Sets out internationally agreed diagnostic criteria specifically designed for use when conducting research on mental and behavioral disorders. Deliberately restrictive, the criteria are intended to facilitate the selection of groups of individuals whose symptoms and other characteristics resemble each other in clearly stated ways, and thus to maximize the homogeneity of study groups and the comparability of findings in multi-centre and international studies. The book, which covers over 300 disorders, is derived from chapter V(F) of the Tenth Revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10). The research criteria were developed in collaboration with the world's leading experts and finalized after testing by researchers and clinicians in 32 countries, representing all the major traditions and schools of psychiatry. Descriptions of clinical concepts upon which the research criteria are based are contained in the companion volume Clinical Descriptions and Diagnostic Guidelines. For each disorder, criteria are labeled with letters or numbers to indicate their place in a hierarchy of generality and importance. This hierarchy includes general criteria, which must be fulfilled by all members of a group of disorders, obligatory criteria for individual disorders, and further groups and sub-groups of characteristics, of which only some are required for the diagnosis. Where appropriate, the most commonly used exclusion clause is also listed. A number of disorders of uncertain or provisional status are described in two annexes. The first covers affective disorders that have been the subject of recent research, together with certain personality disorders. The second describes several disorders that seem to appear almost exclusively in particular cultures.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health. It was established on 7 April 1948, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The WHO is a member of the United Nations Development Group. Its predecessor, the Health Organization, was an agency of the League of Nations.
The constitution of the World Health Organization had been signed by 61 countries on 22 July 1946, with the first meeting of the World Health Assembly finishing on 24 July 1948. It incorporated the Office international d'hygiène publique and the League of Nations Health Organization. Since its creation, it has played a leading role in the eradication of smallpox. Its current priorities include communicable diseases, in particular HIV/AIDS, Ebola, malaria and tuberculosis; the mitigation of the effects of non-communicable diseases; sexual and reproductive health, development, and aging; nutrition, food security and healthy eating; occupational health; substance abuse; and driving the development of reporting, publications, and networking.
The WHO is responsible for the World Health Report, a leading international publication on health, the worldwide World Health Survey, and World Health Day (7 April of every year)