Mental health policy and practice across Europe: an overview

Promotion and prevention 207
When developing and implementing a mental health policy it is crucial to pay
attention to the levels of evidence for effectiveness, the cultural appropriateness
and acceptability of practices across implementation areas, the financial, personnel,
technical and infrastructural requirements needed, along with the estimation
of overall benefits and potential for large-scale and efficient application.
The barriers to implementing effective programmes, especially in countries with
low levels of resources, call for the collective efforts of all organizations, sectors
and professionals with responsibility for mental health (WHO 2002c) to work
together and support development at the country and European levels.
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