Published October 9, 2012, last updated on June 12, 2013
To commemorate World Mental Health Day on Wednesday, Duke researchers will share their work on one of the world’s most neglected diseases.
One in four people will suffer a mental, neurological or substance use disorder in their lifetime. Yet, many people lack access to basic medicines or mental health care. Their condition could go unnoticed, ignored or untreated, and people could spend their lives suffering silently or in chains.
The Duke Global Health Institute is on the leading edge of setting mental health as a global priority, with research that targets a range of populations, health issues and geographic locations. Such projects focus on, for example, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS and risky sexual behavior, child mental health as well as maternal health.
Moderated by Joanna (Asia) Maselko, the DGHI Global Mental Health Seminar at noon in Trent 040 will highlight Duke’s efforts to address mental health challenges. The goal of the seminar will be to raise awareness of the degree to which mental health issues pervade entire populations across wealthy and low-income countries alike. The session will also be an opportunity to get involved in faculty-led research or Duke courses in global mental health.
The seminar will open with a video and facilitate discussion between faculty and students from various departments across Duke, including public policy, psychiatry, psychology and community health.
As more academic researchers and advocacy organizations put mental health in the spotlight, the numbers start to tell the story about where existing resources are allocated. Ninety-five percent of the research dollars in mental health are spent on five percent of the world’s population. There is a great need in developing countries for trained mental health specialists and the science to inform policy and future treatment and prevention programs.
The seminar will be streamed live. Learn more about DGHI research under way in global mental health.
