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Abstract
The need for more mental health research in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LAMICs) has been repeatedly acknowledged. Yet there has been limited focus on how this goal can be achieved optimally. This paper makes the case for orienting mental health research efforts in developing countries within a strategic planning approach at a national level that recognizes the practical constraints of low resource environments, as well as methodological constraints created by factors such as low literacy levels, and the use of multiple languages. A case study of Ghana is used to illustrate how such a strategic planning model could be developed. This proposed approach should be of interest to other LAMICS in need of locally generated mental health research to inform clinical practice, mental illness prevention initiatives, and public policy.
Note
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Dr. Susie Eshun and Ms. Wendy Lawson for their input in a previous version of this manuscript. The authors would also like to thank Ms. Queen Angela Norman for assistance with the table.
Notes
1 Various interpretations are associated with the terms mental health and mental illness. For purposes of this paper, mental illness will refer to the concept of psychological dysfunction (mental disorders usually associated with impaired functioning in cognitive, emotional, social, and occupational domains). Mental health will refer to an overlapping concept that combines the absence of mental illness with a state of general wellbeing.