Improving Children’s Mental Health in Pakistan: Building Bridges Between Paediatrics & Psychiatry

Abstract

Child and adolescent mental health is a critical issue worldwide because of the increasing challenges of modern life. Young people are facing a multitude of stressors including academic pressures, social media influences, family conflicts and socio-economic disparities.¹ Estimates suggest that the peak age of onset of any mental health disorder is 14.5 years and in 48.4% of people, mental health problems begin by the time they are 18 years old.² Therefore, early detection and intervention is paramount to minimise potentially long-term adverse effects. Although this is a global concern, the situation is amplified in developing countries where there is a scarcity of trained mental health professionals and limited facilities dedicated to child mental health resulting in difficulties accessing services.³ The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 10-20% of children globally experience mental health difficulties, however only a fraction of this are able to receive adequate care.⁴

In recent decades there has been vast improvements in children’s healthcare in Pakistan, however mental health remains a neglected area despite it being a growing concern. Existing services are limited in both quantity and quality because of a lack of both human and infrastructural resources.⁵ Stigma and socio-cultural factors exacerbate challenges leaving many without the support they need.⁵ This often results in delayed help seeking, delayed diagnosis and delayed management. It has been suggested that mental health disorders in low and middle income countries like Pakistan often go undiagnosed.³ Despite the rapid escalation in need, it is highly unlikely that sufficient financial, human, and infrastructural resources will be made available in the near future.⁶ In addition, a lack of comprehensive data and validated research tools makes it difficult to understand the true nature of the difficulties that children in Pakistan are facing. Therefore, initiatives and interventions to overcome this are required to work towards meeting the needs of the children of Pakistan.⁷

The current situation regarding children’s psychological wellbeing in Pakistan needs much improvement and is of paramount importance. An initial attempt to begin to face some of these difficulties may be to involve and empower paediatricians. In this article we call for collaborative work between paediatricians and psychiatrists to break barriers and build bridges to overcome the considerable challenge ahead.