ArticleRevista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health2018
Mental health in the Americas: an overview of the treatment gap.
Article in Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 121 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
121 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Interventions to Reduce Mental Health Stigma in Young People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2025Pooled it
- Economic evaluation and costs of telepsychiatry programmes: A systematic review.Journal of telemedicine and telecare · 2022Pooled it
- Mental Health and Addiction Related Emergency Department Visits: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies.Community mental health journal · 2022Pooled it
- Feasibility of mHealth interventions for depressive symptoms in Latin America: a systematic review.International review of psychiatry (Abingdon, England) · 2021Pooled it
- Mental health interventions for suicide prevention among indigenous adolescents: a systematic review.Sao Paulo medical journal = Revista paulista de medicinaPooled it
- Evaluating A Brief Telehealth Positive Parenting Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2026Trial
- Exploring Organizational Barriers and Facilitators to a New Bachelor's-Level Behavioral Health Role.The journal of behavioral health services & research · 2026Article
- Mental health conditions in Mexico: Diagnosis trends based on hospital records.Atencion primaria · 2026Article
- Medical artificial intelligence and the right to health.BMC medical ethics · 2026Article
- A comprehensive overview of the biological foundations of ADHD.Bioscience reports · 2026Review
- Unmet Needs in Mental Health: A Cross-Sectional Study on Contact Coverage Gaps and Access to Care for Depression and Anxiety Among Adults in Kailali, Nepal.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Socioemotional factors associated with teacher resilience in Colombian communities affected by armed conflict a cross-sectional study.Discover mental health · 2026Article
- Predictors of the use of community mental health services.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Immediate postpartum depressive symptoms and future psychiatric diagnoses: A predictive analysis using the EPDS.Journal of public health research · 2026Article
- A review of youth mental health in the U.S.: the current landscape, youth perspectives, and strategies for equitable solutions.Frontiers in health services · 2026Review
- Exploring patient perspectives on a new task-shared behavioral health role in Washington State.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
- Validation of the CONSULT-PSYCHIATR Scale: reasons for reluctance to seek psychiatric consultation among workers in Peru.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Exposure to parental depression in childhood and memory trajectories in mid- and later life.PloS one · 2026Article
- Advancing mental health equity: a community-based adaptation of problem management plus (PM+) on a mobile health clinic.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- From crisis to recovery: Exploring the demand surge for mental health services in Alberta, Canada-A document-based policy analysis with an illustrative supply-demand simulation (2023-2024).PLOS mental health · 2026Article
61 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo understand the mental health treatment gap in the Region of the Americas by examining the prevalence of mental health disorders, use of mental health services, and the global burden of disease.
methodsData from community-based surveys of mental disorders in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and the United States were utilized. The World Mental Health Survey published data were used to estimate the treatment gap. For Canada, Chile, and Guatemala, the treatment gap was calculated from data files. The mean, median, and weighted treatment gap, and the 12-month prevalence by severity and category of mental disorder were estimated for the general adult, child-adolescent, and indigenous populations. Disability-adjusted Life Years and Years Lived with Disability were calculated from the Global Burden of Disease study.
resultsMental and substance use disorders accounted for 10.5% of the global burden of disease in the Americas. The 12-month prevalence rate of severe mental disorders ranged from 2% - 10% across studies. The weighted mean treatment gap in the Americas for moderate to severe disorders was 65.7%; North America, 53.2%; Latin America, 74.7%; Mesoamerica, 78.7%; and South America, 73.1%. The treatment gap for severe mental disorders in children and adolescents was over 50%. One-third of the indigenous population in the United States and 80% in Latin America had not received treatment.
conclusionThe treatment gap for mental health remains a public health concern. A high proportion of adults, children, and indigenous individuals with serious mental illness remains untreated. The result is an elevated prevalence of mental disorders and global burden of disease.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.