Research, innovations, and ideas to facilitate mental healthcare delivery in South Asia
Kar, Nilamadhab
Kar, Nilamadhab
Citations
Altmetric:
Affiliation
Other Contributors
Publication date
2024-04-07
Subject
Collections
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Abstract
A large proportion of the general population in the highly populous South Asian region has mental health problems. There are many challenges for their care, such as lack of resources, inadequate mental healthcare workforce, uneven distribution of professional input, large underserved areas, poor affordability, stigma, etc. There are examples of good practice, research-based evidence of effective services in the community, and consistent progress. However, there are still unmet needs for mental health care; it is evident that many patients do not receive appropriate care. There is a need for multilevel efforts to address this service gap, from providing adequate resources, training mental health professionals, supporting primary care healthcare staff for community-level interventions, developing sub-specialization services, and conducting research on the effectiveness of psychiatric services. Supporting informal family caregivers is an important consideration in the process as most of the psychiatric patients in the region are supported by their families. Regional cooperation between the countries sharing developmental ideas, projects, and research would be helpful. Ultimately, the efforts should lead to more patient-centric, evidence-based care, sustaining their rights under appropriate laws.
Citation
Kar, N. (2024). Research, Innovations, and Ideas to Facilitate Mental Healthcare Delivery in South Asia. In: Arafat, S.M.Y., Kar, S.K. (eds) Access to Mental Health Care in South Asia. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-9153-2_10
Type
Book chapter