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
. 2020 Sep;29(3):e1835.
doi: 10.1002/mpr.1835. Epub 2020 Aug 15.

Overview of the Saudi National Mental Health Survey

Abdullah S Al-Subaie  1   2 , AbdulHameed Al-Habeeb  3 , Yasmin A Altwaijri  2   4   5
Affiliations

Overview of the Saudi National Mental Health Survey

Abdullah S Al-Subaie et al. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Objectives: To present background information for the Saudi National Mental Health Survey (SNMHS) on the Saudi mental healthcare delivery system and previous epidemiological research on the prevalence and treatment of mental disorders in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Methods: Archival information and the results of a literature review are presented.

Results: KSA is the largest sovereign nation in the Middle East and the largest free market economy in the Middle East and North Africa. A national mental health policy has been in existence since 2006, but mental health spending still is less than in most other high-income countries. The Ministry of Health has recently begun developing a new healthcare system based on a patient-centered model of care that will integrate care of mental disorders with care of physical disorders. Previous epidemiological research on mental disorders in KSA has been limited, making the SNMHS important for policy planning purposes to obtain accurate estimates of prevalence, treatment, and barriers to treatment.

Conclusions: The SNMHS will provide valuable information for policy planning purposes on the burden of untreated mental disorders in KSA and barriers to treatment.

Keywords: Saudi National Mental Health Survey (SNMHS); The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA); The Saudi mental healthcare delivery system; WHO World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—administrative regions
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Al Gelban, K. S. (2009). Prevalence of psychological symptoms in Saudi secondary school girls in Abha, Saudi Arabia. Annals of Saudi Medicine, 29, 275–279. 10.4103/0256-4947.55308 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Al Madni, O. M. , Kharosha, M. A. , Zaki, M. K. , & Murty, O. P. (2010). Trends of suicide in Dammam Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, 27, 58–62. - PubMed
    1. Al‐Dabal, B. K. , Koura, M. R. , & Al‐Sowielem, L. S. (2015). Magnitude of depression problem among primary care consumers in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health, 4, 205 10.5455/ijmsph.2015.2010201439 - DOI
    1. Al‐Habeeb, A. , Helmi, B. , & Qureshi, N. (2016). Mental and social health atlas: An update, ministry of health, Saudi Arabia, 2015. International Neuropsychiatric Disease Journal, 6, 1–20. 10.9734/INDJ/2016/23002 - DOI
    1. Al‐Habeeb, A. A. , & Qureshi, N. A. (2010). Mental and social health atlas I in Saudi Arabia: 2007‐08. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 16, 570–577. - PubMed

Publication types