Alberto Minoletti

Plan Nacional de Salud Mental en Chile: 10 años de experiencia

Dealing with mental health problems is undoubtedly an increasingly important public health responsibility around the world. In Chile, because of the changes in the epidemiological profile of the population, the lifetime prevalence of mental and behavioral disorders has reached 36%. In response, the Ministry of Health of Chile, through its Mental Health Unit, prepared the National Plan for Mental Health and Psychiatry. The Plan establishes objectives, strategies, and steps to improve the well-being and mental health of Chileans. This piece describes the model of care for mental health and psychiatry used in Chiles public health care system, analyzes the main difficulties encountered and the achievements made in the 10 years that the Plan has been in place, and makes recommendations for improving the Plan. Over the 10-year period, the new model for mental health and psychiatry has managed to make a place for itself in the public health care system. Indicators show that the beneficiaries of the public health care system in Chile now have greater access to mental health services than before the new model of community care was established, have broader health care coverage, and receive better quality services.

Psychiatric hospital beds and prison populations in South America since 1990: does the Penrose hypothesis apply?

IMPORTANCE In 1939, English mathematician, geneticist, and psychiatrist Lionel Sharples Penrose hypothesized that the numbers of psychiatric hospital beds and the sizes of prison populations were inversely related; 75 years later, the question arises as to whether the hypothesis applies to recent developments in South America. OBJECTIVE To explore the possible association of changes in the numbers of psychiatric hospital beds with changes in the sizes of prison populations in South America since 1990. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS We searched primary sources for the numbers of psychiatric hospital beds in South American countries since 1990 (the year that the Latin American countries signed the Caracas Declaration) and compared these changes against the sizes of prison populations. The associations between the numbers of psychiatric beds and the sizes of prison populations were tested using fixed-effects regression of panel data. Economic variables were considered as covariates. Sufficiently reliable and complete data were obtained from 6 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The numbers of psychiatric beds and the sizes of prison populations. RESULTS Since 1990, the numbers of psychiatric beds decreased in all 6 countries (ranging from -2.0% to -71.9%), while the sizes of prison populations increased substantially (ranging from 16.1% to 273.0%). Panel data regression analysis across the 6 countries showed a significant inverse relationship between numbers of psychiatric beds and sizes of prison populations. On average, the removal of 1 bed was associated with 5.18 more prisoners (95% CI, 3.10-7.26; P = .001), which was reduced to 2.78 prisoners (95% CI, 2.59-2.97; P < .001) when economic growth was considered as a covariate. The association between the numbers of psychiatric beds and the sizes of prison populations remained practically unchanged when income inequality was considered as a covariate (-4.28 [95% CI, -5.21 to -3.36]; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Since 1990, the numbers of psychiatric beds have substantially decreased in South America, while the sizes of the prison populations have increased against a background of strong economic growth. The changes appear to be associated because the numbers of beds decreased more extensively when and where the sizes of prison populations increased. These findings are consistent with and specify the assumption of an association between the numbers of psychiatric beds and the sizes of prison populations. More research is needed to understand the drivers of the capacities of psychiatric hospitals and prisons and to explore reasons for their association.

Community Mental Health Services in Latin America for People with Severe Mental Disorders

Mental disorders are highly prevalent in Latin American countries and exact a serious emotional toll, yet investment in public mental health remains insufficient. Most countries of the region have developed national and local initiatives to improve delivery of mental health services over the last 22 years, following the technical leadership of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). It is especially notable that PAHO/WHO facilitated the development of national policies and plans, as well as local programs, to deliver specialized community care for persons with severe mental disorders. Nevertheless, at present, the majority of Latin American countries maintain a model of services for severe mental disorders based primarily on psychiatric hospitals that consume most of the national mental health budget. To accelerate the pace of change, this article emphasizes the need to develop cross-country regional initiatives that promote mental health service development, focusing on severe mental disorders. As one specific example, the authors describe work with RedeAmericas, which has brought together an interdisciplinary group of international investigators to research regional approaches and train a new generation of leaders in public mental health. More generally, four regional strategies are proposed to complement the work of PAHO/WHO in Latin America: 1) to develop multi-country studies on community services, 2) to study new strategies and interventions in countries with more advanced mental health services, 3) to strengthen advocacy groups by cross-country interchange, and 4) to develop a network of well-trained leaders to catalyze progress across the region.

Salud mental en atención primaria en Chile: aprendizajes para Latinoamérica

This article described the integration of mental health into primary care services in Chile over the past 20 years and analyzed the results of a few evaluations. The purpose was to contribute to the processes of learning how to reduce mental health care gaps throughout Latin America. The return to democracy after the Military Dictatorship and the Caracas Declaration were contributing factors to the integration, as were the high development of the Chilean primary care system and the development of national mental health plans that included primary care services as a central element. The political will of integration should also include the assignment of additional funds for mental health, within the primary care system. Another critical factor for mental health in primary care is the generation of mechanisms for coordination and support between secondary and primary care professionals. The article emphasized that available indicators show that Chile has successfully made mental health a central component of primary care services, possibly for the long term, but there are many remaining questions that require further studies.

Development of Community Care for People with Schizophrenia in Chile

Chile has greatly reformed its approach to psychiatric care in the last two decades, having transitioned from a model centered around a psychiatric hospital to one in which mental health care is based in the community. During this period, patients were moved from large psychiatric hospitals into ambulatory clinics, and the number of people who were in hospitals for extended periods decreased. At the same time, mental health service networks—consisting of ambulatory clinics, day hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and community group homes—were created, each responsible for a specific population. The reform process, however, has occurred in different, unequal degrees throughout the country. The purpose of this investigation is to compare the characteristics, resources, and results of the mental health service networks that have successfully transitioned to and developed in the community with respect to those that are still centered in a hospital. The structural aspects were evaluated with the EvaRedCom-TMS (Evaluación de Redes de Servicios Comunitarios para Trastornos Mentales Severos), and the level of functioning was measured with World Health Organizations International Classification of Mental Health Care. Area networks with higher levels of community-based services show better indicators of geographic and financial accessibility, use less human resources (particularly psychiatrists and nursing assistants), have an equal level of specialization, and yet show better treatment adherence among the patients (84.2 percent versus 41.8 percent), despite the fact that the patients have worse socioeconomic and clinical indicators than area networks with lower levels of community-based services. In conclusion, the community-based psychiatric care model is more effective than the hospital-centered model.

Depression Program in Primary Health Care

Chile is a middle income country in the process of demographic transition, where mental health problems contribute significantly to the disease burden. In 2001, Chile introduced gradually the Program of Treatment for Depression in Primary Health Care (PTDPHC), which includes a multicomponent care model according to the severity of the medical profile: integral evaluation by a team of professionals, antidepressant drug treatment, individual psychotherapy, psychoeducational group intervention, and monitoring visits. In 10 years of operation, this program has attended more than 1 million adults. We have conducted several evaluations of this program, and our results show that PTDPHC is effective in decreasing depressive symptoms and comorbidity, has positive effects on the patient and their partners, and is independent of the center; the greatest threat to achieving effectiveness is the rate of treatment dropout. In the future, the manager of this policy must meet the following challenges: the continuous training of primary care teams, the incorporation of techniques that have been shown to improve compliance, and the extension of coverage to remote areas, where telepsychiatry could be a good idea.

Respeto a los derechos de las personas que se atienden en Servicios de Psiquiatría Ambulatoria en Chile

Background: Quality of care and respect for the rights of users are critical to achieve positive health outcomes and respond appropriately to the expectations of people, particularly if they have mental illnesses. Aim: To carry out a baseline diagnosis of quality of care and respect for rights in public outpatient psychiatric services. Material and methods: Quality of care and respect for patients’ rights was assessed by a mental health professional and a trained psychiatric service user in 15 ambulatory psychiatric services. The WHO QualityRights instrument was used, reviewing documentation and making observations in each facility, as well as interviewing 146 patients, 148 health care workers and 64 relatives of patients. Results: A high level of achievement was accomplished in terms of discrimination-free health care, availability of psychotropic medications, lack of abuse or neglect and use of informed consents. A low level of achievement was found in terms of user support to cope with community living, access to education or work and participation in community activities, respect for user treatment preferences and preventive measures to avoid maltreatment and cruelty. Conclusions: Chile could improve the performance of psychiatry services having laws based on the “Convention of Rights of Persons with Disabilities” and standards of the World Health Organization, having national policies about quality of care and rights of users, reinforcing the community work of mental health care teams, reinforcing and informing users about their rights and promoting research on interventions to improve the respect of their rights.

Respuesta de los centros de atención primaria en salud mental después del terremoto y tsunami del 2010 en la Región del Maule

Background: Thirty to 50% of people exposed to a natural disaster suffer psychological problems in the ensuing months. Aim: To characterize the activities in mental health developed by Primary Health Care centers after the earthquake that affected Chile on February 27th, 2010. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study analyzing 16 urban centers of Maule Region, was carried out. A questionnaire was developed to know the preparatory and supportive activities directed to the community and the training and self-care activities directed to Health Care personnel that were made during the 12 months following the catastrophe. In addition, a questionnaire evaluating structural aspects was designed. Results: Only 1/3 of the centers made some preparatory activity and none of them made a diagnosis of population vulnerability. The average of protective Mental Health interventions coverage reached 35% of the population estimated to be most affected. The activities lasted 31 to 62% of the optimal duration standards set by experts (according to the type of action). Important differences between centers in economic and geographical accessibility, construction and professional resources were found. Conclusions: This study shows the difficulties faced by urban centers of Maule Region to deal with mental health problems caused by the earthquake, which were attributable to the absence of local planning and drills, and to the lack of intra and inter sectorial coordination.

Mental Health in Chile

3 Alberto Minoletti is a professor at the School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile, and former director of the Mental Health Department, Ministry of Health, Chile (1997–2010). I would like to thank the editor-in-chief, Martin Gittelman, for this opportunity to provide the readers of the international Journal of Mental Health with an overview of the advances of mental health policies and services in Chile during the last 20 years. international Journal of Mental Health, vol. 41, no. 1, Spring 2012, pp. 3–6.

Strengthening Efforts to Integrate Mental Health into Primary Health Care in Chile: Lessons from an International Collaboration Process

Mental health and addiction care have traditionally been conceived as specialized services. This long-standing perception has been changing globally as recognition grows that sound mental health, which includes being free from substance abuse and concurrent disorders, is a fundamental component of peoples overall health and well-being. A more central role for primary health care has also emerged in large part because it provides an opportunity to improve peoples mental health by offering comprehensive care from health promotion to early recognition, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. Integrating mental health into primary health care has many advantages for improving care and reaching better outcomes, such as reduction of stigma and discrimination, better access to integrated and continuing care, and improvement of social integration. Chile has been a country at the forefront of the process of integrating mental health into primary health care. Reciprocal collaboration and knowledge exchange have been critical to its change process. Canadas Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has been collaborating with Chile since 2003 to build capacity in primary health care from a systems approach. This article reviews the process and results of the collaboration between CAMH, through its Office of International Health, and different institutions in Chile aimed at strengthening mental health and addiction services in primary health care. Some key lessons learned and implications for the future are identified and discussed.