Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Jan 1;33(1):107-122.
doi: 10.1093/heapol/czx137.

Integrated mental health services in China: challenges and planning for the future

Di Liang  1 , Vickie M Mays  2 , Wei-Chin Hwang  3
Affiliations
Review

Integrated mental health services in China: challenges and planning for the future

Di Liang et al. Health Policy Plan. .

Abstract

Eager to build an integrated community-based mental health system, in 2004 China started the '686 Programme', whose purpose was to integrate hospital and community services for patients with serious mental illness. In 2015, the National Mental Health Working Plan (2015-2020) proposed an ambitious strategy for implementing this project. The goal of this review is to assess potential opportunities for and barriers to successful implementation of a community-based mental health system that integrates hospital and community mental health services into the general healthcare system. We examine 7066 sources in both English and Chinese: the academic peer-reviewed literature, the grey literature on mental health policies, and documents from government and policymaking agencies. Although China has proposed a number of innovative programmes to address its mental health burden, several of these proposals have yet to be fully activated, particularly those that focus on integrated care. Integrating mental health services into China's general healthcare system holds great promise for increased access to and quality improvement in mental health services, as well as decreased stigma and more effective management of physical and mental health comorbidities. This article examines the challenges to integrating mental health services into China's general healthcare system, especially in the primary care sphere, including: accurately estimating mental health needs, integrating mental and physical healthcare, increasing workforce development and training, resolving interprofessional issues, financing and funding, developing an affordable and sustainable mental health system, and delivering care to specific subpopulations to meet the needs of China's diverse populace. As China's political commitment to expanding its mental health system is rapidly evolving, we offer suggestions for future directions in addressing China's mental health needs.

Keywords: China; Integrated care; mental health services.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA flow diagram for selection of articles for review
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Funding from China’s central and local governments for the 686 Programme Note: The scale of a vertical axis: million yuan Source of data:Ma (2015)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ai L, Qin X, Wang W.. et al. 2007. The prevalence of depression of internal and Chinese traditional medicine outpatient departments in different levels of general hospitals. Chinese General Practice 10: 733–5.
    1. Bao Y, Casalino L, Pincus H.. 2013. Behavioral health and health care reform models: patient-centered medical home, health home, and accountable care organization. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research 40: 121–32. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barry L, Huskamp A.. 2011. Moving beyond Parity - Mental health and addiction care under ACA. New England Journal of Medicine 365: 973–5. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barry L, Huskamp A, Goldman H.. 2010. A political history of federal mental health and addiction insurance parity. Milbank Quarterly 88: 404–33. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Butler M, Kane R, McAlpine D.. et al. 2008. Integration of mental health/substance abuse and primary care http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK38632/, accessed 30 August 2016.

MeSH terms