Routledge Handbook of Global Mental Health Nursing: Evidence, Practice and Empowerment

Awarded second place in the 2017 AJN Book of the Year Awards in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing.

I welcome, at long last, a book on global mental health targeted to nurses, the front-line health worker for billions of people around the world. The roles that nurses can, and should, play in mental health care are diverse and this book addresses both well-trod as well as emerging concerns across the continuum of care from promotion to prevention to treatment. Importantly, at the heart of this diversity is the foundation of compassion and care, the hallmark of the nursing profession. Vikram Patel, Professor of International Mental Health and Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow in Clinical Science, Centre for Global Mental Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK

Psychiatric disorders have consistently been identified as serious and significant global burdens of disease, yet meeting the needs of people in mental distress has not often been a priority in health care. This important reference work sets out the knowledge base for understanding the state of mental health care globally, and translating that into effective practice.

The Handbook provides a historical and contemporary context of mental health care, identifies and discusses evidence-based standards of care and strategies for mental health promotion and explores the need to deliver care from interdisciplinary and community-based models, placing these imperatives within a human rights and empowerment framework. It is made up of four core sections which look at:

• • Key and emerging issues that affect global mental health practice and research, including the social context of health;
  • Evidence-based health promotion strategies for major areas of practice internationally;
  • A range of country studies, reflecting different problems and approaches to mental health and mental health care internationally; and
  • What constitutes empowering practice.

The only comprehensive work looking at global perspectives on mental health nursing, this is an invaluable reference for all students, academics and professionals involved in mental health research with an interest in global or cross-cultural issues.