Mental health research in the Arab region: challenges and call for action
Fadi T Maalouf 1, Bibi Alamiri 2, Samir Atweh 3, Anne E Becker 4, Majda Cheour 5, Hala Darwish 6, Lilian A Ghandour 7, Suhaila Ghuloum 8, Mouin Hamze 9, Elie Karam 10, Brigitte Khoury 11, Samia J Khoury 12, Ali Mokdad 13, Lokman I Meho 14, Tarek Okasha 15, Geoffrey M Reed 16, Eman Sbaity 17, Pia Zeinoun 18, Elie A Akl 19
Affiliations
Affiliations
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
- Al-Manara, Kuwait Center for Mental Health, Kuwait.
- Department of Neurology, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
- Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, Tunisia.
- Hariri School of Nursing, Abu-Haidar Neuroscience Institute, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
- Hamad Medical Corporation, Weill Cornell Medicine, Doha, Qatar.
- National Council for Scientific Research, Beirut, Lebanon.
- Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, St Georges Hospital University Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
- Department of Psychiatry, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
- Hariri School of Nursing, Abu-Haidar Neuroscience Institute, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon; Department of Neurology, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
- Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
- University Libraries, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
- Institute of Psychiatry, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Surgery, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
- Department of Psychiatry, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon; Department of Psychology, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
- Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Riad-El-Solh, Beirut, Lebanon. Electronic address: ea32@aub.edu.lb.
Abstract
Although mental disorders are a leading cause of disability in the Arab region, which includes 5·54% of the global population, Arab countries produce only 1·0% of the global output of peer-reviewed publications in mental health research. Various stakeholders, including Arab mental health researchers, institutional and funding agency officials, and international research collaborators, convened to identify challenges faced by Arab mental health researchers and propose an evidence-informed call for action. Challenges identified include prevalent stigma and low awareness, conflict and war, scarce institutional and funding resources, inadequate publishing opportunities, insufficient training in mental health research, and shortage of reliable and valid assessment tools. The proposed action plan includes ways of addressing stigma and spreading awareness, increasing collaborative efforts, building research infrastructure, strengthening the mental health workforce, and translating research findings into a call to action on societal and governmental levels. The proposed action plan could provide a roadmap for Arab mental health researchers and research institutions, which might ultimately increase research productivity in the Arab region and close the gap between Arab countries and the rest of the world.
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