Global mental health matters

Valentina Iemmi, Research Officer at the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) at the LSE, reports on discussions from a recent conference on mental health in low- and middle-income countries

Strengthening mental health systems in low and middle income countries

LSE Health and Social Care welcomed Professor Graham Thornicroft for one of its Formal Seminars recently. He gave a splendid overview of the main challenges in global mental health and the mental health system response in low and middle income countries

Philanthropy: a crucial actor in global mental health

Despite the rising burden of disease and costs in low- and middle income-countries, mental disorders attract few resources. With governments often under economic pressure, external actors could offer opportunities to unlock additional resources. This new study from the London School of Economics and Political Science presents novel analyses of philanthropic contributions for mental health in 156 low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2015 and identifies challenges and opportunities for increasing their impact for sustainable financing for mental health. This visual blog provides a snapshot of the results and it is also available as an infographic

Self-management for people with severe mental health problems

Self-management may facilitate recovery, helping to support people with severe mental problems at no additional cost. This is the key message from an economic analysis performed alongside a pilot evaluation of the Mental Health Foundation’s self-management course. While the pilot evaluation was funded by the Big Lottery Fund, Wales, the economic evaluation was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Social Care Research and conducted by PSSRU researchers at the London School of Economics and Political Science alongside the Mental Health Foundation (MHF)

Positive behavioural support for adults with intellectual disabilities and behaviours that challenge

Positive behavioural support (PBS) may be a potentially interesting service for adults with intellectual disabilities and behaviours that challenge, improving outcomes and lowering the cost of care in the longer term. This is the main finding of our initial look at the economic case in collaboration with a small local authority in England, with funding from the National Institute for Health Research School for Social Care Research (NIHR SSCR)

Have your say on the treatment gap in global mental health

An historic first took place in Portcullis House on 10 June. The UK All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) on global health and mental health convened a joint hearing to discuss global mental health. The event, chaired by Lord Nigel Crisp together with James Morris MP, was the first of two oral evidence sessions to address the question of whether the UK government should be “doing more or doing differently” to address the treatment gap in global mental health. Three additional Parliamentarians, Meg Hillier MP, Vicount Eccles and Peter Bottomley MP, were also in attendance

Investing in crisis care for people with schizophrenia makes moral and economic sense

“When someone has a mental health crisis, it is distressing and frightening for them as well as the people around them. Urgent and compassionate care in a safe place is essential – a police cell should never need to be used because mental health services are not available. For me, crisis care is the most stark example of the lack of equality between mental and physical health.” (The Rt Hon Norman Lamb MP, Care and Support Minister

Sustainable development for global mental health: a typology and systematic evidence mapping of external actors in low- and middle-income countries

Introduction Mental disorders account for a substantial burden of disease and costs in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), but attract few resources. With LMIC governments often under economic pressure, an understanding of the external funding landscape is urgently needed. This study develops a new typology of external actors in global health adapted for the sustainable development goals (SDGs) era and uses it to systematically map available evidence on external actors in global mental health. Methods The new typology was developed in line with conceptualisation in the literature and the SDGs to include 11 types of external actors for health in LMICs. Five databases (EconLit, Embase, Global Health, MEDLINE, PsycINFO) were searched for manuscripts published in peer-reviewed journals in English, French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish between 1 January 2000 and 31 July 2018 and reporting information on external actors for mental disorders in LMICs. Records were screened by abstract, then full-text against inclusion criteria. Data were extracted and synthesised using narrative analysis. Results 79 studies were included in the final review. Five were quantitative studies analysing the resource flow of development assistance for mental health globally over the last two decades. The remainder were qualitative studies providing a description of external actors: the majority of them were published in the last decade, focused on Africa, and on public sector (bilateral and multilateral governmental organisations) and third sector organisations (non-governmental organisations). Evidence was particularly scarce for for-profit organisations and individual households. Conclusion This study reveals opportunities for unlocking additional funding for global mental health in the SDG-era from an ecosystem of external actors, and highlights the need to coordinate efforts and to use sustainable, ethical approaches to disbursements. Further research is needed to understand all external actors and the allocation of their contributions in different settings