Published online May 19, 2022. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v12.i5.766
Peer-review started: July 18, 2021
First decision: October 4, 2021
Revised: October 5, 2021
Accepted: April 20, 2022
Article in press: April 20, 2022
Published online: May 19, 2022
Processing time: 303 Days and 10.7 Hours
The aim of this paper was to report on factors contributing to the deterioration of the mental health of Indigenous populations (IP) in Brazil. Five factors seem to have a direct impact on the mental health of IP in Brazil: (1) The absence of public policies; (2) Intellectual production; (3) Psychiatric medical care for remote areas (e.g., telemedicine) aimed at promoting the mental health of Brazil’s IP, which causes a huge gap in the process of assistance and social, psychological, economic and cultural valorization of native peoples; (4) The dissemination of fake news, which exposed, above all, older IP to risk behaviors in the pandemic, such as refusal of vaccination; and (5) The violence carried out on IP lands due to econ
Core Tip: In Brazil, the mental health of the Indigenous population (healthy or with psychiatry disorders) suffers from several factors. Over the past 2 years, there has been growing violence against Indigenous people along with a considerable increase of fake news dissemination regarding the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic currently afflicting them. These two factors, accentuated by the lack of public policies and scarce academic contribution in the area, make the mental health of the Indigenous population in Brazil an important public health problem.