WHO's Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems: Collecting Essential Information for Policy and Service Delivery

Abstract

Information about mental health systems is essential for mental health planning to reduce the burden of neuropsychiatric disorders. Unfortunately, many low- and middle-income countries lack systematic information on their mental health systems. The objectives, scope, structure, and contents of mental health assessment and monitoring instruments commonly used in high-income countries may not be appropriate for use in middle- and low-income countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently developed the WHO Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS), a comprehensive assessment tool for mental health systems designed for middle- and low-income countries. WHO-AIMS was developed through an iterative process that included input from in-country and international experts on the clarity, content, validity, and feasibility of the instrument, as well as a pilot trial. The resulting instrument, WHO-AIMS 2.2, consists of six domains: policy and legislative framework, mental health services, mental health in primary care, human resources, public information and links with other sectors, and monitoring and research. These domains address the ten recommendations of the World Health Report 2001 through 28 facets and 155 items. All six domains need to be assessed to form a basic, yet broad, picture of a mental health system, with a focus on health sector activities. WHO-AIMS provides essential information for mental health policy and service delivery. Countries will be able to develop information-based mental health policy and plans with clear baseline information and targets. Moreover, they will be able to monitor progress in implementing reform policies, providing community services, and involving consumers, families, and other stakeholders in mental health promotion, prevention, care and rehabilitation. This article provides an overview of the rationale, development process, and potential uses and benefits of WHO-AIMS.

Service availability and utilization and treatment gap for schizophrenic disorders: a survey in 50 low- and middle-income countries

“…The WHO-AIMS instrument consists of 155 input and process indicators covering six domains: [7][8] (i) policy and legislative framework; (ii) mental health services; (iii) mental health in primary care; (iv) human resources; (v) public informaObjective To outline mental health service accessibility, estimate the treatment gap and describe service utilization for people with schizophrenic disorders in 50 low-and middle-income countries. Methods The World Health Organization Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems was used to assess the accessibility of mental health services for schizophrenic disorders and their utilization.…”

Evaluación del sistema de salud mental en México: ¿hacia dónde encaminar la atención?

“…Frente a esta situación, y con el propósito de animar a los países en desarrollo a revisar sus políticas públicas y establecer mecanismos que proporcionen datos confiables, la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) desarrolló el Instrumento de Evaluación para Sistemas de Salud Mental (IESM-OMS), el cual recopila información clave para evaluar y fortalecer los servicios de salud mental en todo el mundo (3,4). El IESM-OMS fue implementado en México entre 2009 y 2010, con el objetivo de tener un conocimiento más acabado de la estructura y la distribución de los recursos de atención en materia de salud mental.…”

“…4 La interacción incluye reuniones, revisión de casos, coordinación de actividades y asuntos de referencia a pacientes, así como la formación de profesionales alternativos/tradicionales en temas relacionados con la salud mental.…”

Personality disorder and public mental health

“…With this in mind it is not surprising that the formal figures of personality disorder diagnosis are low, with only 1% of those diagnosed in low-income countries having a diagnosis of personality disorder in both inpatient and outpatient settings and between 3% and 8% in more affluent countries. 5 …”