Educational Program

After the 2010 earthquake, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have become major barriers for many Haitians, as they strive to live productive lives and to contribute positively to economic recovery and development. The gap between the needs in the field and the available resources for mental health is alarming and marked by a shortage of trained professionals, a lack of integration between formal and informal mental healthcare providers and a long tradition of spiritual beliefs that attribute the causes of mental disorders to curses and spirits.

The project, supported by Lagos State University College of Medicine, is aimed at bridging the treatment gap for depression in Nigeria. The overall purpose of the project is to evaluate the clinical and cost effectiveness of a collaborative stepped care intervention based on the mental health gap intervention guidelines (mhGAP-IG) for non-specialist health professional management of depression in Lagos, Nigeria.

To break the barriers between the formal and the informal sectors through dialogue and training to increase synergy and communication between the two systems by minimizing any harmful practices and enhancing complementary practices.

In Rwanda, 10 years after the 1994 genocide, an estimated 28% of the population suffers post-traumatic stress disorder.  Nursing and mid-wife students in Rwanda will be trained in mental health issues —  to identify, for example, mothers who need referrals for depression.  The team will provide training in maternal mental health to community health workers, who will support new mothers in targeted communities, conducting weekly home visits for six months.  Helping new mothers through depression will reduce a major contributor to child malnutrition.

In Peru, neuropsychiatric disorders are a leading cause of disease burden but, as in most low- and middle-income countries, such problems are largely unrecognized and untreated.

This project will prepare a trial of low-cost, enhanced primary healthcare services in Vietnam for depression, a common condition in the country.  The goal is a scalable program to train primary healthcare providers in mental healthcare delivery.

I am with the department of Psychiatry, Makerere University. I am developing and testing a culturally sensitive group support Psychotherapy model to treat depression in HIV positive individuals. 50 depressed HIV positive participants will be randomized to participate in the group support psychotherapy (intervention arm) and 50 depressed HIV positive individuals will be randomized to the control condition of education groups in which they will be provided with written and visual information regarding HIV and risk behaviors with no group interaction.

The aim of this project is to set up programs facilitating diagnosis and therapy for people with dementia by local communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. We will work with governmental and non-governmental organizations and local businesses to initiate programs that raise awareness about dementia and to rehabilitate people with dementia in the community. We will seek to improve quality of life for people with dementia and their caregivers.

Mental health services are virtually non-existent for Ethiopia children, up to 23% of whom have disorders. Over 72 weeks, this project will train teachers and parents of 5,000 children from disadvantaged homes in the Addis Ababa region in the prevention, early detection and management of mental and behavioural problems, leading to better emotional/behavioural, social and academic functioning in children, and relieving family stress.  The project will collect information to help identify cases in need of referral and will create groups to support the generation of income by mothers.

In low-income countries, children with developmental disorders (such as intellectual disability and autism) are neglected because of stigma attached to such disorders, lack of awareness in families, and a dearth of specialist facilities. This project aims to organize, train and empower family members, so they can work together, and alongside primary health care, specialist and voluntary agencies to improve the lives of such children.