Salud mental: relevancia del problema, estrategias y retos que afrontar en el IMSS

In the context of the 80th anniversary of the Mexican Institute for Social Security (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, IMSS), there are several health problems and challenges to be faced in relation to user population, which currently represents 42% of Mexico’s population. Among these issues, once five waves of COVID-19 infections have passed and mortality rates have decreased, mental and behavioral disorders stand out as a re emerging problem that should be prioritized. In response to this, in 2022 the Mental Health Comprehensive Program (MHCP, 2021-2024) took place, which represents, for the first time, the opportunity to provide health services that address mental disorders and addictions of the user population of IMSS, under the Primary Health Care model, i.e., prioritizing health promotion, risk factors prevention, screening, timely diagnosis, and not just hospitalization and drug supply. Among the MHCP strategies, which motivated the writing of this document, we highlight the availability of reliable data, through the census of mental and behavioral disorders, related to important characteristics in terms of population, state, hospital, prevalence of disorders, in order to act accordingly through the infrastructure and human resources available at IMSS, with emphasis on the first level of care.