Model for adult mental health screening, treatment, and monitoring in disasters

Abstract

Disasters affect all members of a community; however, not all react in the same way. It is therefore essential to identify those who require specialized interventions, and establish appropriate referral and treatment pathways for different mental health services. Authors synthesize recommendations from evidence-based interventions to inform mental health care efforts for populations exposed to disasters, specifically in relation to screening, referral and psychological treatment. The authors propose a comprehensive model of coordinated efforts that uses existing services and infrastructure. This aims to incentivize future inter-institutional collaboration and a greater professionalization of public mental health in México.

Keywords

• desastre
• trastornos por estrés postraumático
• TEPT
• vías clínicas
• salud mental
• servicios de salud comunitaria