www.mheconference2012.com Social determinants of mental health in Europe JosÊ Miguel Caldas de Almeida, Prof. of Psychiatry, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal All available literature suggests that social determinants have an important impact in individuals’ mental health. The majority of the available evidence shows that those with lower income, unemployed, underemployed, pertaining to the most disadvantaged categories, those with lower levels of education, lower SES, social class, or lower standard of living have higher prevalence of mental disorders. The current socio-economic crisis in Europe will inevitably have a significant impact on mental health of the populations in consequence of cuts in health services budgets, cuts in social services and programmes, cuts in pensions, unemployment, and social instability. In this context some important challenges have to be faced: how to include mental health among the priorities in health/social policies, prevent fragmentation and weakening of mental health system and maintain mental health care of good quality, respond to new mental health problems, and take advantage of opportunities offered by the crisis. In this presentation we will discuss the main results from the mental health surveys in European countries that can help to understand the effect of social factors, especially inequalities, on mental health of the populations. We will also discuss the challenges that will have to be faced in Europe in the near future, as well as the strategies that can be used to tackle these challenges.
From individual to collective responsibility - The social determinants of mental health. Abstracts.
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