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


Book Description

This book addresses the high cost of mental illness, the organisation of care, changes and future directions for the mental health workforce, indicators for mental health care and quality, and tools for better governance of the system.




Mental Disorders and Disabilities Among Low-Income Children


Book Description

Children living in poverty are more likely to have mental health problems, and their conditions are more likely to be severe. Of the approximately 1.3 million children who were recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits in 2013, about 50% were disabled primarily due to a mental disorder. An increase in the number of children who are recipients of SSI benefits due to mental disorders has been observed through several decades of the program beginning in 1985 and continuing through 2010. Nevertheless, less than 1% of children in the United States are recipients of SSI disability benefits for a mental disorder. At the request of the Social Security Administration, Mental Disorders and Disability Among Low-Income Children compares national trends in the number of children with mental disorders with the trends in the number of children receiving benefits from the SSI program, and describes the possible factors that may contribute to any differences between the two groups. This report provides an overview of the current status of the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, and the levels of impairment in the U.S. population under age 18. The report focuses on 6 mental disorders, chosen due to their prevalence and the severity of disability attributed to those disorders within the SSI disability program: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, learning disabilities, and mood disorders. While this report is not a comprehensive discussion of these disorders, Mental Disorders and Disability Among Low-Income Children provides the best currently available information regarding demographics, diagnosis, treatment, and expectations for the disorder time course - both the natural course and under treatment.




Mental Retardation in America


Book Description

The expressions "idiot, you idiot, you're an idiot, don't be an idiot," and the like are generally interpreted as momentary insults. But, they are also expressions that represent an old, if unstable, history. Beginning with an examination of the early nineteenth century labeling of mental retardation as "idiocy," to what we call developmental, intellectual, or learning disabilities, Mental Retardation in America chronicles the history of mental retardation, its treatment and labeling, and its representations and ramifications within the changing economic, social, and political context of America. Mental Retardation in America includes essays with a wide range of authors who approach the problems of retardation from many differing points of view. This work is divided into five sections, each following in chronological order the major changes in the treatment of people classified as retarded. Exploring historical issues, as well as current public policy concerns, Mental Retardation in America covers topics ranging from representations of the mentally disabled as social burdens and social menaces; Freudian inspired ideas of adjustment and adaptation; the relationship between community care and institutional treatment; historical events, such as the Buck v. Bell decision, which upheld the opinion on eugenic sterilization; the evolution of the disability rights movement; and the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990.




Encyclopedia of Health Economics


Book Description

The Encyclopedia of Health Economics offers students, researchers and policymakers objective and detailed empirical analysis and clear reviews of current theories and polices. It helps practitioners such as health care managers and planners by providing accessible overviews into the broad field of health economics, including the economics of designing health service finance and delivery and the economics of public and population health. This encyclopedia provides an organized overview of this diverse field, providing one trusted source for up-to-date research and analysis of this highly charged and fast-moving subject area. Features research-driven articles that are objective, better-crafted, and more detailed than is currently available in journals and handbooks Combines insights and scholarship across the breadth of health economics, where theory and empirical work increasingly come from non-economists Provides overviews of key policies, theories and programs in easy-to-understand language




Economics and Mental Health


Book Description

How do health insurance regulations affect the care of person with mental illness? And how do such persons, in turn, affect the economy through lost productivity, reduced labor supply, and deviant behavior at the workplace? In Economics and Mental Health, Richard G. Frank and Willard G. Manning Jr., bring to gether a distinguished group of health care economists to explore the new and rapidly growing feild of mental health economics. The authors begin by dicsussing the issue of care for severely mentally ill patients as it is influenced by differing modes of reimbursement. They then offer labor market analyses that shed light on the economic costs of mental illness. They analyse the interaction of health insurance and the demand for mental health care. And they present case studies that outline experimental systems of delivering health care.




Mental Retardation


Book Description

Explains the causes of retardation, the prevention of retardation through such means as genetic counseling and prenatal care, and the methods of helping retarded children on the familial, social, and educational levels.




Mental Health Economics


Book Description

The main objective of this work is to provide a book with high quality content that becomes a reference and support for graduate course (Mental Health, Public Health and Epidemiology) and for research in the domain of health economics applied to mental health. Also this book might be useful for policymakers on formulating mental health policies. Key messages of this book are based on: a) mental illness represent a huge cost for society and for health care; b) health economics applied to mental health could help in the optimization of resource allocation for mental health care and for better decision making in terms of balancing costs and benefits; c) interventions and treatment should be also chosen in general medical practice and in public decision-policy according to cost-effectiveness, burden of disease and equity principles; d) quality of care is related with better outcomes, higher quality of life for clients, and with lower costs for society and health system (best value for money); e) it is possible to decrease the burden of mental disorders with cost-effective treatments. The book is divided in four main topics: 1. Introduction to Health Economics applied to Mental Health – this section is an overview of basic principles, concepts and methods used in Economics and Health Economics to enable students to make critical appraisal of Health Economics texts and also to design research studies in this topic. 2. Health Economics applied to the evaluation of quality and costs of Mental Health Services – this section presents results of Brazilian studies on the costs of mental health care (hospital, outpatient care, residential care, informal care), methods on the measurement of costs and it discusses issues related with public policies decisions and quality of mental health car in the low and middle income countries context. There is also an overview of quality indicators of mental health care and instruments to evaluate mental health services and costs.3. Health Economics applied to evaluate treatment of mental disorders - This section presents a review of cost-effectiveness of pharmacological treatments and other interventions applied for treating the most burdensome mental disorders such as depressive and anxiety disorders, bipolar disorders, psychosis, alcohol and drug disorders, dementia, and hyper attention deficit disorders. 4. Health Economics, burden and indirect costs of mental disorders - This section highlights the social and economic burden caused by mental illness under societal perspective focusing on stigma, unemployment, indirect costs in the workplace (absenteeism and presenteeism), the relationship between poverty and mental disorders, global health and social determinants of mental health and on the costs of mental disorders (depression, anxiety, psychosis, alcohol and drug disorders). We present some instruments to measure indirect costs of mental disorders.




Mental Retardation


Book Description

Current estimates suggest that between one and three percent of people living in the United States will receive a diagnosis of mental retardation. Mental retardation, a condition characterized by deficits in intellectual capabilities and adaptive behavior, can be particularly hard to diagnose in the mild range of the disability. The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) provides income support and medical benefits to individuals with cognitive limitations who experience significant problems in their ability to perform work and may therefore be in need of governmental support. Addressing the concern that SSA's current procedures are consistent with current scientific and professional practices, this book evaluates the process used by SSA to determine eligibility for these benefits. It examines the adequacy of the SSA definition of mental retardation and its current procedures for assessing intellectual capabilities, discusses adaptive behavior and its assessment, advises on ways to combine intellectual and adaptive assessment to provide a complete profile of an individual's capabilities, and clarifies ways to differentiate mental retardation from other conditions.




Ethics and Mental Retardation


Book Description

This volume offers a collection of writings on ethical issues regarding retarded persons. Because this important subject has been generally omitted from formal discussions of ethics, there is a great deal which needs to be addressed in a theoretical and critical way. Of course, many people have been very concerned with practical matters concerning the care of retarded persons such as what liberties, entitlements or advocacy they should have. Interestingly, because so much practical attention has been given to issues which are not discussed by ethical theorists, they offer a rare opportunity to evaluate ethical theories themselves. That is, certain theories which appear convincing on other subjects seem implausible when they are applied to reasoned and com pelling views we hold concerning retarded individuals. Our subject, then, has both practical and conceptual dimensions. More over, because it is one where pertinent information comes from many sources, contributors to this volume represent many fields, including philosophy, religion, history, law and medicine. We regret that it was not possible to include more points of view, like those of psychologists, sociologists, nurses and families. There is however, a good and longstanding literature on mental retardation from these perspectives.




Mental Retardation and Mental Health


Book Description

In late 1985, The President's Committee on Mental Retardation (PCMR) spon sored a National Strategy Conference on Mental Retardation and Mental Health in Washington, D.C. The purpose of this conference was to bring together our nation's leadership in the fields of mental retardation and mental health in order to delineate the state of the art relative to the diagnosis, care, and treatment of citizens with mental retardation/mental illness, as well as to chart a national course for the support and integration of citizens with these challenging needs into the confluence of family and community life. The President's Committee on Mental Retardation recognized that citizens with these needs constitute one of the most underserved and, at times, forgotten segments of the population. With this in mind, the PCMR called together govern mental, professional, and parental representatives from across the nation to define the nature and extent of the problem, programs, and services that promise hope for substantive improvement in the quality of life of citizens with mental retardation/mental illness.