January 06, 2017

Mental health drives at grassroots can prevent suicides says report




Grassroots community mental health programmes to address risk factors such as depression
and alcohol use disorders can significantly address treatment gaps and reduce incidence of
suicide, a new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry shows.

The prevalence of depression, one of the most common mental disorders, fell from 14.6% to
11.3% following community mental health interventions implemented by two NGOs -Prakriti
and Sangath.

The population-based programme -Vishram (Vidarbha Stress and Health Program) was
implemented over 18 months in Vidarbha, which reported a high prevalence of suicides in
agricultural com munities. The impact of the programme was evaluated by Public Health
Foundation of India (PHFI) in a study , findings of which have been published in Lancet.
Apart from the significant drop in people with depression, community interventions resulted
in six-fold jump from just 4.3% to 27.2% in 12 months, in the proportion of people with the
disorder who sought treatment. The prevalence of suicidal thoughts also fell from 5.2% to
2.5% during the same period, indicating effectiveness of such programmes.

Experts say the study produces evidence that such programmes can significantly address the
existing treatment gaps to bring down morbidity and mortality from mental health disorders. 

 
Source: The times of India

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