The State of Mental Health Services: Challenges, Trends and Achievements

Dear Colleagues,

The landscape of mental health services has changed worldwide since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the COVID-19 outbreak, mental services were disrupted, halted or rapidly transitioned to some form or combination of digital mental health and in-person care. Researchers and providers are concerned that the next public health crisis will be a mental-health pandemic. 

Even prior to the spread of the COVID-19, mental illnesses were among the leading causes of the global-health burden. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Factors Study [1] ranked depression and anxiety as the most disabling mental illnesses and among the top 25 causes of burden worldwide. The global prevalence of mental health illnesses reached a record high during the COVID-19 outbreak [2], contributing to an additional 53.2 million and 76.2 million global cases of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders, respectively [3]. Due to the increased prevalence of mental illnesses, the rapid advancement and uptake of digital mental health, and an ever-pervasive need to serve traditionally underserved populations, researchers, providers and community leaders face opportunities and challenges to improve and increase access to mental health services. Simultaneously, new trends and achievements in mental-health care have emerged to address the increasing mental health needs of all populations worldwide. 

This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health focuses on the current state of the provision of mental health services. Papers emphasizing digital mental health are welcome for this issue. A variety of manuscript types will be accepted for this Special Issue, including original research papers, reviews, case reports, position papers, brief reports and commentaries. The keywords listed below provide an outline of some potential areas of interest. 

References

1. GBD 2019 Diseases and Injuries Collaborators. Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet 2020, 396, 1204–1222.
2. World Health Organization: Mental Health and COVID-19: Early evidence of the pandemic’s impact: Scientific brief, 2 March 2022. Available online: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-Sci_Brief-Mental_health-2022.1 (accessed on 15 April 2022).
3. Santomauro, D. F., Herrera, A. M. M., Shadid, J., Zheng, P., Ashbaugh, C., Pigott, D. M., Abbafati. C., Adolph, C., Amlag, J.O., Aravkin, G.J., etc. Global prevalence and burden of depressive and anxiety disorders in 204 countries and territories in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet 2021, 398, 1700–1712. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02143-7/fulltext?mkt_tok=ODUwLVRBQS01MTEAAAGADlbu-Ek7vpDg5pIJb3l5OxIuUaatGcthN3L8jeTndIW_IIK1W2gKuWIHP-VImOioNQ_5PUDQJ6HhyFdkiRxbHB-eW7_58AbtXVU0-uefK9-P#%20.

Dr. Andel V. Nicasio
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• mental health care
• mental health services
• mental health services research
• community mental health services
• implementation
• dissemination
• best practices
• digital metal health
• evidence-based interventions
• brief interventions