Public Health Aspects of Diagnosis and Classification of Mental and Behavioral Disorders

Public Health Aspects of Diagnosis and Classification of Mental and Behavioral Disorders: Refining the Research Agenda for DSM-5 and ICD-11 provides a comprehensive summary of the current state of mental health classification in the United States and internationally, fostering a better understanding of primary research and clinical needs and facilitating the efforts of service planners, researchers and trainees to address current use of psychiatric diagnosis in the public health sector. The volume reflects the proceedings of a research planning conference convened by the APA and World Health Organization (WHO) that focused on public health aspects of the diagnosis and classification of mental disorders.

Highly relevant to the ongoing development of DSM-5 and ICD-11, the book includes the background papers prepared and presented by the Conference Expert Groups. The resulting collection:

• Discusses the current state of mental illness prevention efforts and the role of public health in supporting them—critical topics, given that development of effective strategies to reduce mental illness around the world depends on the accuracy with which risk and protective factors can be identified, defined, and understood.
• Features international perspectives on public health implications of psychiatric diagnosis, classification, and service, providing viewpoints that are broad and more globally relevant.
• Views mental health education, and awareness on a macro level, including its impact on social and economic policy, forensics and the legal system, and education. This approach facilitates the continued development of a research base in community health and promotes the establishment of programs for monitoring, treating, and preventing mental illness.
• Addresses many fascinating and clinically relevant issues, such as those raised by the concept and the definition of mental disorders and how these impact psychiatric services and practice by individual providers.

This collection should prove useful to the advisory groups, task forces, and working groups for the revision of these two classifications, as well as for researchers in the area of diagnosis and classification, and more generally in public health.