Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book categorizes the scientific principles which underpin epidemiological and social psychiatry into three groups. It deals with historical origins. The increasing awareness that resources are not limitless has given rise to heightened interest in the economic evaluation of mental health care. The book provides an overview of the principles and techniques of economic appraisal. It discusses the need to adopt a population-based strategy. A host of techniques have been developed for identifying and estimating the extent of untreated psychiatric morbidity. Investigations using such techniques almost invariably involve computer analysis. Latterly, computers have also been used to collect such data - for example, there exist several systems whereby respondents are assessed by means of direct interaction with a computer.