Abstract
New challenges have been set to the Brazilian Mental Health Policy with the process of regionalization of the Psychosocial Care Network (RAPS, in the Portuguese acronym). It refers to the expansion of access and improvement in the quality of mental health care in all levels and aspects of care in the context of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). The aim is to analyze the RAPS organization from the formation of regions and health care networks in Brazil, mapping the services and their distribution in the services network. A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the platforms CNES, DataSUS, and Brazilian Coordination of Mental Health. Results indicated an increase in the expansion and regionalization process of the service network in the fifteen years since the approval of the Law of Psychiatric Reform in Brazil (Law 10.216/2001), despite the “assistance void” in several aspects of care, which leads to fragility in the service network.
Keywords:
Mental Health; RAPS; Regionalization
