|
KMID : 0379320030280020001
|
|
Korean Journal of Rural Medicine
2003 Volume.28 No. 2 p.1 ~ p.14
|
|
|
Present Condit ions of Ment al Health Care in Rural Areas: Community Ment al Health Program of Public Health Cent er
|
|
Lee Weon-Young
Kim Dong-Moon
|
|
|
Abstract
|
|
|
Objectives : This paper introduces need and supply level of rural mental health care service and especially focuses on the evaluation for the community mental health programs of Public Health Centers(PHCs) in rural areas as the facilities for primary mental health care.
Methods : We defined the need as prevalance rate and service utilization rate, for which reviewed the results of the epidemiological study of mental disorders using Korean Composite International Diagnostic Interview surveyed on a nationwide scale in 2001. Supply was appraised in terms of psychiatric beds and primary mental heath care facilities such as private psychiatric clinics, facilities for social rehabilitation, PHCs running community mental health programs. For this, we reveiwed a variety of annual reports related mental health published by Ministry of Health and Welfare. To evaluate the community mental health programs of PHCs in rural areas, we selected. randomly samples out of the 3rd community health plans including the contents of community mental health programs, which submitted by 89 rural counties and 44 cities mixed with rural areas, and used the program’s guideline established by central government as a standard.
Results : Prevalence rates of major psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia, alcoholism, major depression, anxiety disorder were higher in rural area than in urban area and 8.9% of psychiatric patients in both areas stayed at homes contacted with mental health manpower more than one time during the last year. Psychiatric beds were sufficiently supplied, but urban area had less beds than rural area contrary to general health care service. Psychiatric clinics were supplied very insufficiently in rural areas and PHCs bridged the gap instead. However rural PHCs got less financial support for community mental health programs from higher positioned agencies than urban PHCs. Rural community health programs not supported hardly worked out.
Conclusions : Central government should consider a special policy for rural primary mental health care, because private psychiatric clinics can’t be introduced in rural areas due to demand- deficiency and the financial independence of rural counties was very vulnerable.
|
|
|
KEYWORD
|
|
|
Rural area, Mental health, Public health center
|
|
|
FullTexts / Linksout information
|
|
|
|
|
Listed journal information
|
|
|
|