Mobile Mental Health Units in rural Greece: successful and cost-effective model
Open Access
- 31 July 2025
- journal article
- Published by Royal College of Psychiatrists in BJPsych International
- Vol. 23 (3) , 1-3
Abstract
The Greek model of mental healthcare delivery in rural and remote low-resourced areas is based on Mobile Mental Health Units (MMHUs). MMHUs are low-cost, interdisciplinary, generic community psychiatric services that collaborate closely with the primary healthcare system and local social services. MMHUs may be effective in the treatment of patients with severe and persistent mental illness and cost-effective in the treatment of patients with common mental disorders. The Council of Europe categorised this model as an effective community-based initiative. Major challenges derive from the difficulties MMHUs run by public general hospitals face in recruiting and retaining personnel.Keywords
This publication has 8 references indexed in Scilit:
- The science of child and adolescent mental health in Greece: a nationwide systematic reviewEuropean Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2023
- Off the beaten path: A scoping review of how ‘rural’ is defined by the U.S. government for rural health promotionHealth Promotion Perspectives, 2022
- Τhe Contribution of Mobile Mental Health Units to Community Psychiatric Care in GreecePsych, 2022
- The Interventions of a Mobile Mental Health Unit on the Refugee Crisis on a Greek IslandPsych, 2022
- The role of the Mobile Mental Health Units in mental healthcare delivery in rural areas in Greece: current challenges and prospectsPsychiatriki, 2022
- A comparative study of two Mobile Mental Health Units in different catchment rural areas in GreeceInternational Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2021
- The adventures of psychiatric reform in Greece: 1999–2019BJPsych International, 2019
- The contribution of a mobile mental health unit to the promotion of primary mental health in rural areas in Greece: A 2-year follow-upEuropean Psychiatry, 2011