Making Mental Health Count
The Social and Economic Costs of Neglecting Mental Health Care

Despite the enormous burden that mental ill-health imposes on individuals, their families, society, health systems and the economy, mental health care remains a neglected area of health policy in too many countries. Mental disorders represent a considerable disease burden, and have a significant impact on the lives of the OECD population, and account for considerable direct and indirect costs. This report argues that even in those OECD countries with a long history of deinstitutionalisation, there is still a long way to go to make community-based mental health care that achieves good outcomes for people with severe mental illness a reality. The disproportionate focus on severe mental illness has meant that mild-to-moderate mental illnesses, which makes up the largest burden of disease, have remained overwhelmingly neglected. This book addresses the high cost of mental illness, weaknesses and innovative developments in the organisation of care, changes and future directions for the mental health workforce, the need to develop better indicators for mental health care and quality, and tools for better governance of the mental health system. The high burden of mental ill health and the accompanying costs in terms of reduced quality of life, loss of productivity, and premature mortality, mean that making mental health count for all OECD countries is a priority.
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Executive summary
Despite the enormous epidemiological, social and economic burden of mental ill-health, mental health care is still not a priority in most health systems. The current weak state of mental health care is unacceptable. More must be done to make mental health count and improve the lives of those suffering from mental ill-health: policy makers must give mental health the importance it demands in terms of resources and policy prioritisation.
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Click to download PDF - 225.34KBPDF
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