Types of Psychiatric Beds and Mental Health Services in 16 Latin American Countries, 1990-2020.

Objective: Latin America has undergone major changes in psychiatric services over the past three decades. The authors aimed to assess the availability of service data and changes in psychiatric services in this region during the 1990-2020 period.

Methods: The authors formed a research network to collect data on psychiatric service indicators gathered between 1990 and 2020 from national registries in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.

Psychiatric beds and prison populations in 17 Latin American countries between 1991 and 2017: rates, trends and an inverse relationship between the two indicators.

Background: In 1990, Latin American countries committed to psychiatric reforms including psychiatric bed removals. Aim of the study was to quantify changes in psychiatric bed numbers and prison population rates after the initiation of psychiatric reforms in Latin America.

Methods: We searched primary sources to collect numbers of psychiatric beds and prison population rates across Latin America between the years 1991 and 2017.