Volume 17, Issue 2
TOWARDS A MENTAL HEALTH POLICY: LEARNING FROM HISTORY, HIGHLIGHTING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF FEDERALISM, AND STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONS
Abstract
The history of Mental Health care is closely linked to political, social, legal and cultural developments. It reflects the vagaries and difficulties of policy makers in attempting to improve the quality of life for people with mental disorders without stigmatizing them. This work traces the relationship between national policies at different periods in history and Health policies, in particular Mental Health. Health policies in Argentina have been among the most advanced in the world. The challenge now is to continue the search for better ways of preventing and treating mental illnesses with a strong social component such as drug addiction, alcoholism, suicide, violence, as well as the social reintegration of chronic patients. This article lists recommendations and strategies for the implementation of a participatory community model. The purpose of this model is to avoid and / or reduce psychological damage to the population through promotion and rehabilitation, the building of educational-preventive networks, psychiatric and residential institutions and refocusing human resources on the primary care model. It outlines the Federal Plan for Mental Health developed in Cordoba in 2004 and some of the results obtained.
Keywords
Mental health policies