TY - JOUR
T1 - Decision-makers, donors and data : factors influencing the development of mental health and psychosocial policy in the Solomon Islands
AU - Zwi, Anthony B.
AU - Blignault, Ilse
AU - Bunde-Birouste, Anne W.
AU - Ritchie, Jan E.
AU - Silove, Derrick M.
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Mental disorders and psychosocial problems are common, and present a significant public health burden globally. Increasingly, attention has been devoted to these issues in the aftermath of violent conflict. The Solomon Islands, a small Pacific island nation, has in recent years experienced periods of internal conflict. This article examines how policy decisions regarding mental health and wellbeing were incorporated into the national agenda in the years which followed. The study reveals the policy shifts, contextual influences and players responsible. The Solomon Islands' experience reflects incremental change, built upon longstanding but modest concern with mental health and social welfare issues, reinforced by advocacy from the small mental health team. Armed conflict and ethnic tensions from 1998 to 2003 promoted wider recognition of unmet mental health needs and psychosocial problems. Additional impetus was garnered through the positioning of key health leaders, some of whom were trained in public health. Working together, with an understanding of culture and politics, and drawing on external support, they drove the agenda. Contextual factors, notably further violence and the ongoing risk of instability, a growing youth population, and emerging international and local evidence, also played a part.
AB - Mental disorders and psychosocial problems are common, and present a significant public health burden globally. Increasingly, attention has been devoted to these issues in the aftermath of violent conflict. The Solomon Islands, a small Pacific island nation, has in recent years experienced periods of internal conflict. This article examines how policy decisions regarding mental health and wellbeing were incorporated into the national agenda in the years which followed. The study reveals the policy shifts, contextual influences and players responsible. The Solomon Islands' experience reflects incremental change, built upon longstanding but modest concern with mental health and social welfare issues, reinforced by advocacy from the small mental health team. Armed conflict and ethnic tensions from 1998 to 2003 promoted wider recognition of unmet mental health needs and psychosocial problems. Additional impetus was garnered through the positioning of key health leaders, some of whom were trained in public health. Working together, with an understanding of culture and politics, and drawing on external support, they drove the agenda. Contextual factors, notably further violence and the ongoing risk of instability, a growing youth population, and emerging international and local evidence, also played a part.
KW - Solomon Islands
KW - mental health policy
UR - http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/uws:33126
U2 - 10.1093/heapol/czq069
DO - 10.1093/heapol/czq069
M3 - Article
SN - 0268-1080
VL - 26
SP - 338
EP - 348
JO - Health Policy and Planning
JF - Health Policy and Planning
IS - 4
ER -