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. 2018 Oct;27(5):463-467.
doi: 10.1017/S2045796018000100. Epub 2018 Mar 9.

Care gap: a comprehensive measure to quantify unmet needs in mental health

S Pathare  1 , A Brazinova  2 , I Levav  3
Affiliations

Care gap: a comprehensive measure to quantify unmet needs in mental health

S Pathare et al. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2018 Oct.

Abstract

Aim: Treatment gap refers to the percentage of individuals who require treatment in a country or a defined community but do not receive it due to various reasons. There is widespread acceptance of 'treatment gap' as a measure of unmet needs in mental health. However, the term 'treatment' carries a medical connotation and implies biomedical treatment (or lack of it) of mental illness and is often interpreted by policymakers, planners and researchers, as well as by non-professional stakeholders as exclusively referring to curative clinical psychiatric interventions. This common interpretation results in the exclusion of a range of effective psychosocial interventions available today. Treatment gap also does not include physical health services for persons with mental illness, a major concern due to the relative frequent yet highly unattended physical comorbidity and early mortality of persons with severe mental illness.

Methods & results: We, therefore, propose a more comprehensive measure of unmet needs.

Keywords: Epidemiology; mental health; other psychosocial techniques/treatments; quality of care.

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