A comparison of child and adolescent psychiatry in the Far East, the Middle East, and Southeast Europe.

Introduction: Despite the high proportion of children and adolescents living in low- and middle-income countries, 95% of all specialized child and adolescent mental health resources are located in high-income countries. To strengthen child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), first it is necessary to complete an assessment of the available services and training programs to determine what is needed, particularly in regions with young populations, such as Southeast Europe, the Far East, and the Middle East. The aim of this article is to compare the status of child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) training programs and the workforce in CAMHS in three geographical regions, to identify similar problems, highlight success stories, and to make recommendations for future studies.

Methods: This study compared CAP training programs and CAMHS workforce using the World Psychiatric Association, CAP Section's regional studies data.

Results: This study included data from 44 countries: 18 countries in the Far East, 15 countries in the Middle East, and 11 countries in Southeast Europe. There were significant differences both within, and between, the three included regions with regards to availability and infrastructure of CAP training programs. Besides Greece, all included countries reported the need for more child and adolescent psychiatrists and allied child and adolescent mental health professionals.

Discussion: There is an urgent need for more qualified child and adolescent psychiatrists and allied professionals in a very large group of countries in three different geographic regions with great differences in religion, culture, and economy.