Psychiatry and public policy.

Rethinking mental health policy-making in Iran: a letter to the editor

The Devil Is in the Details! On Regulating Cannabis Use in Canada Based on Public Health Criteria; Comment on “Legalizing and Regulating Marijuana in Canada: Review of Potential Economic, Social, and Health Impacts”

This commentary to the editorial of Hajizadeh argues that the economic, social and health consequences of legalizing cannabis in Canada will depend in large part on the exact stipulations (mainly from the federal government) and on the implementation, regulation and practice of the legalization act (on provincial and municipal levels). A strict regulatory framework is necessary to minimize the ...

The importance of psychiatry in public mental health.

There is a lack of consensus over fundamental issues in public mental health in England. A move away from poorly evidenced 'well-being' policy approaches is needed. The authors have developed a more inclusive model using the World Health Organization's approach to public mental health. Public mental health policy makers must acknowledge the importance of psychiatry within the field.

Unequal Gain of Equal Resources across Racial Groups

The health effects of economic resources (eg, education, employment, and living place) and psychological assets (eg, self-efficacy, perceived control over life, anger control, and emotions) are well-known. This article summarizes the results of a growing body of evidence documenting Blacks’ diminished return, defined as a systematically smaller health gain from economic resources and psychologi...

A Case for Open Network Health Systems: Systems as Networks in Public Mental Health

Increases in incidents involving so-called confused persons have brought attention to the potential costs of recent changes to public mental health (PMH) services in the Netherlands. Decentralized under the (Community) Participation Act (2014), local governments must find resources to compensate for reduced central funding to such services or “innovate.” But innovation, even when pressure for c...