Survey

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In preparation for the meeting in Caracas, WFSAD recently circulated a questionnaire to members of the Alianza Latina to develop profiles of the groups and to assess the situation that the groups face in their respective countries. The overall survey results are set out below along with links to summaries of the individual responses. We thank everyone who participated in the survey and look forward to discussing the issues that have been identified.

Highlights—Organizations

• While a majority of the organizations responding are less than five years old, most are conducting programs one would only expect from long-established groups.
• Family organizations ranged in size from 20 to 500 member families.
• All organizations, whether large or small, offer most of the "standard" services listed in the questionnaire-support groups, education, pamphlets, conferences; telephone help and anti-stigma programs.
• Several are conducting other interesting activities:
  • Assessment of their own services and programs
  • Attempting to achieve "status" with their Ministries of Health
  • Working on human rights or mental health laws
  • Educating children in the schools
  • "Family Dictionary" project
  • Participation in radio programs
• Virtually all groups say that lack of financial resources is a major obstacle. Few organizations have benefactors or do active fund raising.
• Almost half the organizations have no permanent place of business of their own, but all have access to facilities for large group meetings and conferences
• Stigma is strong in all countries preventing people from joining or maintaining contact with the family movement.
• Some organizations are lobbying government to make second-generation medications available under health or drug insurance schemes.

Highlights—Mental Health Environment

• Several organizations say their governments have little interest in mental health, and some report a failure to even recognize mental illness as a medical or psychiatric problem.
• In many places no government health insurance or social security is provided for the mentally ill.
• Outmoded ideas about mental illness linger in several countries, so that people do not seek medical attention. Faith healers are common in rural areas.
• Psychiatric hospitals range from effective and up-to-date to "asylum-Like", offering little more than custodial care. Mental illness can be treated in general hospitals in most countries.
• Respondents from all countries report that general practitioners do not treat mental illness.
• Second generation medications are available in a majority of the countries, but costs are often prohibitive for the average family.
• In several countries the concept of family self-help is not yet well understood.
• Cohesive mental health systems to treat the whole population do not exist. Treatment for the poor is very substandard, and even for the middle class and the rich, is not coordinated or based on modern comprehensive models of care and rehabilitation.

Summaries—Group Responses

Below are links to summaries of the groups' survey responses. The documents are in "PDF" format. To open them, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, a software that can be downloaded for free from Adobe—click on the button to the right. Please let us know if your have difficulty viewing the documents.