Current Perspectives on Substance Use Disorders in South Asia : Public Mental Health Aspects

This book is about public mental health needs and aspects of substance use disorders in South Asian countries. South Asia consists of eight countries with low- and middle-income backgrounds. The people of this region, with a combined population of around 2 billion, share common cultures, beliefs, and behavioral patterns regarding physical and mental health. Among them, more than 66 million people use different forms of substances including cannabis, opium and opiates, amphetamine, and prescription drugs. Substance abuse brings deadly consequences. It affects almost all spheres of life, i.e., personal, social, recreational, criminal, and family aspects; both physical and mental health; and economy of the society as well as the country. Advanced management and holistic prevention are public health priorities. However, very little attention has been paid to the issues as a region as well as in countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Hence, the editors of this book aimed to publish a book that discusses the public mental health and healthcare issues related to substance use disorder in a densely populated low- and middle-income setting.

Dr. S M Yasir Arafat is currently working as an Associate Consultant of Psychiatry at Bangladesh Specialized Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He focuses on the epidemiological aspects of mental disorders and human behaviors. Dr. Arafat has (co)authored more than 350 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and (co)edited 10 books with Springer. He has been included in the global 2% researcher list in 2021, 2022, and 2023. He is acting as an editorial member in more than 10 leading journals in mental health published by Elsevier, Frontiers, Wiley, Springer, and Taylor and Francis.

Dr. Sujita Kumar Kar is currently working as Additional Professor of Psychiatry at King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Journal of Health, Sexuality and Culture. He is also an Editorial Board Member and Reviewer of various national and international journals. He has written 69 book chapters and more than 480 articles in various national and international journals and made 75 presentations at various national and international conferences. His research interests include brain stimulation, neuropsychiatry, psycho-sexual disorders, and cognitive behavior therapy. He has been included in the top 2% of researchers list in 2021, 2022, and 2023, as per Stanford University, USA.