ABSTRACT
An ideal public health approach to obtain such basic information would commence with an epidemiological sample survey to determine the prevalence and incidence of mental disorder in a total population. An ideal public health approach to obtain such basic information would commence with an epidemiological sample survey to determine the prevalence and incidence of mental disorder in a total population. The lack of any linkage between mental disorder epidemiological and health services research studies makes it difficult to obtain treated prevalence data, and to understand the complex interaction between multiple social and economic factors that determine whether persons with mental disorders actually seek or receive services. The chapter aims to determine where persons with mental disorder may receive some mental health services, including the essential first-level services of screening and diagnosis. The mental health services of the specialty mental health sector are limited to direct patient treatment services.
