Incidence and prevalence of treated mental disorders. Health care planning in a small-town-rural region of Upper Bavaria.

An analysis of those to be cared for and those destined to provide the care is necessary, in order to develop an effective system of mental health care. Such an analysis is given here for a rural-small-town region of Upper Bavaria with 424,000 residents. The treated incidence and prevalence are presented according to sex, age and diagnosis. The morbidity rates for patients from communities of various sizes and distances from the institution of treatment are discussed as an example of ecological analysis. The future planning for the research area should be based on varied community-centred possibilities for psychiatric care.