I have chosen Norway as my country of choice and mental illness as the disability.  Norway is a constitutional hereditary monarchy, comprising the prime minister and the Council of State, is nominally chosen by the monarch with the approval of the “Storting”, the country’s legislature (Christensen & Joys, 2018).  Norway has public funded healthcare and individuals under 16 receive services for free and anyone over 16 pays a reasonable deductible and then receives an exemption card, that allows access to free services. Norway’s mental health treatment is progressive compared to the united states and so that is why I chose it. Hospitalization for mental illness is free even long term and outpatient care falls under a cost sharing model (Squires and Ringard, “International Health Care System Profiles”). They have implemented programs and methods of treating mental illness that addresses the whole person and, many treatment centers are not medication based.  I found this all to be very interesting and so I am looking forward to continuing with this research. I am Irish and Norwegian so this was also of personal interest to me.

Citations:

Christensen, J., & Joys, C. (2018, August 24). Norway. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Norway/Government-and-society

International Health Care System Profiles. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://international.commonwealthfund.org/countries/norway/

[Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/2015/05/flag-of-norway-the-mother-of-all-flags/