The bottom line is that mental illnesses occur with chronic mental conditions in many patients, causing significant role impairment, work loss and work cutback. They also worsen prognosis for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, cancer and other chronic illnesses. Many factors point to reasons that mental illnesses are not adequately addressed in this context. Consumer, provider and system factors all contribute to poor quality of care. Consumers and family members may not recognize or correctly identify symptoms or may be reluctant to seek care. The providers may not have the right training, equipment or support to.
