Mental health services in pilot study areas [antikvár]

In the early stages of the long-term programme in mental health, approved bythe WHO Regional Committee for Europe in September 1970, a large-scaleinformation gathering exercise was embarked on by the Regional Office andthe European Member States. Information was obtained by a questionnaire,covering the general administration of mental health services, the types offacility provided, and data relating to the patients using them and the types ofpersonnel involved. A review of the data collected was published in 1976 asWHO Offset Publications No. 23, under the authorship of the late Dr A.R. May.Subsequently, new proposals for the long-term programme in mentalhealth, approved by the Regional Committee in 1973, included a project for thedevelopment of national pilot areas to study methods of data collection,analysis and evaluation of mental health services. The problems surroundingthe collection, analysis and use of data in describing and evaluating mentalhealth services had already been describedfully and adequately by May. Theselimitations and problems from the early experience of data collection in mentalhealth led to a longer-term project for investigating and reporting on theoperation of mental health services in communities, in preference to those atthe national level. Although one aim of the project was to establish some normsand indicators for greater comparability of data, a more important objectivewas to attempt to define adequate and acceptable services, and to describe andevaluate the patterns of operational practice in the areas.The Regional Office has found invaluable the commitment to this studyover time of an increasing number of community pilot areas. From a prelimi-nary group of 9, the project at its conclusion engaged 21 areas in 16 MemberStates.At the beginning the study depended rather heavily on technical assistanceprovided by WHO but gradually, reflecting the new relationship between theMember States and the Organization, participation by the areas in the studywas maintained by their own mobilization of resources or by support from theirparent institutions and governments. Technical cooperation became the charac-teristic of the study, with WHO's role becoming substantially one of coordi-nation and of fostering cooperation among the areas themselves.The willingness of the areas and the Member States to participate in thestudy is generously acknowledged. The readiness of all to use the information,vii