How Does Poverty Affect Mental Health?

US lecturer and Obama’s advisor Richard Frank recently visited the UK to discuss how Britain and America could learn from one another with regards to mental healthcare. Frank believes that the knowledge of economists plays a bit part in the moulding and shaping of our current mental health services, as policy and the design of said policies determine the results. The analytical approach of Richard Frank, and others like him, could offer many improvements and changes which could better the mental health services in the UK.

Frank suggests that one of the first ways to improve the mental health services is the notice that there is a bigger integration between health and social care than is currently being used, as well as ensuring that there needs to be a greater emphasis on the prevention and early intervention of many of these issues. This includes creating a stronger bond between primary care and other agencies, such as drug rehabilitation services. Severe mental illness brings with it a host of other concerns which contribute towards how you need to be treated.

The cost of mental healthcare is also an issue, which people on low income suffering long-term impact due to the cost of proper treatment. Frank states that if more is done early on to help people, the likelihood of them having an on-going disability is reduced. One of the public health strategies is to target those more at risk, but depression is also a key issue with mental health. If companies put mental health practices into place and prevention programmes, could this help people reduce the risk of developing an on-going health concern? Poverty and substance misuse are key components in mental health issues and need to be addressed in order to help improve the mental health services.