Improving mental health care can have a huge economic payoff, according to a study released Tuesday.
The World Health Organization findings suggest every U.S. dollar invested in mental health treatment can quadruple returns in work productivity. However, most countries are investing far below what is needed for those suffering from common mental disorders, the study notes.
Researchers, who studied 36 countries of all income levels, forecast that an increased mental health care investment over the next 15 years could return up to four U.S. dollars for every dollar invested.
But governments worldwide currently spend just 3% of their health budgets on mental health care – ranging from less than 1% in low-income countries to 5% in high-income countries, according to the WHO 2014 survey.
As the number of people suffering from common mental disorders – such as depression and anxiety – skyrockets worldwide, governments need to develop mental health care initiatives, said Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank.
“Despite hundreds of millions of people around the world living with mental disorders, mental health has remained in the shadows,” Kim said in a press release. “This is not just a public health issue — it’s a development issue.”
[For more of this story, written by Marissa Horn, go to http://www.usatoday.com/story/...er-economy/82940732/]
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