China is all set launch mental health initiatives for student
Kathmandu, January 27
China is set to enable all schools to offer psychological services for students by the end of 2022 as part of an action plan targeting the mental health of children and adolescents.
As per Xinhua News, each school should set up a psychological service platform or rely on school doctors to provide students with mental health services by the deadline, according to the plan jointly released by 12 central authorities including the National Health Commission and the Ministry of Education.
The institutions for preschool education and special education are required to be staffed with full-time or part-time mental health teachers.
By the end of 2022, 60 percent of the country's psychiatric hospitals at Grade II and above need to offer mental outpatient services for children and teenagers, while 30 percent of children's hospitals, maternal and child care service centers and general hospitals at the same levels are required to provide such services.
China has a three-tier system to grade hospitals. Many Grade II hospitals are county-level hospitals with 100 or more beds.
As per the action plan, by 2020, all prefecture-level cities need to provide residents access to psychological assistance hotlines, and the awareness rate of core mental health knowledge among the young should reach 80 percent.
