Thursday, January 16, 2025
HomeNewsLatest Health and Medical NewsReviewing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for Mental Health

Reviewing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for Mental Health

A review examined evidence regarding the relationship between social determinants and mental disorders.

In light of the decisions to accommodate mental health services in the Sustainable Development Goals endorsed by the United Nations, there is a call to action from several authors to not overlook social determinants.

The Sustainable Development Goals program promises to create conditions in the healthcare system that will improve human development by 2030. Although ambitious, the end goal may not be as important as the support given to mental health issues.

As such, the United Nations now agrees that improving mental health globally is just as important as improving physical illnesses.

Strong emphasis on social determinants of mental health needed

As optimistic as it may sound, a review, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, argues that there should be a strong emphasis on social determinants of mental health. It is, in fact, true that social factors can play a significant role in determining the development of mental disorders.

The consensus today seems to land on two determinants of development, both of which have to exist for the illness to arise. The first is the presence of a genetic predisposition to mental disorders, and the second is the presence of complementary triggers from the environment.

Thus, while it is, of course, beneficial to treat the individual, it is certainly injurious when the patient is sent back to society where he or she will experience the same triggers.

Thus, it is argued, that simply resolving to improve treatment techniques may be only a partial solution, and at worse, an exacerbation of mental disorders derived from negligence. It is therefore extremely important to invest in social interventions that will address problems experienced globally, and are attributed at least in part to the development of mental disorders.

The review article discusses several categories of social determinants that could benefit from such intervention.

The Demographic Domain: Gender, Ethnicity, and Age

The authors found several links that may connect gender, ethnicity, and age to mental disorders. For instance, the female gender is associated with higher risks of depression, eating disorders, and anxiety. Men, while less likely to attempt suicide, have higher chances of mortality from suicide attempts.

Age can act as both a factor that increases the likelihood of developing a mental illness, as well as a factor that may improve interventions. Older persons are more susceptible to depression, but the right intervention at a young age has an increased probability of success.

Ethnicity plays a part, and certain racial minorities are at risk of developing depression.

Migration can also strongly increase the chances of developing severe mental disorders. Interventions that attempt to reduce gender-based violence, child maltreatment, racial discrimination, and the like, have very good chances of remedying the abovementioned triggers.

Economic Domain: Income, Employment, and Housing

In the economic domain, there is also strong evidence that certain triggers are highly associated with mental disorders. For example, poverty is associated with an increased prevalence of mental disorders, regardless of the country. Income inequality is associated with an increased risk for schizophrenia.

Employment, on the other hand, can reduce the likelihood of a person developing depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideations. It can even improve the well-being of people with mental disorders, such as schizophrenia.

Possible remedies are the introduction of basic income grants and improved employment.

The Neighborhood Social & Cultural Domains

These two domains both present strong platforms for improvement. Neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic statuses may present more risk factors for patients. There is also a significant lack of social support as compared with higher-income neighborhoods.

For instance, witnessing violence and gang activity has strongly been linked to depression, bullying, PTSD, and substance abuse.

Education and family relationships can act as strong determinants for mental disorders. Suicide and depression have been linked to lower educational attainment. Postnatal depression can be exacerbated by partner abuse, while partner support is found to be a protective factor. Working to improve housing and neighborhood safety, as well as strengthening education and social support, may be a place to start to reduce the prevalence of mental disorders.

Environmental Events and Disasters Domain

As is expected, the occurrence of disasters, as well as wars, can strongly influence the population.

There have been high rates of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and suicide, as a result of the trauma these events entail. Forced migration, for example, was connected to severe mental disorders. It can be remedied, however, with the implementation of strong social support networks.

Reduction in violence and early response to environmental events should be considered as interventions for this domain.

Important considerations

While society can strongly benefit from these changes, the implementation may be found cumbersome. Nonetheless, even the slightest change toward the ultimate goal will likely improve the rates of mental disorders.

It is also important to note that many of the proposed solutions have not been rigorously tested. Thus, there needs to be an augmentation in the number of experiments conducted for this purpose.

Further, it is important to note that, while many of the above factors are related to the symptoms, it is hard to know whether there is social causation or social drift. That is, whether societal conditions have triggered the mental disorder or the mental disorder resulted in a social decline of the individual.

Nevertheless, implementing protective strategies will benefit the patients regardless of the causal direction.

Reference: Lund, Crick, et al. “Social Determinants of Mental Disorders and the Sustainable Development Goals: a Systematic Review of Reviews.” The Lancet Psychiatry, vol. 5, no. 4, 2018, pp. 357–369., doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(18)30060-9.

Maor Bernshtein
Maor Bernshteinhttps://pathwaytoself.ca/
Maor is a Registered Social Worker and a Psychotherapist, specializing in mental health and trauma treatment. He holds a Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Western Ontario. Maor is passionate about helping make knowledge, tools, and support accessible to people from all walks of life. He continues to value the importance of accessibility and recognizing barriers by providing relational, collaborative mental health therapy.
RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest News and Articles

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTERS

Stay Connected
10,288FansLike
820FollowersFollow
249FollowersFollow
2,787FollowersFollow

Article of the month

Your Cat Might Be a Secret Genius: A Tail of Cognitive Connections

Ever catch your cat staring at you and wonder: “ Are you planning your next nap, or are you silently judging my life choices? ” Well, brace yourself, because science just uncovered something that'll make you reconsider your cat's role as a low-key dictator in your home. Turns out, they're not just napping, they might be smarter than you think.

Joke Of The Day – January 16

In a psychiatrist's office: - Doctor, help me please! I think that I am a horse. - I can help you, but it will cost a...

ADVERTISE WITH US

error: Content is read-only and copy-protected.