The exposure to terrorism and natural calamities in the country has led to high number of physical disability among men in particular and this can be expected to have profound effects on their mental well-being.
The speakers observed on Wednesday at the first National Conference on 'Mental Health Update' held under the auspices of Pakistan Medical Society (PMS) in collaboration with the University of Health Sciences, Institute of Mental Health and Directorate General Health Punjab.
Speaking at the concluding session of the moot, the Chairman Task Force for Health, Dr Asad Ashraf said, 'It is generally assumed that post traumatic stress disorder and conversion disorders are common.' He said the government was paying due attention to provide modern health facilities to the masses.
The former provincial Health Minister and head of the PML-Q (Unification Group) in Punjab Assembly, Dr Tahir Ali Javed said that mental health has been the most neglected part of our body's health. 'It is imperative to create awareness about magnitude of the psychiatric disorders that exist globally and nationally,' he said.
Punjab health department has identified 'mental health' as one of the priorities in healthcare, he added. Its integration into the basic healthcare services of Punjab could substantially increase the effectiveness of mental health services, he said.
The Vice Chancellor, University of Health Science, Professor Malik H Mubbasher said on the occasion that in the current set up, where the entire burden is borne by the tertiary care centers, a mental healthcare model at the secondary level can ensure provision of quality healthcare to the patients. 'Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders and schizophrenia are widely prevalent particularly among the young and unemployed youth,' he added.
Further he said one of the important factors contributing to the development of this disorder is domestic violence, oppression, economic deprivation and the culturally sanctioned social deprivation of women through a system of strict gender discrimination.
The PMS Chairman, Dr Masood Sheikh said in his speech that owing to lack of properly structured mental healthcare facilities, the afflicted people resort to approach quacks and faith healers besides opting self medication of psychotropic drugs.
'Mental health should be given as much priority as heart problem, infectious disease and the inhalation of the tobacco. Marriage life and social life are heavily dependent upon the reliable mental healthcare services,' he said. The Executive Director, Institute of Mental Health Punjab, Dr Nusrat Habib Rana said a rigorous break from the traditional faith healers is the need of the hour.
'Globally, It has been estimated that by the year 2020, depressive illness would be the second largest contributor to the economic burden of the diseases world-wide.' Dr Fida Ali, Director Health Services, said that mental illness is major cause of the disabilities contributing to 28percent share of the total burden of the disabilities.
Among the top 10 conditions causing disabilities, five constitute mental illnesses, like depression, psychosis, mental retardation, epilepsy and drug abuse. Colonel Shahid Rasheed from Combined Military Hospital, Lahore said that in Pakistan about 13 percent of the population is suffering from mild to moderate psychiatric illness and 1percent has severe incapacitating mental disorders.
Operational officer, World Health Organization Punjab, Dr Babar Alam said that 2percent of the children suffer from a severe mental retardation. There are about five million drug addicts in Pakistan, of whom 75,000 are needle users, he added.
Comments
Comments are closed.