SeriesMental health in complex emergencies
Section snippets
Conceptual framework
A complex emergency is a social catastrophe marked by the destruction of the affected population's political, economic, sociocultural, and health care infrastructures.9 The figure illustrates the links between mass violence, mental health impairment and services, and the existing damage to economic development, social capital, and human rights. Although these macro-level forces create health and mental health impairments and barriers to mental health service delivery, they can also be used to
Magnitude of the problem
The Global Burden of Disease Study24 established for the first time the substantial burden of mortality and disability associated with mental illnesses. Depression, the fourth leading disease burden in 1990, is predicted to move to second place in 2020. Of the ten leading causes of disability worldwide, five were psychiatric conditions. The Global Burden of Disease Study did not focus on traumatised populations, and the mental health effects of psychiatric disorders might be much greater in
Mental health action plan
A mental health action plan for a complex emergency (panel) should be grounded in recommendations from landmark reports from the World Health Organisation67, 68 and the US Surgeon General.69
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