DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Mental Health in Developing Nations

DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Mental Health in Developing Nations
By Jill Moss¹

Broadcast: Monday, June 14, 2004

This is Robert Cohen with the VOA Special English Development Report.

A study has found that most people with severe mental health problems go untreated in developing countries. The World Health Organization says between seventy-five and eighty-five percent had no treatment within the past year. In developed nations, between thirty-five and fifty percent went untreated.

The Journal of the American Medical Association published the findings. Ronald Kessler of Harvard University and Bedirhan Ustun of the W.H.O. led the study. They examined the results of questions asked of more than sixty-thousand adults in fourteen countries.

The most developed nations were Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States. The less developed ones were Columbia, China, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria and Ukraine. Researchers gathered the information between two-thousand-one and two-thousand-three. They asked the same questions in every interview. They wanted to estimate how many people have mental disorders³, and what kind. They also wanted to learn what treatment, if any, the people had received within the past year.

The problems considered included nervous anxiety and uncontrolled anger. Others were such things as eating disorders and disorders related to the use of alcohol and illegal drugs.

The percentage of people who said they had a mental disorder² differed greatly from country to country. The researchers found that for most countries the rate was between nine and twenty percent. The United States had the highest, at twenty-six percent of those questioned. The Chinese city of Shanghai had the lowest, at four percent.

The researchers say they believe this difference shows how mental health is seen differently around the world. They say people in many non-Western countries are often less likely to admit they have problems.

In almost every country, the more severe a problem was, the more likely it was to be treated. Still, the researchers say many people with minor⁴ mental health problems are treated, while many with serious disorders are not. They say this is not simply a problem of limited treatment resources. It also shows that resources are not being used well.

The researchers call for new efforts at early intervention⁵. They say early treatment of minor disorders could prevent many serious cases later. This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss.

This is Robert Cohen.

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

5 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。