Child and Adolescent Mental Health Policy in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Challenges and Lessons for Policy Development and Implementation

Zhou, Wei; Ouyang, Feiyun; Nergui, Oyun-Erdene; Bangura, Joseph Benjamin; Acheampong, Kwabena; Massey, Isaac Yaw; Xiao, Shuiyuan

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00150

Cited by 45 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Youth growing up in LMICs may experience greater risks associated with social media use (Livingstone et al, 2017a;Banaji et al, 2018)-because of the digital dimension to existing vulnerabilities, and the fact that they typically have less adult support, scaffolding, and monitoring online (Cabello-Hutt et al, 2018). These vulnerabilities are compounded by the insufficiency of services and policies to address child and adolescent mental health needs (Zhou et al, 2020) despite the fact that they are a leading cause of health-related burden for youth worldwide (GBD Causes of Death Collaborators, 2017). In LMICs, cross-sectional studies conducted with older adolescents in Asia and Latin America have found some evidence of a negative association between screen time and unhealthy behaviors (Yan et al, 2017), and problematic media use and poor mental health (Hanprathet et al, 2015;Oberst et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2018), mediated by the fear of missing out and intensity of social media use (Oberst et al, 2017).…”

Section: Digital Media: Risks For Early Adolescent Social Emotional Learning and Identity Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Context, Development, and Digital Media: Implications for Very Young Adolescents in LMICs

2021

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The rapidly expanding universe of information, media, and learning experiences available through digital technology is creating unique opportunities and vulnerabilities for children and adolescents. These issues are particularly salient during the developmental window at the transition from childhood into adolescence. This period of early adolescence is a time of formative social and emotional learning experiences that can shape identity development in both healthy and unhealthy ways. Increasingly, many of these foundational learning experiences are occurring in on-line digital environments. These expanding vulnerabilities and opportunities are being further amplified for young adolescents growing up in low resourced settings around the world. Cultural and contextual factors influence access, use, and appropriation of digital technology. Further, neurobehavioral changes associated with the onset of puberty often coincide with entry into social media and more autonomous use of technology. In low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), disparities in access, use, and appropriation of digital media can amplify prevailing economic gaps, and compound gender inequalities during early adolescence. In LMICs, adolescents are often the early adopters of mobile technology and social media platforms. While the impact of social media on the well-being, particularly mental health, of young adolescents has been a focus of research in high-income countries (HICs), much less is known about the impacts of social media use on young adolescents in LMICs. In this paper, we review what is known about the interaction between digital media and early adolescent development. We highlight crucial gaps in the evidence in LMICs; and describe some hypotheses and areas for future research to address these compelling issues.

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Section: Digital Media: Risks For Early Adolescent Social Emotional Learning and Identity Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Context, Development, and Digital Media: Implications for Very Young Adolescents in LMICs

2021

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“…Undoubtedly, an additional factor that ultimately influences hospitalization is the availability of hospital beds and the presence of specific wards and services for mental disorders during development [ 22 , 23 ]. In this regard, the international scene is characterized by inhomogeneous health policies and considerable organizational differences in pediatric psychiatric services’ management [ 13 , 24 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Retrospective Study on the Factors Associated with Long-Stay Hospitalization in a Child Neuropsychiatry Unit

et al. 2021

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The past twenty years have seen a rapid increase in acute psychiatric symptoms in children and adolescents, with a subsequent rise in the number of psychiatric hospitalizations. This paper aims to: (a) describe the epidemiology of hospitalizations and some of the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of pediatric patients admitted to a regional referral Complex Operative Child Neuropsychiatry Hospital Unit in Northeast Italy and (b) identify potential factors correlated with the length of hospital stay. Methods: 318 (M = 12.8 years; SD = 3.11; 72% Female) patients hospitalized for mental health disorders from 2013 to 2019. Results: Around 60% of hospital admissions occurred via the emergency room, mostly due to suicidal ideation and/or suicide attempts (24%). Affective disorders were the most frequent discharge diagnosis (40%). As for factors correlated with length of hospital stay, we found significant links with chronological age, way of hospital admission, cause of admission, discharge diagnosis, presence of psychiatric comorbidity, family conflict, and psychiatric family history. Conclusions: These results provide information about global characteristics associated with the length of psychiatric hospital stays in pediatric patients and provide a basis on which specific precautions can be hypothesized with the aim of developing more focused treatments.

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“…A review study carried out by Chinese researchers on mental health policies for adolescents in low or middle-income countries, identified aspects that define the inclusion of the topic in the local political agendas: problems such as low political awareness and will, lack of prioritization of the adolescent population problems in the presence of other diseases that affect adults, the professionals' reluctance of participating in political debates, the adolescents' legal incapacity to advocate on their own behalf and defend their rights and needs, social and cultural values translated into stereotypes about adolescence, among others. The authors point out that the participation in non-governmental organizations supplies or minimizes the lack of care services, but on the other hand, they obscure the urgency of public policies, favoring the fragmentation of local actions and plans 23 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Necessidades em Saúde dos adolescentes na perspectiva dos profissionais da Atenção Primária à Saúde

Barros

Holanda

Sousa

et al. 2021

Ciênc. saúde coletiva

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Resumo O reconhecimento das necessidades em saúde é essencial na elaboração de ações e políticas públicas. Objetivo: analisar o reconhecimento e a satisfação das necessidades em saúde dos adolescentes, a partir da perspectiva de profissionais da Atenção Primária à Saúde. Método: estudo qualitativo, exploratório e descritivo, analisou 15 entrevistas realizadas com profissionais da Atenção Primária à Saúde que atuam no Distrito Sanitário III em Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil, há um ano ou mais. Foi realizada análise de conteúdo com apoio do software webQDA. Resultados: emergiram cinco categorias empíricas: Adolescente e adolescência, Necessidades individuais e do grupo social, Organização política e normativa, Ações profissionais, em equipe e intersetoriais e Potencialidades e limites no atendimento ao adolescente. A compreensão sobre a adolescência é pautada em estereótipos e de frágil articulação aos contextos sociais, econômicos, políticos e históricos. Os profissionais reconhecem como necessidades as demandas compatíveis com as ações programáticas da Atenção Básica sem terem instrumentos suficientes para lidar com as peculiaridades do grupo. A ausência de metas no Plano Municipal de Saúde iguala os adolescentes a outros grupos sociais e lhes oferece o mesmo cardápio de necessidades.

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Child and Adolescent Mental Health Policy in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Challenges and Lessons for Policy Development and Implementation

Cited by 45 publications

References 36 publications

Context, Development, and Digital Media: Implications for Very Young Adolescents in LMICs

Context, Development, and Digital Media: Implications for Very Young Adolescents in LMICs

A Retrospective Study on the Factors Associated with Long-Stay Hospitalization in a Child Neuropsychiatry Unit

Necessidades em Saúde dos adolescentes na perspectiva dos profissionais da Atenção Primária à Saúde

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