Editorial

We present the fourth issue of our journal for the year 2019. The Colombian Association of Psychiatry continues its effort to acquire knowledge, keeping in mind the high quality standards maintained by the journal. The amount of original articles from all over Latin America remains high, which shows how in the region there is a marked interest in the generation of knowledge in our area with a view to having a bearing on mental health problems.

Scientific activity is a sign of how dynamic and adaptive our medical specialty has to be for a highly prevalent situation such as that of mental disorders.

The issues of politics, violence, child abuse and gender are of great significance in our region, and if we do not prepare human healthcare talent to address them and the consequences they bring, we will continue to have an ailing society with scant possibilities for development and welfare.

We also have to stress the importance of intensifying programmes in the region that promote healthy lifestyles, which lead to maintaining a good quality of life, and preventive programmes that control psychosocial determinants in order to reduce mental health events.

Care networks should include all levels of care, with appropriate and effective referral and counter-referral processes. Reaching vulnerable, displaced or distant populations should be made a priority by facilitating access and opportunity in care, with innovative strategies such as telehealth and others that are currently available to us.

Latin America has to unite efforts, strengthen and optimise resources to address a mental health problem that is overwhelming us. It is time to build a team, ideally by the year 2021, for the World Congress of Psychiatry to be held in Cartagena, Colombia, where we can present works along this line that evaluate all these dimensions. The Association has been named as the venue for this congress with good timing.