Samoa's Mental Health Issue

Samoa, an island tucked away in the Pacific Ocean, is a home to a beautiful group of people and culture. However, as with many countries, Samoa is a place where its image is often highlighted instead of issues such as health and domestic violence. Samoa is country whose general health is raises few alarms, is doing better in regards to mental health, and is making great strides to fix the problems the country has with domestic violence. Although Samoa may be considered a paradise to some, it still faces the same challenges as every other country. Samoa’s health statistics do draw concerns in quite a number of areas. As a country who spends 7.5% of its Gross Domestic Product on healthcare, Samoa has seen a population growth rate of 0.58%, with …show more content…
In 2006, the country revised and approved its mental health plan, which includes funding and “integration of mental health services into primary care” ( “Samoa” 2011). Despite these changes, a 2011 study by the World Health Organization revealed that the country is still struggling to address this issue. In Samoa there is only one mental health outpatient facility and a day treatment facility (“Samoa” 2011). Additionally, 65.38 people/ 100,000 population are treated in these facilities (“Samoa” 2011). However, the alarming rate occurs in that 53% of these patients admitted are women and 9% are under the age of 18 (“Samoa” 2011). These are serious concerns that the country must look into. Moreover, there was much data that was not submitted to the World Health Organization. Therefore, the mental health issue could possibly be worse than what it appears to be. However, there is much hope that the country can make strides to improve this issue, just as they with domestic …show more content…
In 2005, a study was conducted by the World Health Organization involving 1,640 Samoan women (“Samoa” 2005). In this study it was reported that 41% of women had experienced physical violence at the hand of a partner, 20% experienced sexual violence, and 46% experienced both (“Samoa” 2005). As a result of this alarming data, Samoa implemented many programs to correct it. Reported by the World Health Organization in 2014, Samoa has implemented five full laws against intimidate partner violence and sexual violence. Additionally, programs have been put in place in schools across the country to educated students about dating violence prevention, micro finance and gender equity training, and social and culture norms changes (“Samoa” 2014). Through these programs, Samoa hopes to lower the rate of sexual violence and domestic violence in their