Good mental health is integral to human health and well being. A person’s mental health and many common mental disorders are shaped by various so...cial, economic, and physical environments operating at different stages of life. Risk factors for many common mental disorders are heavily associated with social inequalities, whereby the greater the inequality the higher the inequality in risk.
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BMC Health Services Research 14(1):42 · January 2014
The objective of this international comparative study is to describe and compare the mental health policies in seven countries of Eastern Eu...rope that share their common communist history: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.
The burden of totalitarian history still influences many areas of social and economic life, which also has to be taken into account in mental health policy. We may observe that after twenty years of health reforms and reforms of health reforms, the transition of the mental health systems still continues. In spite of many reform efforts in the past, a balance of community and hospital mental health services has not been achieved in this part of the world yet.
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Miscellaneous
Chapter J.4
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as ‘a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work p...roductively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community’. Mental illness refers to all of the diagnosable mental disorders, which are characterised by abnormalities in thinking, feelings or behaviours. Mental illness is closely related to vulnerability, both in its causes and in its effects. Globally, 14 per cent of the global burden of disease is attributed to mental illness – with 75 per cent of those affected being found in low-income countries – which includes a broad spectrum of diagnoses, from common mental illnesses such as anxiety and
substance abuse, to severe illnesses like psychosis.
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This updated Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2030 builds upon its predecessor and sets out clear actions for Member States, the WHO Secretariat and international, regional and national partners to promote mental ...o-highlight medbox">health and well-being for all, to prevent mental health conditions for those at-risk and to achieve universal coverage for mental health services. While the updated action plan includes new and updated indicators and implementation options, the original four major objectives remain unchanged: more effective leadership and governance for mental health; the provision of comprehensive, integrated mental health and social care services in community-based settings; implementation of strategies for promotion and prevention; and strengthened information systems, evidence and research.
In English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Russian available
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interim guidance, 14 June 2021
This document is intended for national authorities and decision makers in countries that have introduced large scale public health and social measures. It offers guidance for adjusting public ...-highlight medbox">health and social measures, while managing the risk of a resurgence of cases.
Available in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish
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22 July 2022. This document summarizes current WHO guidance for public health surveillance of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in humans caused by infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
Conflict, in its active or latent forms, is everywhere. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that public health emergencies can strike any country at any time. Given the universality of and interconnections between conflict, humanitarian crises, a...nd public health emergencies, practitioners trained in one sector or the other are being called upon to understand how to navigate all of these emergencies at once.
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Economics plays a vital role in health policy-making and investments to reduce air pollution; in helping to understand the costs of health care; and in determining nations’ wealth and ability to i...nvest in health and well-being..
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BMJ Global Health 2022;7:e008007. doi:10.1136/ bmjgh-2021-00800
We need to be concerned about mental health in the context of climate change
Human activities are driving fundamental changes to the biosphere and disrupting many of our planet’s natural systems. There is increasing scientific evidence that the unfolding climate crisis, global pollution, unprecedented levels of biodiversity loss, and pervasive changes in land use and cover... threaten nearly every dimension of human health and wellbeing
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Small island developing states (SIDS) are a set of islands and coastal states that share similar sustainable development challenges, as a result of their size, geography and vulnerability to climate change. Thirty-nine WHO member states in four regions – the African Region, the Region of the Ameri...cas, the South-East Asian Region, and the Western Pacific region – are classified as SIDS. Whilst the individual countries differ in many respects, collectively they face unique social, economic and environmental challenges.
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In 2024, we need US$1.5 billion to provide live-saving health care to millions of people in emergencies. An alarming combination of conflict, climate-related threats and increasing economic hardship mean an estimated 166 million people require ... class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">health assistance.
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