Global child and adolescent mental health: a culturally informed focus

The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) was first published in 1996 by Murray and Lopez.1,2 One of its key findings was that mental disorders were among the major causes of disability in high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The investigators of the GBD study estimated thatdepression alone caused more disability than either nutritional problems or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which were then the prime foci of US health-related international programs.1 At present, the World Health Organization (WHO) rates depression as the single greatest cause of disability worldwide, affecting at least 350 million people.1 The 2010 GBD study showed that mental disorders account for 7.4% of the world’s burden of healthconditions in terms of disability-adjusted life years and nearly a quarter of all years lived with disability, more than cardiovascular diseases orcancer.3 The global economic costs of mental disorders were estimated at $2.5 trillion in 2010 and are projected to reach$6 trillion by 2030.3 Based on the above-mentioned findings, the WHO Action Plan recognized mental health as a global priority in May 2013. As a result of this pledged action, mental health is now discussed at the highest level policy forums devoted to global health and development. On the scientific side, after mor

Faculty Development for Teaching Faculty in Psychiatry: Where We Are and What We Need

OBJECTIVE: A Faculty Development Task Force surveyed the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training membership to assess faculty development for graduate medical education faculty in psychiatry departments and barriers to seeking graduate medical education careers. METHODS: An anonymous Survey Monkey survey was emailed to 722 American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training members. The survey included questions about demographics, the current state of faculty development offerings within the respondent\u27s psychiatry department and institution, and potential American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training faculty development programming. Two open-response questions targeted unmet faculty development needs and barriers to seeking a career in graduate medical education. Results were analyzed as frequencies and open-ended questions were coded by two independent coders. We limited our analysis to general psychiatry program director responses for questions regarding faculty development activities in an attempt to avoid multiple responses from a single department. RESULTS: Response rates were 21.0% overall and 30.4% for general program directors. General program directors reported that the most common existing departmental faculty development activities were educational grand rounds (58.7%), teaching workshops (55.6%), and funding for external conference attendance (52.4%). Of all survey respondents, 48.1% expressed the need for more protected time, 37.5% teaching skills workshops, and 16.3% mentorship. Lack of funding (56.9%) and time (53.9%) as well as excessive clinical demands (28.4%) were identified as the main barriers to seeking a career in graduate medical education. CONCLUSIONS: Despite increasing faculty development efforts in psychiatry departments and institutions, real and significant unmet faculty development needs remain. Protected time remains a significant unmet need of teaching faculty which requires careful attention by departmental leadership