Mental health conditions affect one in 10 people at any one time and account for a large proportion of non-fatal disease burden. There is a high degree of comorbidity between mental health condition...s such as depression and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and alcohol-use disorders. Mental disorders share common features with other NCDs, including many underlying causes and overarching consequences, their high interdependency and tendency to co-occur, and their predilection to being best managed using integrated approaches.
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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 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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Suicide is largely preventable. Unlike for many other health issues, the tools to significantly reduce the most tragic loss of life by suicide are available. With collective action to acknowledge and address this serious problem, as well as commitme...nt to effective interventions, supported by political will and resources, preventing suicide globally is within reach. Importantly, it is a
national suicide prevention strategy that allows communities to come together, and begin to tackle suicide and the issues specific to their needs without stigmatization.
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Common presentations of other significant mental health complaints include: depressed mood, irritability, anxiety, stress, extreme tiredness, unexplained physical complaints. Other significant mental healt...h complaints are frequently seen in non-specialized health settings, but are often treated inappropriately, with excess investigations and inappropriate medications.
OTH supporting material: Role plays, LIVES intervention, Case scenarios, Alternative relaxation exercises, Multiple choice questions, Video link
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Key messages include Effective communication skills should be used for everyone seeking health care,
including people with MNS conditions and their carers; Effective communication skills enable health...an>-care providers to build rapport and trust with people as well as enabling health-care providers to understand the health and social needs of people with MNS conditions; Health-care providers have a responsibility to promote the rights and dignity of
people with MNS conditions and more
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The WHO Guidelines on risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia provide evidence-based recommendations on lifestyle behaviours and interventions to delay or prevent cognitive decline and dementia. These ...box">WHO Guidelines are an important tool for health care providers as well as governments, policy-makers and other stakeholders to strengthen their response to the dementia challenge.
Executive Summary available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish at: https://www.who.int/mental_health/neurology/dementia/guidelines_risk_reduction/en/
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The mental health of women not only adversely affects them, but its impact on their
developing infant is also severe. If the ability of women to take care of their baby is
compromised, the survival and development of the infant is jeopardized. Mat...ernal
depression in resource-constrained settings is linked directly to lower infant birth
weight, higher rates of malnutrition and stunting, higher rates of diarrhoeal disease,
infectious illness and hospital admission and reduced completion of recommended
schedules of immunization in children. It also adversely affects physical, cognitive,
social, behavioural and emotional development of children (1).
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Resource Guide for Advanced Learning
The revised guidelines contain recommendations for specific administrative, environmental controls and respiratory protection, following the assessment made by an external group of experts convened as members of the Guideline Development Group. Moreover, these guidelines focus on interventions speci...fic to preventing transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bridging with the core components of infection prevention and control programmes at the national and acute health care facility level
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This is the first global report on epilepsy summarizing the available evidence on the burden of epilepsy and the public health response required at global, regional and national levels.
The reports highlights major gaps in awareness, diagnosis, t...reatment, and health policies through a series of appalling numbers. With around 50 million people affected worldwide, epilepsy is one of the most common and serious brain disorders. Nearly 80% of people with epilepsy live in low-income and middle-income countries
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New and updated information.
Adverse health effects of hot weather and heat-waves are largely preventable. Prevention requires a portfolio of actions at different levels:from health system pr...eparedness, coordinated with meteorological early warning systems, to timely public and medical advice andimprovements to housing and urban planning. This publication offers detailed information for various target audiences, and on medicaladvice and treatment practices
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The updated List of Essential Diagnostics contains 46 general tests that can be used for routine patient care as well as for the detection and diagnosis of a wide array of disease conditions, and 69 tests intended for the detection, diagnosis and monitoring of specific diseases.
The List is divid...ed into two sections depending on the user and setting: one for community settings, which includes self-testing; and a second one for clinical laboratories, which can be general and specialized facilities.
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Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 in Angola
Ebola virus disease in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Dengue fever in Côte d’Ivoire
Humanitarian crisis in north-east Nigeria.
Mortality and global health estimates.
Accessed August 6, 2019
The seventh WHO Report on the global tobacco epidemic analyses national efforts to implement the most effective measures from the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (...to-highlight medbox">WHO FCTC) that are proven to reduce demand for tobacco.
The report showed that while only 23 countries have implemented cessation support policies at the highest level, 116 more provide fully or partially cost-covered services in some or most health facilities, and another 32 offer services but do not cost-cover them, demonstrating a high level of public demand for support to quit.
Tobacco use has also declined proportionately in most countries, but population growth means the total number of people using tobacco has remained stubbornly high. Currently, there are an estimated 1.1 billion smokers, around 80% of whom live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
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