghlight medbox">health outcomes and increased mortality. SMD are defined as a group of conditions that include moderate to severe depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. People with SMD have a two to three times higher average mortality compared to the general population, which translates to a 10-20 year reduction in life expectancy. While people with SMD do have higher rates of death due to unnatural causes (accidents, homicide, or suicide) than the general population, the
majority of deaths amongst people with SMD are attributable to physical health conditions, both
non-communicable and communicable.
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The Global Movement for Mental Health has brought renewed attention to the neglect of people with mental illness within health policy worldwide. The maltreatment of the mentally ill in many low-inco...me countries is widely reported within psychiatric hospitals, informal healing centres, and family homes. International agencies have called for the development of legislation and policy to address these abuses. However such initiatives exemplify a top-down approach to promoting human rights which historically has had limited impact at the level of those living with mental illness and their families.
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This casebook collects 64 case studies, each of which raises an important and difficult ethical issue connected with planning, reviewing, or conducting health-related research. The book’s purpose is to contribute to thoughtful analysis of these is...sues by researchers and members of research ethics committees (RECs, known in some places as ethical review committees or institutional review boards), particularly those involved with studies that are conducted or sponsored internationally.
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Journal of Palliative Medicine Volume 21, Number 10, 2018
DOI: 10.1089/jpm.2018.0248ad
14 January 2021
This practical guide can be used to help countries monitor and analyse the impact of COVID-19 on essential health services to inform planning and decision-making. It provides practical recommendations on how to use key performance i...ndicators to analyse changes in access to and delivery of essential health services within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic; how to visualize and interpret these data; and how to use the findings to guide modifications for safe delivery of services and transitioning towards restoration and recovery. The guide focuses on existing indicators and data that are captured in routine reporting systems and how they can be used by national and subnational authorities to understand specific contexts, challenges and bottlenecks. This guide supports Maintaining essential health services: operational guidance for the COVID-19 context, which provides an integrated framework to guide countries in their efforts to reorganize, adapt and maintain safe delivery of high-priority essential health services within the context of the pandemic.
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The results of the report clearly show that in 2020, a year dominated by the emergence of COVID-19 and its associated health and economic crises, governments around the world rose to the challenge. Sharp increases in government spending on ...ss="attribute-to-highlight medbox">health at all country income levels underpinned the rise in health spending to a new high of US $9 trillion (approximately 11% of global GDP). Government health spending generally increased and offset declines in out-of-pocket spending. Importantly, the rise in government health spending was part of a much broader fiscal response to the pandemic. In high income and upper-middle income countries social protection spending also increased sharply in as governments attempted to cushion populations from the economic impacts of COVID-19. In contrast to health and social protection, growth in education spending was relatively subdued. Countries face the further challenge of sustaining increased public spending on health and other social sectors in the face of deteriorating macroeconomic conditions and rising debt servicing. This also includes the challenge of sustaining external support for low income countries, which is essential for reducing ensuring poverty, ensuring access to health services and strengthening pandemic preparedness.
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Strengthening resource tracking and monitorig health expanditure
Natural disasters often increase morbidity and mortality rates. Taking appropriate measures to maintain environmental health helps to reduce or eliminate the risks of preventable disease and death. Such measures contribute not only to the ...s="attribute-to-highlight medbox">health of individuals in and near disaster-stricken areas, but they also contribute to decreasing the high costs of providing emergency health services in the aftermath of disaster.
This document is divided into several parts. The first section primarily addresses the effects of natural disasters on environmental health conditions and services. In the second section, environmental health measures are described that should be undertaken in each of three time frames: the predisaster, disaster, and postdisaster periods.
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Revision for Field Review
Online version of the manual: https://iawgfieldmanual.com/manual
Manual for Trainers and Programme Managers
These Guidelines comprise a General Guidelines document that provides the basic parameters of DG ECHO humanitarian health assistance, complemented by specific Technical Guidance in annex.