The Global Absence of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Policy

Few policies designed specifically to support child and adolescent mental health exist worldwide. The absence of policy is a barrier to the development of coherent systems of mental healthcare for children and adolescents.

This study collected data on existing policies from international databases, WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and in consultation with experts in child and adolescent psychiatry from around the world. A set of criteria for ranking the adequacy of these policies was developed.

Though no single country was found to have a mental health policy strictly pertaining to children and adolescents alone, 35 countries (corresponding to 18% of countries worldwide) were found to have identifiable mental health policies, which may have some beneficial impact on children and adolescents. Though little has been achieved worldwide in this area, there has been a significant degree of movement towards policy development in the past 10 years. The policies identified vary greatly in terms of their provisions for delivering services, initiating research, training professionals, and educating the public.

The development of mental health policies is feasible and would substantially aid in the expansion of service systems, the institutionalisation of culturally relevant data gathering, and the facilitation of funding.