Mental health system in China: history, recent service reform and future challenges

The first officially documented management of the mentally ill in China was in the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), when homeless widows, orphans and the mentally ill were cared for in the Bei Tian Fang, a type of charity facility administrated by monks 1. The first western style psychiatric hospital for the homeless mentally ill was established and funded in 1898 by an American missionary, John Kerr, in what is currently the Guangzhou Brain Hospital. In the next 50 years, psychiatric hospitals were built very slowly in a limited number of large cities. The number of psychiatrists gradually increased to 100, and the number of beds gradually amounted to 1,000. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, psychiatric hospitals were gradually built in every province. The role of these early provincial hospitals was to maintain social security and stability. Following the first National Mental Health Meeting in 1958, community mental health work started in Beijing, Shanghai, Hunan, Sichuan and Jiangsu. Facilities were established in these areas to train professionals and to develop work plans for the prevention and treatment of psychoses, including early detection and treatment and relapse prevention 2. Though community mental health programs almost ceased during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), work-rehabilitation centers for patients with psychoses and caring networks were organized by neighborhood committees (the lowest level of governmental facilities) in Shanghai 3, and a treatment model for 256 patients with schizophrenia and their families was developed in a suburb of Beijing 4. In the 1980s, the health, civil affairs and public security sectors set up a three-tier network (at city, district/county and street/town levels) for the prevention and treatment of psychoses. Successful experiences with treatment models, such as work-rehabilitation centers in urban communities in Shanghai and Shenyang, and family-based therapy in rural areas in Haidian District in Beijing and Yantai Shangdong, were extended to other places 2. With the economic reform, hospitals were encouraged, as part of the market economy, to make a profit. Financially dependent mental health rehabilitation facilities closed or were transformed into small-scale psychiatric hospitals. In Shanghai, before 1990, there was at least one community-level rehabilitation facility in each district or town. By June 2004, the numbers of these facilities had decreased by 62% 5. By the late 1990s, some psychiatrists started to doubt the rationale for large hospital-based and profit-making models for mental health service delivery, and the Ministry of Health began to reconsider principles and approaches for mental health care. Through advocacy by the Ministry, senior ranked officials facilitated the establishment of a mental health plan. In November 1999, a high-level mental health seminar was convened by ten Chinese Ministries and the World Health Organization (WHO) in Beijing. The meeting resulted in a declaration that all levels of government would improve their leadership for and support of mental health care, strengthen inter-sectoral collaboration and cooperation, establish a mental health strategy and action plan, facilitate the enactment of a national mental health law, and protect patients’ rights 6. The first National Mental Health Plan (2002–2010) was signed by the Ministries of Health, Public Security and Civil Affairs, and China Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF) in April 2002. It identified a series of detailed targets and indices to achieve the main goals of: a) establishing an effective system of mental health care led by the government with the participation and cooperation of other sectors; b) accelerating the process of mental health legislation development and implementation; c) improving the knowledge and raising the awareness of mental health among all citizens; d) strengthening mental health services to decrease burden and disability; and e) developing human resources for mental health services and enhancing the capacity of current psychiatric hospitals 7. In August 2004, the Proposal on Further Strengthening Mental Health Work was approved by the Ministries of Health, Education, Public Security, Civil Affairs, Justice and Finance, and the CDPF. This proposal provides explicit instructions on interventions for psychological and behavioral problems for key population subgroups (including children and adolescents, women, the elderly and victims of disasters), treatment and rehabilitation of mental disorders, research on mental health and surveillance of mental disorders, and the protection of the rights of the mentally ill. The Proposal serves as the de facto Chinese national mental health policy. The mental health service model proposed in the above two documents is led by psychiatric hospitals, supported by departments of psychiatry in general hospitals, community-based health facilities and rehabilitation centres. In a large epidemiological study carried out in four provinces (Shandong, Zhejiang, Qinghai and Gansu) from 2001 to 2005, the adjusted 1-month prevalence of any mental disorder in people aged 18 years or older was 17.5% (95% CI 16.6–18.5), and that of psychotic disorders was 1.0% (95% CI 0.8–1.1) 8. In health economic terms, the estimated total disability adjusted life years (DALYs) of ten psychiatric conditions, including unipolar depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcohol use disorders, Alzheimer's and other dementias, drug use disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and insomnia (primary), was 253,851,896 years in China in 2004 9. This translates into a loss of gross domestic product (GDP) amounting to a country-wide total of CNY 2,681 billion, with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder accounting for CNY 532 billion. The huge burden of mental disorders highlights the pressing need for improved mental health services. However, similar to most countries, the rate of treatment gap of those with mental disorders is unacceptably high in China, with 91.8% of all individuals with any diagnosis of mental disorders never seeking help. For psychotic disorders, 27.6% never sought help and 12.0% saw non-mental health professionals only 8. The vast majority of mental health professionals in China are psychiatrists or psychiatric nurses, with few clinical psychologists and social workers, and no occupational therapists. Psychiatrists and licensed psychiatric nurses are accredited by the Ministry of Health, psychological counselors by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and psychotherapists by both Ministries. In 2004, there were 16,103 licensed psychiatrists and psychiatric registrars (1.24/100,000 population) and 24,793 licensed psychiatric nurses (1.91/100,000 population) 9. Relative to the global average mental health workforce (i.e., 4.15 psychiatrists and 12.97 psychiatric nurses per 100,000 population respectively) 10, mental health human resources in China are quite limited. The shortage of skilled mental health professionals represents one of the most critical issues facing the Chinese mental health system currently. In 2004, there were 557 psychiatric hospitals. Among them, 359 (64.5%) had 100 or more beds, and 44 (7.9%) had 500 or more beds. The total number of psychiatric beds was 129,314, i.e. 1.00/10,000 population 11, which is significantly lower than the global average of 4.36/10,000 psychiatric beds 10. China does not organize its services in catchment areas. Specialist mental health services remain the predominant component of the system. China's community-based mental health system was largely eliminated with the introduction of the market economy. Therefore, mental health service provision has become primarily hospital-based. Patients can access tertiary psychiatric hospitals directly, bypassing the primary and secondary health care levels. This partly reflects the disproportionate concentration of health resources in large cities. The funding model for the mental health system is complex, with hospital inpatient services provided by three ministries, Health, Civil Affairs and Public Security, while other facilities are administered under other ministries. According to the WHO, only 2.35% of the total health budget is spent on mental health and less than 15% of the population has health insurance that includes coverage of psychiatric disorders 10. China is undergoing a rapid change, with an economic growth rate of 7.5–13.0% per annum in the last ten years 12. However, the growth in wealth has not been equitably distributed, resulting in an increasing gap between the rich and the poor. It is evident that those with the greatest socio-economic disadvantage are often those with the highest mental health care needs 13. In October 2003, supported by the Ministry of Health, an application process was initiated for specialized public health projects that would have investment from the Ministry of Finance. All relevant public health sectors were active in developing appropriate models with critical indicators and drafting proposals for funding. Although several approaches and different models were considered, the mental health sector was yet to identify a suitable and practical model for China. A delegation led by Guihua Xu (Vice Director of China Centre for Disease Control) and three psychiatrists, Xin Yu, Hong Ma and Jin Liu from Peking University Institute of Mental Health, visited Melbourne, in order to build knowledge and understanding of the Victorian community mental health service system. The delegates and their Australian hosts also began to analyze the concept of community in China, and to investigate possible ways to integrate mental health care into secondary and tertiary facilities in the country. Complemented by other international exchanges with the USA, Norway, Thailand, Japan, UK and Germany, and guided by international benchmarks on mental health services by WHO and previous experiences in community mental health in China, a mental health sector model for reform emerged. The model has at its core a patient-centered approach that is community-based, seamless, function-oriented and multi-disciplinary. Due to China's vast, multi-ethnic and diverse population, social harmony and stability is a well recognized concern for the Chinese government. The focus on psychoses, especially those associated with violent or socially disruptive behaviours, was considered as a critical step to engage government in mental health issues. Although community-based mental health services were the long-term goal, current lack of resources and capacity in community mental health and primary mental health, combined with the difficulty in attracting mental health professionals to work in the community, meant that a different, less ambitious and more targeted model needed to be followed initially. An integrated hospital and community treatment model for psychoses was suggested, and a pilot project that included monitoring, intervention, prevention and rehabilitation management of psychoses was proposed. In September 2004, after competing with over fifty proposals and supported by a group of leading sociologists, economists and psychiatrists in China, the program for mental health service reform was the only non-communicable disease program included in China's national public health program. This event became a major historical milestone for China: mental health became officially included into public health. The mental health reform program formally received support from Ministry of Finance in December 2004, and was named the 686 Program after its initial funding of CNY 6.86 million. The National Centre for Mental Health of China located at Peking University Institute of Mental Health was authorized to be the implementing facility for this program by the Ministry of Health. The project was overseen by a national working group as well as an international advisory group with experts mainly from the University of Melbourne. By early 2005, 60 demonstration sites were established, with one urban and one rural area in each of the 30 provinces of China, covering a population of 43 million. The priority in the first year was to build a capable mental health workforce through an extensive training program. A two-level training mode was adopted, first at the national level utilizing a train-the-trainer approach, and then with trained trainers delivering the programs at the provincial level. The contents of the training included guidance on project management, standardized treatment protocols, case management, information management, family education, and the training of police and neighborhood committees. In 2006, the 686 Program incorporated an intervention component into the training program, which was then called the National Continuing Management and Intervention Program for Psychoses. The aim was to consolidate the reform through the key provisions of continuity of care, treatment accessibility, and equitable mental health care. Four types of psychoses were included: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, delusional disorder, and schizoaffective disorder. Patients screened for possible psychosis were referred from psychiatric hospitals or departments, the CDPF, community and village health centres, and neighborhood or village committees. These patients were subsequently examined by psychiatrists, and those who met diagnostic criteria for psychotic disorders were evaluated for their risk of violence based on a 0 to 5 score scale established by the national working group. The patients at risk of violence received monthly follow-up and, if they were socio-economically disadvantaged, were provided with free medication, laboratory tests, and a subsidy for hospitalization. About 5% of patients who received free medications were treatment refractory and were therefore provided with second generation antipsychotics, mainly risperidone. In the event of any psychiatric emergencies or severe cases of medication side effects, the program provided free crisis management. Moreover, as some patients were physically restrained or chained at home, the program provided support for the unlocking and freeing of these patients, and hospitalization when necessary. After hospitalization, if patients lacked finances to pay for treatment, they were included in the free services mentioned above. A key challenge for successful implementation of the 686 Program was the limited capacity of the workforce to deliver the program at the local level. To meet this enormous challenge, a tripartite training program was collaboratively developed in 2007 by the Peking University Institute of Mental Health, the University of Melbourne and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The primary aim of the program was to train up multi-skilled case workers by: a) developing understanding of the key principles of community-based mental health care in general and case b) practical in developing service plans to and continuity of c) appropriate ways to build with the families and d) to work in and e) to and for principles from health social occupational a set of knowledge and for case management was A key for the training program was to a rehabilitation focus in a community to a of community mental health facilities hospitals, training centres, mental health support and by the community mental health provided for such clinical The program needed to build that included different sectors and facilities into the mental health service including local health, civil public the and In a total of facilities in this program, including 44 provincial hospitals, hospitals, hospitals, urban community health urban community health village urban neighborhood committees and village committees. 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