TY - JOUR
T1 - Recommendations for maternal mental health policy in India
AU - Priyadarshini, Urvashi
AU - Rao, Arathi P.
AU - Dash, Sambit
N1 - Funding Information:
For 2021–2022, India’s Ministry of Finance allotted to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Rs. 712,690 million, about 3% of India’s Gross Domestic Product []. Of this, the government dedicated a total of Rs. 5970 million to mental health care and only Rs. 400 million to NMHP []. Most funds supported two centrally controlled institutions: Rs. 5000 million to the National Institute of Mental Health and Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru and Rs. 570 million to Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health in Tezpur []. The institutes directed these funds to mental health research and surveys such as the NMHS. Funding for the NMHP remained unchanged from the previous year. According to the NMHS, most of the budget for mental health supported salaries and pharmaceuticals []. Program officials lacked clarity about the responsibilities of the Centre versus those of the State. Only the states of Kerala and Gujarat had a ‘budget head’ for mental health. The survey also found that only 1% of the total health budget for the state was available for mental health. Some states reported that they “were unable to use the available funds” due to a lack of “clear mechanisms and guidelines.”
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Mental illnesses are a serious concern in India where every seventh person suffers from mental health problems—with women more affected than men. While the burden of perinatal mental illnesses grows, India lacks exclusive policies to address it. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on routine antenatal care and institutional deliveries and has also affected the mental health of pregnant women and mothers. We evaluated existing policies. Policy options were evaluated against criteria like cost–benefit analysis, administrative feasibility, human resources, and equity along with the intended and unintended consequences. We propose three policy options: (1) strengthening and focused implementation of the existing national mental health program (NMHP), (2) integrating mental health in the ongoing Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health Program, and (3) including a ‘maternal’ component in NMHP. We offered policy recommendations to fill the gap in addressing the maternal mental health challenge in India.
AB - Mental illnesses are a serious concern in India where every seventh person suffers from mental health problems—with women more affected than men. While the burden of perinatal mental illnesses grows, India lacks exclusive policies to address it. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on routine antenatal care and institutional deliveries and has also affected the mental health of pregnant women and mothers. We evaluated existing policies. Policy options were evaluated against criteria like cost–benefit analysis, administrative feasibility, human resources, and equity along with the intended and unintended consequences. We propose three policy options: (1) strengthening and focused implementation of the existing national mental health program (NMHP), (2) integrating mental health in the ongoing Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health Program, and (3) including a ‘maternal’ component in NMHP. We offered policy recommendations to fill the gap in addressing the maternal mental health challenge in India.
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U2 - 10.1057/s41271-022-00384-4
DO - 10.1057/s41271-022-00384-4
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85146035200
JO - Journal of Public Health Policy
JF - Journal of Public Health Policy
SN - 0197-5897
ER -
