<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> The article aims to describe the key events in the development of mental health care policies after 1990 in the two countries and identify the main reasons for stagnation or incremental changes to the institutional setting in the field of mental health care. The process of mental health care reform is explained using the framework of historical institutionalism. The explanation shows that the lack of political interest in combination with the tradition of institutional care resulted in poor availability of psychiatric care, outdated network of inpatient facilities and critical lack of community care facilities in both countries. Even though Slovak Republic adopted national programme at the governmental level, it still struggles with its implementation. The ongoing reform attempt in the Czech Republic may bring some change, thanks to a new approach towards strategic governance of the mental health care system and the mechanism of layering that the promoters of the reform use.</p></abstract>

The article aims to describe the key events in the development of mental health care policies after 1990 in the two countries and identify the main reasons for stagnation or incremental changes to the institutional setting in the field of mental health care. The process of mental health care reform is explained using the framework of historical institutionalism. The explanation shows that the lack of political interest in combination with the tradition of institutional care resulted in poor availability of psychiatric care, outdated network of inpatient facilities and critical lack of community care facilities in both countries. Even though Slovak Republic adopted national programme at the governmental level, it still struggles with its implementation. The ongoing reform attempt in the Czech Republic may bring some change, thanks to a new approach towards strategic governance of the mental health care system and the mechanism of layering that the promoters of the reform use.

The Development of Mental Health Policies in the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic since 1989

Institute of Sociological Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

Faculty of Economics and Administration, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

Central European Journal of Public Policy

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The article aims to describe the key events in the development of mental health care policies after 1990 in the two countries and identify the main reasons for...

The Development of Mental Health Policies in the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic since 1989

Published Online: Jul 26, 2016

Page range: 35 - 46

Received: Jan 15, 2015

Accepted: Jun 17, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cejpp-2016-0022

Keywords
Mental health care, health policy, healthcare reforms, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic

© 2016

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The Development of Mental Health Policies in the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic since 1989

Published Online: Jul 26, 2016

Page range: 35 - 46

Received: Jan 15, 2015

Accepted: Jun 17, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/cejpp-2016-0022

KeywordsMental health care, health policy, healthcare reforms, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic

© 2016

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Mental health care, health policy, healthcare reforms, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic