World Mental Health Day: Stigma and lack of awareness on mental health disorders create treatment gap in Keralam

The District Mental Health Programme has a strong presence in all districts in Keralam, delivering mental health services and follow-up care to people at primary care level. However, lack of inpatient care facilities and shortage of human resources – psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric social workers – in public health facilities from taluk hospitals upwards is threatening to widen treatment gap in the State