May 17, 2023 – A new paper lays out an action plan for reducing the growing mortality rates among people with mental illness and mental distress.
Published May 11 in the Lancet Psychiatry, the paper outlines 18 recommendations to reduce early deaths among those with mental illness, including delivering integrated healthcare, emphasizing community-based interventions, restricting access to lethal means of suicide, and increasing investment in mental health services and research.
The paper, produced by MQ Mental Health Research, was co-authored by 40 experts from around the world, including Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Karestan Koenen, professor of psychiatric epidemiology.
The authors made their recommendations after mapping the range of factors that increase the risk of early death for people with mental health conditions, such as traumatic life events, unemployment, stigma and marginalization, lack of meaningful societal relationships, and poor access to healthcare, education, housing, and income security.
Read the paper: Gone Too Soon: priorities for action to prevent premature mortality associated with mental illness and mental distress
Read a press release from MQ Mental Health Research: A roadmap to prevent people being gone too soon