Economic Burden Associated with Availing Mental Health Services: A Data-Driven Analysis
摘要
According to the Mayo Clinic, mental health disorders are a combination of conditions that impact an individual's mood, thinking and behavior. Including, but not limited to depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addiction. Despite this broader understanding the WHO states that about one in eight of us worldwide will be affected by a mental health condition, 14% of these cases are in India. Alarmingly, 80% of the people are deprived from existing treatment facilities in India. These extreme numbers result from many different roadblocks—economic, social and financial. Such barriers include limited funding for public health programs and stigma surrounding mental illness. Accordingly, even when it comes to a necessary mental health service like counselling the general attitude is one that portrays them as more of an indulgence rather than requirement thus serving to highlight the huge awareness issue being addressed in our society around actual access. This research is about the financial limits that make it hard for individuals to acquire mental health services; and it concentrates on three main areas namely: health insurance coverage, treatment costs and government funding. The survey results from a variety of participants revealed that limited insurance, expensive treatment and inadequate funding are some of the major challenges. Pair plots also showed how these elements are related, and they can lead to limited access to mental health care services. This creates a room for policy changes so as to improve insurance coverage, reduce costs and increase government spending on mental health services’ accessibility.