Introduction
Healthcare is an important area of life. Any economy or country cannot survive without healthcare institutions. Every country or system tries to build a healthy system to secure its survival. Maintaining and delivering healthcare facilities is a difficult task, and every country maintains and delivers healthcare facilities to the population in a different and specific manner. The factors which determine the delivery of healthcare facilities in a country or region include the background and culture of the country, the amount of money and forces the country places on different outcomes.
The topic selected for this comparison and contrast discussion essay is mental health assistance provided to children and adults in the Netherlands, the United States and Canada and the role of pill testing or drug testing in reducing harm related to drugs. Mental problems allude to various mental health conditions, including change in reflection, alteration in mood connected with discomfort and undermining operation. Mental illness examples are anxiety, mood disorders, eating disorders, sleeping disorders and schizophrenia. A range of people face mental health issues occasionally, but mental issues become a disease when symptoms influence the ability to operate or work properly(1).
Professionals provide mental health and addiction services. Support can be provided by psychologists, friends, parents and nurses in hospitals and at home. Mental health and addiction (MHA) services scale from depression, substance abuse disorder, and anxiety to severe conditions. The national focus on services related to mental health is very little. In the United States, large-level changes in present health insurance schemes have been interweaved, including the Affordable Care Act and Congressional bills.
Factors for Addressing Mental Health Concerns
Problems related to mental health are highly common and can affect the health of children and youth. 21.4% of youth ranging from 13-18 years have serious mental illness in the US. In Canada, 29% of youth ranging from 13-19 years have issues related to mental health.
In the lives of youth, mental diseases have a serious impact. Worldwide, the leading cause of death is suicide among youth. The economic burden of mental illness in Canada is fifty-one billion dollars per year, which includes productivity loss and health care costs. Families of such children and adults with mental illness also experience stress, anxiety and depression, which affect their daily lives and result in financial and employment challenges.
In countries such as Canada, the Netherlands and the US, to address mental health issues, changes and implementation to the organizations are developed. In Canada, the federal government have made many efforts to increase the availability of better health services. The Canada’s Commission of Mental Health was created in 2007 to highlight the problematic areas. To support mental health services, the Federal Government promised five billion dollars over ten years in 2017. Twenty-five million dollars were committed in the 2019 budget to support the development of the Technology-based Pan-Canadian Suicide Prevention Service(2).
The Netherlands, Canada, and the US have almost similar levels of social profiles, development, and healthcare systems, and the perceived needs for mental health services are also the same. All provinces of Canada have introduced individual mental health strategies. Mental health become a health priority in the US. The Office of Health Promotion addresses access to improve mental health and well-being.
Health Care Insurance Schemes:
In the US, the Netherlands and Canada, an array of mental health facilities are financed by private and public funds. In Canada, government-funded health insurance is provided to all citizens. On the contrary, youth can receive insurance through these means, including Medicaid, which is a health care program for poor people, private health insurance, and the Children’s Health Care Program (CHIP) in the US.
Private insurance providers provide private insurance in the Netherlands. There are two insurance systems in the Netherlands: compulsory insurance for poor individuals and voluntary insurance for average individuals.
Primary Health Care
The main component of the health care system is Primary Health Care in all three countries. In the Netherlands, to increase treatment accessibility, there is a focus on integrating psychological services with the help of introducing mental health professionals into primary health care.
Some Canadian provinces also focus on primary health care. Thirty-eight per cent of people in Canada with mental problems or drug use problems show symptoms at an early age. Mental health problems mostly start in childhood or adulthood, and primary care and interventions can prevent severity(3). Referral to specialist mental health services is required in Canada and the Netherlands, while in the US, referral to special mental health facilities is not needed.
Pill testing is a strategy to reduce harm and enables people who take illicit drugs to chemically analyse substances and recognise the nature and concentration of specific substances and contents. Mental illness is highly related to drug-taking, and mental illness results in increased drug addictions. The rate of youth using illicit drugs is increasing day by day(4).
In Australia, pill testing is getting support from the medical association. Pill testing is a way of analysing the harm related to the intake of the drug, and it is a source of spreading awareness among youth.
Conclusion
In the three identified countries, children’s and adults’ mental health has been a major concern in recent times. Significant reforms are made to improve the availability of mental health care services. Obstacles in the utilization of mental health care utilization by youth and children must be reduced all over the world. In all three countries, general practitioners are the main sources of delivering basic health care. Referral to specialist services requirements is different in these countries. Worldwide access is required to identify better practices in improving mental health care services in adults and children. Reforms within these states should continue to improve. Pile testing is a source of spreading awareness in youth.
References
1. Moroz N, Moroz I, D’Angelo MS. Mental health services in Canada: barriers and cost-effective solutions to increase access. In: Healthcare management forum. SAGE Publications Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA; 2020. p. 282–7.
2. Ronis ST, Slaunwhite AK, Malcom KE. Comparing strategies for providing child and youth mental health care services in Canada, the United States, and the Netherlands. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. 2017;44(6):955–66.
3. Abuse S. Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: results from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. 2020;
4. Scott IA, Scott RJ. Pill testing at music festivals: is it evidence‐based harm reduction? Internal Medicine Journal. 2020;50(4):395–402.
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