Comparison of Mental Health Services in Iran and Selected Countries

Comparison of mental health is necessary for human growth and prosperity, and in consequent, the growth of society. Therefore, paying attention to individual’s mental health is necessary as a part of health care. The current study aimed at comparing the management of mental health services in Iran and selected countries.
The present descriptive-comparative study was performed in five countries that met the inclusion criteria in three stages. In the first stage, a review study was conducted to analyze the current status of mental health services in Iran and the world. Secondly, South Korea, Philippines, Egypt, and Brazil were compared with Iran. In the third stage, mental health services in the selected countries and Iran was evaluated by the assessment instrument for mental health system. This instrument measures six domains of mental health services management. Content validity and reliability of the instrument were already measured based on internal consistency in previous studies. In order to collect the data, a researcher-made short-form, summarizing the above-mentioned instrument and information about mental health management in the selected countries was used. The short-form had 33 items in six domains of mental health services management. After reviewing the data, the results for each country were analyzed.
In the domain one, most countries had clear mental health policies, but the policies were different among them; although Iran and Philippines had no specific regulations in mental health. In the domain two, there was an inappropriate distribution of psychiatric beds and specialists in all the countries, although there were some differences in terms of mental health centers, the number of centers, and type of provided services among the countries. In the domain three, there was a difference among the countries regarding the protocols and prescribing drugs. In the domain four, there was an inappropriate distribution of human resources in all the countries, although the staff number, type of staff, and expertise were different among them. In the domain five, the association of patients and families varied across the countries. In the domain six, there was a difference in the information gathering system and the number of mental health researches among the countries.
Comparison of the selected countries and Iran showed differences in the management of mental health services. In Iran, there is no specific rules for the management of mental health services; also, there is no system to collect data and control the disease, and even the made policies are not implemented properly. Also, although Iran has desirable human and inhuman resources in comparison with the selected countries, it has no proper management and planning. Therefore, the establishment of rules and regulations as well as a system for the management of mental health services in Iran is suggested.