Mental Health in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Situational Assessment and Policy Recommendations

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Elzarka, Mohamed
Language:English
Published: University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1554214413881192
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spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-ucin15542144138811922021-08-03T07:09:47Z Mental Health in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Situational Assessment and Policy Recommendations Elzarka, Mohamed Mental Health mental health post-traumatic stress Bosnia and Herzegovina post-conflict policy ethnoreligious Background: The war that plagued Bosnia and Herzegovina in the mid-1990s has had far reaching effects on mental health within the nation, and its aftereffects have further exacerbated the challenges to mental well-being faced by the country’s citizens. Although the initial post-war support for mental health was robust, resources and investments into mental healthcare infrastructure in the country have diminished, and access to mental healthcare services is significantly lower than the incidence of mental health conditions would necessitate. Objective: Identify and characterize the mental health challenges present in Bosnia and Herzegovina and propose policy recommendations that can address the root causes of these obstacles to strong mental health in the country.Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted to perform a situational assessment of the major mental health challenges experienced in Bosnia and Herzegovina today and the current mental healthcare infrastructure that has been set up to deal with them.Results: Findings show that Bosnia’s key mental health challenges are rooted in larger challenges with post-war recovery, effective governance, sustaining a robust economy, educational integration, substance abuse, social inclusion for minority groups, and perceptions of mental health in civil society. These challenges are exacerbated by a healthcare system which has found some success in improving mental healthcare access and quality but which today is also overburdened, understaffed, and in need of serious streamlining. Ultimately, policy recommendations focusing on addressing these key challenges and shoring up infrastructure to better care for Bosnia’s mentally ill will be critical. Conclusions: Important policy recommendations to be considered for facilitating improved mental health in Bosnia must look to address the societal, political, economic, educational, and co-morbid medical issues in the country. Particular focus should be paid to stigma reduction, health education, educational integration, governmental and economic reform, and coalition building and the consolidation of resources between the public and non-profit sectors. 2019-07-09 English text University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1554214413881192 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1554214413881192 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Mental Health
mental health
post-traumatic stress
Bosnia and Herzegovina
post-conflict
policy
ethnoreligious
spellingShingle Mental Health
mental health
post-traumatic stress
Bosnia and Herzegovina
post-conflict
policy
ethnoreligious
Elzarka, Mohamed
Mental Health in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Situational Assessment and Policy Recommendations
author Elzarka, Mohamed
author_facet Elzarka, Mohamed
author_sort Elzarka, Mohamed
title Mental Health in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Situational Assessment and Policy Recommendations
title_short Mental Health in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Situational Assessment and Policy Recommendations
title_full Mental Health in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Situational Assessment and Policy Recommendations
title_fullStr Mental Health in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Situational Assessment and Policy Recommendations
title_full_unstemmed Mental Health in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Situational Assessment and Policy Recommendations
title_sort mental health in bosnia and herzegovina: situational assessment and policy recommendations
publisher University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK
publishDate 2019
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1554214413881192
work_keys_str_mv AT elzarkamohamed mentalhealthinbosniaandherzegovinasituationalassessmentandpolicyrecommendations
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