Towards integrated cardiovascular and mental health management in primary health care in Indonesia: a policy outlook

This paper argues for the need for an integrated approach towards cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and mental health (MH) disorders. Despite non-communicable diseases (NCDs) being a major public health problem and thus a prime concern for primary health centres, the strong interplay between CVDs and MH conditions as two major NCDs is largely overlooked. Management for MH and CVDs tends to be dichotomized between mental and physical health. This paper continues a publication by a Southeast Asian panel by using Indonesia as a national case study. The paper describes the results of a discussion by an interdisciplinary team of national experts on barriers to NCD management in current policy and clinical implementation. The thematic review provides a basis for the recommendation for an integrated cardiovascular and mental health approach to optimize policy for NCD prevention and management.