Paulo R Menezes, Ricardo Araya, Jaime Miranda, David C Mohr, LeShanwndra N Price

Revista de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas 2015; 73(3):321-330.

Link: http://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/med/article/view/13842

Abstract
Over the past 60 years Latin American countries have been experiencing noticeable demographic and socioeconomic changes, with marked impact on the population health in the region. There is growing recognition of the co-morbidity among mental and physical health problems impacting heavily on health care systems. These challenges open many opportunities for transformational change in the expanding field of global mental health. Given the growing evidence for the wide applicability and efficacy of specific components included in mental health treatment packages, research should focus more on improving the organization and efficiency with which we deliver these specific treatment components already proven to be efficacious. The Latin American Treatment and Innovation Network in Mental Health (LATIN-MH) is a research and training Hub based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Lima, Peru. It aims to address the co-morbidity between physical and mental chronic diseases, exploring the opportunity to use technology to support the treatment of these conditions. LATIN-MH strives to move beyond specific single-disease approaches and research silos, whilst maximizing the opportunities to work collaboratively with various groups in the Latin American region, thus contributing to fostering research and building capacity in mental health research.