The health impact of radiological and nuclear emergencies can last for decades. Lessons learned from past radiological and nuclear accidents have d
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emonstrated that the mental health and psychosocial consequences can outweigh the direct physical health impacts of radiation exposure. International radiation emergency preparedness and response standards outline provisions for mitigating these effects. Yet, practical guidance for addressing the mental health and psychosocial aspects of radiation emergencies remains scarce.
This framework aims to promote integration between the MHPSS and radiation protection fields. It is intended for officials and specialists involved in radiation emergency planning and risk management as well as MHPSS experts working in health emergencies.
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This document provides training and guidance on the key standards related to the physical and social environment within mental
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health and related services that need to be met to promote good outcomes, independent living and community inclusion.
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This revised trainer's guide contains a prototype training schedule for four days. Teaching and learning strategies are highly interactive, using participatory and experiential approach. Training ou
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tcomes include developing skills in assessment of clients for risk factors; conduct basic screening procedures and interpreting the results; holding health education sessions on risk factor modification; promoting healthy lifestyle; and mobilizing communities. The manual is divided into six modules.
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The recruitment and use of children violates their rights and causes them physical, developmental, emo
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tional, mental, and spiritual harm. The impact on their mental and physical well-being breaches the most fundamental human rights and represents a grave threat to durable peace and sustainable development, as cycles of violence are perpetuated. The Paris Commitments adopted in Paris in February 2007 are an expression of strengthened international resolve to prevent the recruitment of children and highlight the actions governments can and should take to protect children affected by conflict. The Paris Principles are the operational guidelines related to sustainable reintegration of children formerly associated with armed forces and groups.
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Overview
Learning objectives
• Promote respect and dignity for children and adolescents with mental and behavioural
disorders.
• Know commo
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n presentations of children and adolescents with mental and behavioural
disorders.
• Know assessment principles of child and adolescents with mental and behavioural
disorders.
• Know management principles of child and adolescents with mental and behavioural
disorders.
• Use effective communication skills in interactions with children and adolescents with
mental and behavioural disorders.
• Perform an assessment for children and adolescents with mental and behavioural
disorders.
• Assess and manage physical conditions of children with mental and behavioural
disorders.
• Provide psychosocial interventions to children and adolescents with mental and
behavioural disorders and their carers.
• Deliver pharmacological interventions as needed and appropriate to children and
adolescents with mental and behavioural disorders.
• Plan and perform follow-up for children and adolescents with mental and behavioural
disorders.
• Refer to specialists and link children and adolescents with mental and behavioural
disorders with outside agencies where available.
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A community-based approach.
These guidelines focus on manmade rather than natural disasters, but our experiences in India, El Salvador and Pakistan (earthquake interventions), and following the 200
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4 tsunami, cyclone Nargis in 2008 and the Haiti earthquake in 2010, showed that the principles described also work well in contexts of natural disasters.
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Growing evidence indicates that large proportions of children around the world experience physical, sexual and emotional violence every year, with
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enormous implications for human rights, public health and economic and social development.1 Over the last five years, national governments and Together for Girls – a global public-private partnership comprising UNICEF,
other United Nations (UN) agencies, the United States (US) Government and various private sector agencies – have worked to mobilize and sustain a global movement to end violence against children, with a focus on sexual violence against girls.
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This article provides an overview of the current and projected climate change risks and impacts to mental health
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and provides recommendations for priority actions to address the mental health consequences of climate change.
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This Handbook is primarily for educators, to help them learn about mental health issues and better support them in educational environments. The Handbook aims to provide training to teachers, admini
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strators, and people involved in the education of primary school children about the implementation of mental health literacy into daily school life. Such knowledge, skills and attitudes will equip all levels of educators with key tools to support student mental health, manage difficult classroom behavior, and promote students’ wellbeing and academic success.
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The Perinatal Mental Health Project (PMHP) provides training to health
workers and community-based workers involved in caring for mothers. This
h
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andbook is intended as a supplement to this training programme and as a
resource to anyone involved with mothers and mothers-to-be.
The handbook should be used in an active way: use it and add to it as best
suits your local setting. The intended outcome of this handbook is to improve
the quality of service offered to women in emotional distress and to
meet the needs of maternal health workers, like you, who want to be better
equipped in this task.
The handbook covers a range of topics. Each chapter has a clear set of
learning objectives and a summary. Some chapters include practical activities
which should help with linking the theory with your practice.
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Results
Recommendations• NGOs should provide MHPSS services with a focus on empowerment and self-reliance
• Introduce interventions focusing on pain mechanisms, coping strategies and
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physical resilience
• Implement livelihood programmes
• Increase service accessibility and outreach activities
• Provide support groups for people who have lost a close family member
• Highlight the importance of supervision and training
• Ensure high quality service provisions by applying relevant outcome measures and to further contribute to the evidence base for MHPSS
• Diversify MHPSS activities to different target groups, including men and women, and address the needs of elderly and individuals with disabilities
This study provides evidence of a large gap between the need of MHPSS among Syrian refugees and provided services. Of the 1082 respondents in this study, 62% expressed that they needed assistance to deal with physical pain and distress. Almost 80% reported being in pain, of which 27% were in severe or very severe pain. Additionally, 55% suffer from distress and 56% rate their own health as fair or poor. Even among the 18-25-yearolds, the prevalence of reporting their overall health as fair was 30.7%. For functionality levels, 28.5% felt severely or extremely emotionally affected by their health problems, and more than 20% had serious difficulties in doing day-to-day work. On the other hand, the majority (72-74%) had no problems in maintaining friendships and participating in community activities
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he WHO Guidelines on Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) propose evidence-based recommendations for health care professionals to prevent, slow or reverse declines in the physical
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and mental capacities of older people. These recommendations require countries to place the needs and preferences of older adults at the centre and to coordinate care. The ICOPE Guidelines will allow countries to improve the health and well-being of their older populations, and to move closer to the achievement of universal health coverage for all at all ages
Brochure available in Russian, Arabic, Chinese, French; Japanese; Spanisch
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Evidence shows that FGM can cause several physical, mental and sexual health complications in girls and
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women, and in newborns. Health-care providers play an important role in supporting girls and women living with FGM, and improving their health and well-being. They are in a unique position to influence and change the attitudes of their patients about FGM.
WHO is committed to scaling up the health-sector response to address FGM prevention and care. One aspect is to strengthen the quality of FGM prevention and care services by building the capacity of health-care providers. Several guidance materials have been produced to target health-care providers. These include FGM content for training curricula, clinical guidelines and a clinical handbook.
This training manual complements previous publications by building person-centred communication skills specifically for FGM prevention.
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This guideline provides evidence-based recommendations on parenting interventions for parents and caregivers of children aged 0–17 years that are designed to reduce child maltreatment and harsh pa
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renting, enhance the parent–child relationship, and prevent poor mental health among parents and emotional and behavioural problems among children.
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Compared with other health areas, the mental health impacts of climate change have received less research attention. The literature on climate change and
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mental health is growing rapidly but is characterised by several limitations and research gaps. In a field where the need for designing evidence-based adaptation strategies is urgent, and research gaps are vast, implementing a broad, all-encompassing research agenda will require some strategic focus.
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Biodiversity and healthy natural ecosystems, including protected areas in and around cities, provide ecosystem benefits and services that support h
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uman health, including reducing flood risk, filtering air pollutants, and providing a reliable supply of clean drinking water. These services help to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases and respiratory disorders, and assist with adaptation to climate change. Access to nature offers many other direct health benefits, including opportunities for physical activity, reduction of developmental disorders and improved mental health.
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Key messages include Effective communication skills should be used for everyone seeking health care,
including people with MNS conditions and their carers; Effective communication skills enable
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health-care providers to build rapport and trust with people as well as enabling health-care providers to understand the health and social needs of people with MNS conditions; Health-care providers have a responsibility to promote the rights and dignity of
people with MNS conditions and more
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Sexual abuse perpetrated against children is one of the most significant crises of our time. Child sexual abuse is a significant risk factor for children, in common with other forms of child maltreatment. Sexual abuse can have severe short- and long
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-term consequences on the physical, mental, social, emotional and economic well-being of children, families and communities. In emergencies, the threat of all forms of child abuse and gender-based violence (GBV), including child sexual abuse, is acute and widespread.
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