This publication is intended for professionals training or practicing in mental health and not for the general public. The opinions
expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represe...nt the views of the Editor or IACAPAP. This publication seeks to
describe the best treatments and practices based on the scientific evidence available at the time of writing as evaluated by the authors and may change as a result of new research
Introduction - Chapter A.11
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In: Mental health nursing: dimensions of praxis. Oxford University Press, Melbourne, Australia, pp. 427-442. ISBN 9780195566963
This chapter introduces you to the importance of culturally ...ass="attribute-to-highlight medbox">based health and well-being and to health care delivered by mental health nurses. There is a need for mental health professionals to incorporate knowledge about these beliefs and to develop the skills to work with clients from cultures other than their own if they are to care for them effectivel
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This updated Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2030 builds upon its predecessor and sets out clear actions for Member States, the WHO Secretariat and international, regional and national ...partners to promote mental health and well-being for all, to prevent mental health conditions for those at-risk and to achieve universal coverage for mental health services. While the updated action plan includes new and updated indicators and implementation options, the original four major objectives remain unchanged: more effective leadership and governance for mental health; the provision of comprehensive, integrated mental health and social care services in community-based settings; implementation of strategies for promotion and prevention; and strengthened information systems, evidence and research.
In English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Russian available
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The menu was developed using the WHO-CHOICE methodology to prepare and update, as appropriate, WHO estimates of the cost-effectiveness of a range of mental health interventions, in line with the dev...elopment of Appendix 3 to the global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2013–2020.
WHO-CHOICE is a programme that helps countries to identify priorities based on health impact and cost-effectiveness. It can be applied to a wide range of strategies relevant to policies affecting health outcomes. All options are compared to a common comparator, a null scenario in which the impacts of currently implemented interventions are removed, thereby enabling comparison of interventions across geographical areas and aspects of health.
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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...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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No education system is effective unless it promotes the health and well-being of its students, staff and community. These strong links have never been more visible and compelling than in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Towards making every ...an class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">school a health-promoting school: Let’s start with a shared vision based on the standards and indicators presented in this publication.
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Unmet mental health needs in the Region of the Americas are a leading source of morbidity and mortality, which result in tremendous health, social,... and economic consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the mental health crisis in the Region, necessitating urgent action at the highest levels of government and across sectors to build back better mental health now and for the future. This landmark report is the result of the PAHO High-Level Commission on Mental Health and COVID-19. It provides an analysis of the mental health situation in the Region, followed by a series of recommendations and corresponding actions to support countries in the Americas to prioritize and advance mental health using human rights- and equity-based approaches.
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The aim of the WHO QualityRights tool kit is to support countries in assessing and
improving the quality and human rights of their mental health and social care facilities.
The tool kit is ...lass="attribute-to-highlight medbox">based on an extensive international review by people with mental disabilities
and their organizations. It has been pilot-tested in low-, middle- and high-income
countries and is designed to be applied in all of these resource settings.
In this tool kit, the term ‘people with mental disabilities’ can include those with mental,
neurological or intellectual impairments and those with substance use disorders.
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Mental health issues are usually given very low priority in health service policies. Although this is changing, African countries are still confron...ted with so many problems caused by communicable diseases and malnutrition that they have not woken up to the impact of mental disorders. Every country must formulate a mental health policy based on its own social and cultural realities. Such policies must take into account the scope of mental health problems, provide proven and affordable interventions, safeguard patients’ rights, and ensure equity.
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The purpose of this document is to provide agencies with a guide with three tools containing key assessment questions that are of common relevance to all actors involved in Mental Health and Psychos...ocial Support (MHPSS) independent of the phase of the emergency. This guide will be useful for rapid assessments of MHPSS issues in humanitarian emergencies across sectors. The guide is designed for use by various humanitarian actors (governmental and non-governmental; local, national and global). It is based on the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (IASC, 2007).
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The World Health Organization Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) was used to collect information on the ...ute-to-highlight medbox">mental health system in Ghana for the year 2011. The goal of collecting this information is to improve the mental health system and to provide a baseline for monitoring the change. This will enable Ghana to develop information based mental health plans with clear base-line information and targets. It will also be useful to monitor progress in implementing reform policies, providing community services, and involving users, families and other stakeholders in mental health promotion, prevention and rehabilitation.
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The development of this Operational Roadmap has been driven by a growing consensus in Ukraine on the need to prioritize activities that are urgently required to address the mental health and psychos...ocial needs of the country’s population and also the importance of basing the response on existing structures, resources and innovations introduced in reforms in past years.
According to this consensus, new resources mobilized by and for Ukraine should complement existing ones, in line with the national vision and with best international standards, and should be planned in a way that further strengthens the country’s mental health system.
The Government of Ukraine is committed to urgently addressing the mental health and psychosocial needs of the population, under the auspices of the First Lady of Ukraine and the leadership of the recently established Intersectoral Coordination Council for Mental Health and Psychological Assistance to Victims of the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine (referred to in this document as the Intersectoral Coordination Council).
This Roadmap has been developed following a series of consultations with Ukrainian authorities and national and international agencies working in the area of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) and engaged in emergency response in Ukraine. The consultation process was organized by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine (MOH) and supported by WHO Ukraine, under the auspices of the First Lady of Ukraine and in collaboration with the MHPSS Technical Working Group of Ukraine (MHPSS TWG Ukraine) and the IASC MHPSS Reference Group (IASC MHPSS RG), and building on substantial advances in the mental health sector under existing programmes in the country.
The Roadmap is informed by international technical guidance and national policies and plans, including the IASC Guidelines on MHPSS in Emergency Settings, the Minimum Services Package for MHPSS in Emergencies (MHPSS MSP), the IASC Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013– 2030, the WHO European Framework for Action on Mental Health, the Concept for Development of Mental Health Care in Ukraine until 2030, the National Mental Health Action Plan for 2021–2023 and the National Recovery and Development Plan.
Informed by the overall goal of MHPSS assistance in Ukraine – to reduce suffering and improve the mental health and psychosocial well-being of the affected population – the Roadmap aims to provide a consolidated overview of envisioned MHPSS priorities, informed by the local context and the vision of the Government of Ukraine together with national and international partners, and with the best available evidence and resources, to all MHPSS stakeholders already engaged in or joining emergency response and recovery efforts in Ukraine.
As well as information on the context in Ukraine, the Roadmap includes:
• a list of evidence-based MHPSS interventions and services contextualized and introduced in Ukraine in recent years (described in Table 1) and
• a set of multisectoral actions to scale up MHPSS services in both the short and longer terms, informed by available evidence, international technical guidance and expert consensus (described in Table 2).
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This document is for humanitarian health actors working at national and sub-national level in countries facing humanitarian emergencies. It applies to Health Cluster partners, including governmental... and non-governmental health service providers.
Based on the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (IASC, 2007), it gives an overview of essential knowledge that humanitarian health actors should have about mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in humanitarian emergencies.
This document by the IASC Reference Group for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support was developed in consultation with the IASC Global Health Cluster.
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This document has been developed to provide training and guidance on how to integrate a human rights approach in mental health and related areas, based...pan> on international human rights instruments, in particular the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
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Every day, schools engage in numerous activities that help promote the health and well-being of students, families, and communities. There is clear evidence of the benefits of the health-promoting s...chools (HPS) approach, not only for improving overall health outcomes (physical, mental, and social) in the educational community but also for achieving better learning outcomes. The closure of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted these benefits, as well as the close links between health, wellness, and education.
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Refugee children and adolescents exhibit resilience despite a history of trauma. However, trauma can affect a refugee
child’s emotional and behavioral development. Mental health providers should ...consider how the refugee experience (e.g.,
exposure to hunger, thirst, and lack of shelter; injury and illness; being a witness, victim, or perpetrator of violence; fleeing
your home and country; separating from family; living in a refugee camp; resettling in a new country; and navigating
between the new culture and the culture of origin) may contribute to a child or adolescent’s emotional or behavioral presentation
in a clinic, school, or community setting.
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In March 2020 the IASC Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support uniting 57 humanitarian organizations as member issued the Interim Briefing Note Addressing ...-highlight medbox">Mental Health and Psychosocial Aspects of COVID-19 Outbreak. This document has proven to be very useful in the response and has till now been translated in 24 languages. It covers a set of recommended activities as well as messages for different target groups.
The current document is an annex to the Interim Briefing Note and is meant to support the MHPSS operational response within the various sectors of humanitarian work. Approaches and interventions to MHPSS are not confined to one sector, but need to be integrated within many existing sectors and clusters.This document contains a wealth of operational information and practical approaches that can be used for humanitarian programming in health, SGBV, community-based protection, nutrition, camp management and camp coordination.
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This brief document compiles existing material related to mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) for the COVID-19 crisis, as well as other resources that can be applicable to the context. Do...cuments are divided into different sections, based on the ‘’spaces of new vulnerability” inherent to some IOM programmes although many of them are applicable to other areas. They cover both mainstreaming of MHPSS and specific actions.
MHPSS managers will also find guidance on how to address the less technical and more managerial and programmatic issues related with the pandemic, including programme redefinition, surge capacity and how to manage demands to provide staff support to colleagues in the same missions
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Biodiversity and healthy natural ecosystems, including protected areas in and around cities, provide ecosystem benefits and services that support human health, including reducing flood risk, filteri...ng 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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A major problem facing the world is how to build peace following the ravages of increasingly protracted armed conflict. Armed conflicts leave behind shattered, divided societies that are at risk of repeating cycles of violence, and therefore need concerted peacebuilding efforts. Conflicts also take ...a heavy toll on people’s mental health and psychosocial well-being. One in five people who live in a war zone will likely develop a mental disorder, and many others suffer from painful everyday stresses associated with multiple losses, family separation, gender-based violence (GBV), disability, climate change and ongoing insecurity, among other issues.
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