The countries selected for this comparison illustrate a continuum from a highly centralized and publicly financed, national health service in Great Britain to a predominantly decentralized and more privately financed market of mental health services in the US. Contributing experts from each country begin their chapters with an overview of the geographic, demographic, political, economic, and cultural contexts in which their mental health systems are situated. They then describe national mental health policies and programs designed to meet their population's needs, including details about service organization, delivery and financing. In the final section of each chapter, the authors provide recommendations for improved performance of their mental health system. The final chapters address convergence and divergence among the four systems and provide recommendations for improvement and for future comparative studies. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
