Schizophrenia

From The Critics

Reviewer: Michael Joel Schrift, D.O., M.A.(University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine)
Description: This is a new and comprehensive book, written by internationally known experts on schizophrenia, that focuses on the relevant economic impact that this devastating illness produces.
Purpose: The editors believe there is a need for an effort to develop a set of materials that will allow a comprehensive examination of the evidence and facilitate national projects examining the relationship of health and economic policies and interventions. They hope that this volume will be valuable for those engaged in the evaluation of mental health programs, and they encourage further research and the use of this multidisciplinary evaluation by policymakers and all others involved in the process of mental healthcare. The editors have succeeded in their goals.
Audience: The audience, as stated above, would include mental health policy makers, schizophrenia researchers, and clinicians involved in administrative psychiatry.
Features: Topics discussed include those such as the psychiatric evaluation and diagnosis, symptoms, social functioning, quality of life, and course of the illness. Epidemiology, statistics of studies, therapeutic and management options, personnel options, evaluation of service use, economics of drug treatment, financing, the economics of research, applications in different countries, and mental health policies and economics are comprehensively covered. Each chapter contains relevant citations, and there is a useful index section at the end of the book.
Assessment: This is an excellent and comprehensive new book that will mainly be useful to individuals involved in mental healthcare policy. It will mostly used as a library reference.

Michael J. Schrift

This is a new and comprehensive book, written by internationally known experts on schizophrenia, that focuses on the relevant economic impact that this devastating illness produces. The editors believe there is a need for an effort to develop a set of materials that will allow a comprehensive examination of the evidence and facilitate national projects examining the relationship of health and economic policies and interventions. They hope that this volume will be valuable for those engaged in the evaluation of mental health programs, and they encourage further research and the use of this multidisciplinary evaluation by policymakers and all others involved in the process of mental healthcare. The editors have succeeded in their goals. The audience, as stated above, would include mental health policy makers, schizophrenia researchers, and clinicians involved in administrative psychiatry. Topics discussed include those such as the psychiatric evaluation and diagnosis, symptoms, social functioning, quality of life, and course of the illness. Epidemiology, statistics of studies, therapeutic and management options, personnel options, evaluation of service use, economics of drug treatment, financing, the economics of research, applications in different countries, and mental health policies and economics are comprehensively covered. Each chapter contains relevant citations, and there is a useful index section at the end of the book. This is an excellent and comprehensive new book that will mainly be useful to individuals involved in mental healthcare policy. It will mostly used as a library reference.

3 Stars from Doody