Sharma Eesha, Kommu John Vijay Sagar
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Indian J Psychiatry. 2019 Apr;61(Suppl 4):S756-S762. doi: 10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_126_19.
India has got a new mental health legislation, the Mental Healthcare Act in 2017 (MHCA). Compared to its predecessor the Mental Health Act of 1987, this act was purported to be more patient centric and rights based. Considering the significant burden of child and adolescent mental health problems in the community, it is essential to understand what this new act means for the mental healthcare of young people. This article presents sections of the act relevant to children and adolescents. We look at the provisions in the context of changes from the earlier act, concordance with other Indian legislations and with mental health legislations in other parts of the world.
印度出台了一项新的心理健康立法,即2017年的《精神卫生保健法》(MHCA)。与1987年的前身《精神卫生法》相比,该法案据称更以患者为中心且基于权利。鉴于社区中儿童和青少年心理健康问题的沉重负担,了解这项新法案对年轻人精神卫生保健的意义至关重要。本文介绍了该法案中与儿童和青少年相关的部分。我们从与早期法案的变化、与其他印度立法以及世界其他地区精神卫生立法的一致性背景下审视这些条款。