Mental Health as an Action Field for Public Health

Abstract

Population mental health is an indicator of success of the policies developed by the governments and the co-responsibility among the members of the society. Mental health services must be based on multidisciplinary teams observing the international and national regulations for the generation of health strategies and policies based on current scientific knowledge that involves all health institutions, non-governmental organizations and civil society in order to dignify and respect the human rights of patients with mental disorders for their human development. This review expects to demonstrate the need of current public health policies on mental health and the necessary improvements by implementing strategies and policies in the primary medical care.