University of Michigan Depression Center and Department of Psychiatry, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Asian J Psychiatr. 2011 Sep;4(3):165-71. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2011.06.002. Epub 2011 Sep 1.
Global mental health challenges sit at the frontiers of health care worldwide. The frequency of mental health disorders is increasing, and represents a large portion of the global burden of human disease (DALYs). There are many impeding forces in delivering mental health care globally. The knowledge of what mental health and its diseased states are limits the ability to seek appropriate care. Limited training and experience among primary providers dilutes the capacity of systems for adequate care, support, and intervention. There are limited numbers of medical personnel worldwide to attend to individuals afflicted by mental health disorders. The challenges of global mental health are the capacity of the global systems to enhance knowledge and literacy surrounding mental health disorders, enhance and expand ways of identifying and treating mental health disorders effectively at an early stage in its course. Much has been written about the epidemiology of mental health disorders globally followed by discussions of the need for improvements in programs that will improve the lot of the mentally ill. Task shifting involves the engaging of human resources, generally nonprofessional, in the care of mental health disorders. Engaging traditional healers and community health workers in the identification and management of mental health disorders is a very strong potential opportunity for task shifting care in mental health. In doing so it will be necessary to study the concept of mental health literacy of traditional healers and health workers in a process of mutual alignment of purpose founded on evidence based research.
全球精神卫生挑战处于全球医疗保健的前沿。精神卫生障碍的发病率不断上升，占人类疾病总负担（伤残调整生命年）的很大一部分。在全球范围内提供精神卫生保健存在许多障碍。对精神卫生及其疾病状态的了解程度限制了寻求适当保健的能力。初级保健提供者的培训和经验有限，削弱了系统提供充分保健、支持和干预的能力。全世界能够照顾精神卫生障碍患者的医务人员人数有限。全球精神卫生挑战是全球系统增强精神卫生障碍相关知识和文化素养的能力，以及加强和扩大在疾病早期有效识别和治疗精神卫生障碍的方法。全球精神卫生障碍的流行病学已被广泛研究，随后讨论了需要改进项目，以改善精神病患者的状况。任务转移涉及利用人力资源，通常是非专业人员，来照顾精神卫生障碍患者。让传统治疗师和社区卫生工作者参与识别和管理精神卫生障碍是任务转移精神卫生保健的一个非常有潜力的机会。在这样做的过程中，有必要研究传统治疗师和卫生工作者的精神卫生素养概念，在一个基于循证研究的共同目标基础上实现相互调整。
