In 2014, Guyana was the country with the highest suicide rate in the world, with the suicide rate in this country being four times higher than the global average (Rawlings and Bishop).
Review by Cassie Apuzzo
Guyana is a country in Latin America that has had one of the highest suicide rates in the world for a number of years. Mental health is often overlooked as a health issue because of the fact that these diseases cannot be seen or physically conveyed. In 2016, the rate of suicide for both males and females was 30.2 out of 100,000, with Guyana still being the country with the highest rate of suicidal deaths. Studies have been conducted on sample populations within communities in Guyana on factors that contribute to this high suicide rate. Policy changes in mental health care have also shifted in reaction to this high suicide rate.
In 2016, the rate of suicide for both males and females was 30.2 out of 100,000, with Guyana still being the country with the highest rate of suicidal deaths.
Stigma has been cited as one of the leading contributing factors to mental illness, and specifically suicide within Guyana. In this blog post, we will analyze two policy reform movements in Guyana geared towards mental health policy reform.
Review of "WHO-AIMS Report on Mental Health Systems in Guyana"
The WHO conducted a review on Mental Health policy and systems in 2008, with the goal of collecting information of current mental health policies in order to work on efforts for mental health care reform. "The goal of collecting this information is to improve the mental health system and to provide a baseline for monitoring the change. This will enable Guyana to develop information-based mental health plans with clear base-line information and targets. It will also be useful to monitor progress in implementing reform policies, providing community services, and involving users, families and other stakeholders in mental health promotion, prevention, care and rehabilitation" ("WHO-AIMS Report on Mental Health Systems in Guyana"5, 2006). Important policies that this review focused on were topics like primary healthcare and how effective the current mental health policies were in helping the citizens of Guyana.
This comprehensive overview of the mental health policies in place within Guyana also evaluates both the strengths and weaknesses of the current policies. By acknowledging both the shortfalls and positive aspects of these policies, this review is able to provide a holistic analysis of Guyana's policies and how they could be altered in order to better address the needs of the community.
Ultimately, the WHO tool part in multiple steps in order to work towards reform of the mental healthcare system within Guyana. The ministry of health, an organization apart of the WHO, has taken many steps in order to work towards reforming mental health policies within Latin America. "To improve mental health services, in recent years, the Ministry of Health established a Mental Health Unit within the ministry, has held public education and awareness campaigns, and has actively encouraged links with other health agencies, such as the Ministry of Human Resources and Ministry of Education. Finally, an annual report is published by the government that includes information collected by mental health facilities"("WHO-AIMS Report on Mental Health Systems in Guyana"33, 2006). Overall, it is clear from this report that the WHO-AIMS is working towards reforming the mental health policies in Guyana in order to progress towards a mental health program that has more resources and is more effective to combat the epidemic of suicide within the country.
Written by Cassie Apuzzo
Relevant citations:
Rawlins, William Campbell, and Madeline Bishop. “Trying To Stop Suicide: Guyana Aims To Bring Down Its High Rate.” NPR, NPR, 29 June 2018, www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/06/29/622615518/trying-to-stop-suicide-guyana-aims-to-bring-down-its-high-rate.
WHO-AIMS. “WHO-AIMS Report on Mental Health Systems in Guyana.” World Health International, WHO, 2006, www.who.int/mental_health/guyana_who_aims_report.pdf.