2015年CRI China Vows More Efforts to Address Mental Health Problems

 

The latest data from Chinese health authorities shows around 15-percent of the population in China, or as many as 200-million people in China, suffer from some form of mental health issues.

Of them, more than 4-million are believed to be suffering from severe mental disorders¹.

To try to meet the challenge, those suffering from medically-diagnosed severe mental disorders are recognized under the National Basic Health Care guidelines.

This gives them easier access to professional care and treatment.

But Wang Bin² with the National Health and Family Planning Commission says that group still needs more help.

"From the data we have, its clear that many of those diagnosed with severe mental disorders come from vulnerable groups in society. With a high poverty rate and a low level of education, many of them lack sufficient support from their families and society."

Beyond those with severe mental disorders, Chinese medical experts are also warning of a growing problem with depression in China.

Yu Xin with Peking University's Sixth Hospital says this is something the medical community in China simply can't cope with right now.

"It is a conservative estimate to say that around 40-million people in our country suffer from depression, but we only have 20-thousand doctors for them. Even if each doctor saw 100 patients a day, there still wouldn't be enough. So we need to deal with depression at a grassroots level, which will require better training and referral measures."

The psychologist also suggests depression should be something that can be diagonsed early.

"Preventive measures can be taken even during pregnancy³. Mothers-to-be should always try to remain positive. Research has found mothers who suffer from depression can pass along psychological problems to their children. Research has noted⁴ babies living separately from their mothers, as well as older children who are left-behind in rural areas are also prone⁵ to depression."

Mental illness still remains⁶ a cultural taboo⁷ in China, with most still unwilling⁸ to discuss their problems.

"Many people with mental health problems won't see a doctor until severe symptoms begin appearing. We see examples of this all the time. People who begin to exhibit symptoms of depression may not even notice it, or acknowledge it. This just makes treating it that much harder as time goes on."

Around one-third of the provinces in China have adopted specific policies to help people with mental illnesses.

Nation-wide plans are being worked on to establish links between the health care system and civil affairs agencies to create better access to mental health care across China.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

1 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》

2 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

3 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

8 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。