Untreated mental illnesses impair the social and economic lives of affected individuals significantly. In the eyes of the public in Uganda any individual who suffers from mental illness is not expected to regain his/her normal senses and return to normality. Contrary to this widely held belief, however, people have adequately recovered from severe mental illness and regained good productive lives after receiving proper treatment. This book has been written to foster quality health care and a good quality of life for the mentally ill in Uganda. The government of Uganda has fully integrated mental health in the national minimum health care package at all health units; with the result that every health care provider will care for one mentally ill patient at least once a month. The requirements of both the mental health care provider and the general health care provider in Uganda are covered. Emilio Ovuga is Professor of Psychiatry at Makerere University. Dr Ovuga has experience on psychological and social effects of river blindness, suicide and HIV/AIDS and school mental health in Uganda.

Presents the justification and advantages of providing mental health services in primary care. Provides advice on how to implement and scale-up primary care for mental health, and describes how a range of health systems have successfully undertaken this transformation. Part 1 provides the context for understanding primary care for mental health within the broader health care system. Part 2 explains how to successfully integrate mental health into primary care and highlights 10 common principles which are central to this effort. It also presents 12 detailed case examples to illustrate how a range of health systems have undertaken this transformation. Annex 1 provides information about the skills and competencies that are required to effectively assess, diagnose, treat, support and refer people with mental disorders.

Defines an approach to mental healthcare focused on achieving international equity in coverage, options and outcomes.

This open access book investigates psychiatry in Uganda during the years of decolonisation. It examines the challenges facing a new generation of psychiatrists as they took over responsibility for psychiatry at the end of empire, and explores the ways psychiatric practices were tied to shifting political and development priorities, periods of instability, and a broader context of transnational and international exchange. At its heart is a question that has concerned psychiatrists globally since the mid-twentieth century: how to bridge the social and cultural gap between psychiatry and its patients? Bringing together archival research with oral histories, Yolana Pringle traces how this question came to dominate both national and international discussions on mental health care reform, including at the World Health Organization, and helped spur a culture of experimentation and creativity globally. As Pringle shows, however, the history of psychiatry during the years of decolonisation remained one of marginality, and ultimately, in the context of war and violence, the decolonisation of psychiatry was incomplete.

This manual attempts to provide simple, adequate and evidence-based information to health care professionals in primary health care especially in low- and middle-income countries to be able to provide pharmacological treatment to persons with mental disorders. The manual contains basic principles of prescribing followed by chapters on medicines used in psychotic disorders; depressive disorders; bipolar disorders; generalized anxiety and sleep disorders; obsessive compulsive disorders and panic attacks; and alcohol and opioid dependence. The annexes provide information on evidence retrieval, assessment and synthesis and the peer view process.

This book helps family practitioners, internists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and mental health practitioners understand, diagnose, and effectively treat the most common psychiatric problems seen in the primary care office setting. The introductory chapter addresses the primary care psychiatric interview. Subsequent chapters cover specific disorders and follow a consistent format: Introductory Case; Clinical Highlights; Clinical Significance; Diagnosis; Differential Diagnosis, including "Not to Be Missed" points; Biopsychosocial Treatment, including "When to Refer"; Practice Pointers case studies; ICD-9 codes; and Practical Resources. Appendices include time-saving strategies and medication tables. An anatomical wall chart for the office is also included. A companion Website includes fully searchable text and patient handouts for various psychiatric disorders.

Companion to Primary Care Mental Health is the result of a major collaboration of an international group of general practitioners, psychiatrists, policy-makers, mental health professionals and mental health advocates. This extraordinary guide provides the best available evidence for the management of patients with mental health conditions in primary care. It draws on the wisdom of a range of experts from primary and secondary care, who have translated information from the literature and their own clinical experience to apply it across the globe to everyday family practice. With the emphasis on practical application it presents family doctors and their teams with the evidence-based knowledge necessary to support the development of fully integrated systems to promote good mental health using tables and figures to illustrate complex matters. This includes the need to harness the wider determinants of health and mental health and to tackle stigma through advocacy, spirituality and ethical practice. The role of public health and the management of the many interfaces associated with providing good mental health are also covered. It includes tools for assessment, including classification and risk assessment, and the general principles required to enable a biopsychosocial approach to care. The book also considers the individual mental health conditions that family doctors and their teams are likely to encounter. As comorbidity and the management of complexity are very common in primary care mental health, these are also explored in the final chapters of the book.