Int J Bipolar Disord (2018) 6:6 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40345‑017‑0110‑8
In 2001, the WHO stated that: "The use of mobile and wireless technologies to support the achievement of health objectives (mHealth) has the potential to transform the face of health service delivery across the globe".... Within mental health, interventions and monitoring systems for depression, anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorder, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have been developed and used. The present paper presents the status and findings from studies using automatically generated objective smartphone data in the monitoring of bipolar disorder, and addresses considerations on the current literature and methodological as well as clinical aspects to consider in the future studies.
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"This is the final report of the six-year collaboration between the WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse and the Gulbenkian Global Mental Health Platform, an initiative of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation aimed at reducing the global burden of mental health through the development a...nd application of evidence and good practices to global mental health."
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Learning objectives
• Promote respect and dignity for people with self-harm/suicide.
• Know the common presentations of self-harm/suicide.
• Know the principles of assessment of self-harm/suicide.
• Know the management principles of self-harm/suicide.
• Perform an assessment for self-...harm/suicide.
• Assess and manage co-morbid physical health conditions
• Assess and manage emergency presentations of self-harm/suicide.
• Provide psychosocial interventions to persons with self-harm/suicide.
• Provide follow-up sessions for people with self-harm/suicide.
• Refer to mental health specialists and links to outside agencies
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Traditionally, understanding of the psychiatric and psychological effects of trauma have been developed from studies with adults and then applied to trauma-exposed children with some modifications. While this is an important step to understanding the sequelae of trauma in children and adolescents, t...he adverse developmental effects of traumatic exposures on the rapidly evolving neurological, physical, social and psychological capacities of children calls for a developmentally sensitive framework for understanding, assessing and treating trauma-exposed children.
ournal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health 2013: 1-14
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First Edition~ This self advocacy toolkit for persons with mental, neurological and substance abuse disorders, developed by Basic Needs and CBM, is the end product of an action research intervention that tracked and documented processes for Self Advocacy in low resourced communities of Uganda. Th...is toolkit presents simple and easy to apply principals and is a replica of good practices identified in the Consumer empowerment project implemented by BasicNeeds UK in Uganda between April 2005 and March 2008.
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Guide for community-based management and care of people with dementia
Version 1.0
Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Division of NCD and Health through the Life-Course
World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific
Good mental health is integral to human health and well being. A person’s mental health and many common mental disorders are shaped by various social, economic, and physical environments operating at different stages of life. Risk factors for many common mental disorders are heavily associated wit...h social inequalities, whereby the greater the inequality the higher the inequality in risk.
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The current guidelines on Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM), addresses the issue of improved management of severe acute malnutrition (SAM), particularly in children under 5 years of age. In the absence of standard protocols, mortality in children admitted to hospital with SAM can ra...nge between 20 -30% with the highest levels of 50-60% among those with oedematous malnutrition. With modern treatment regimens and improved access to treatment, case-fatality rates can be reduced to less than 5%. These provincial guidelines on IMAM in KZN, includes inpatient care protocols on the management of SAM, and outpatient and community outreach components to manage moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) and prevent deterioration to SAM.
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Singing to the Lions is a free training package (facilitator’s guide, supplement and video) by CRS, that is designed to help children and youth lessen the impact of violence and abuse in their lives. The main component is a three-day workshop where participants learn skills that can help them tran...sform their lives and no longer feel dominated by fear. Although the workshop is aimed at young people and includes games, art and songs, it can also be used to help adults take action on aspects of their lives that cause fear and, in so doing, become better parents and caregivers.
Singing to the Lions is available in English, French and Spanish, with Arabic and Hindi in process. See the links below. It can be easily adapted to different cultures, with different pictures and metaphors (e.g., “Singing to the Wolves” in Arabic; “Charming the Snakes” in Hindi.)
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This report details the challenges many women and girls with disabilities face throughout the justice process: reporting abuse to the police, obtaining appropriate medical care, having complaints investigated, navigating the court system, and getting adequate compensation.
Persons with disabilities are one of the most vulnerable and socially excluded groups in any crisis-affected community. They may be in hidden in homes, overlooked during needs assessments and not consulted in the design of programs.4 While gender-based violence (GBV) affects women, girls, men and bo...ys, the vast majority of survivors globally are women and girls.5 Persons with disabilities have difficulty accessing GBV programs, due to a variety of societal, environmental and communication barriers, increasing their risk of violence, abuse and exploitation.
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These policy guidelines provide a strategic approach and new recommendations for integrated TB and HIV services for patients suffering from substance-abuse addiction. The key recommendations fall under three main categories: joint planning, key interventions, and overcoming barriers.
It is the policy of the GoR to ensure that children’s rights are met through the provision of basic needs and services for all children in the country, and protect them from abuse and exploitation. Children are defined as persons below the age of 18 years and the ICRP covers children from the time... before their birth until they complete the age of 18 years. The Integrated Child Rights Policy of Rwanda is based on seven key themes: Identity and Nationality; Family and Alternative Care; Survival, Health and Standards of Living; Education; Protection; Justice; and Child Participation.
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The guidelines begin with an overview of the determinants of mental health among children and adolescents before reviewing related South African policies and legislation. The document then discusses strategies to build skills among caregivers, teachers and other frontline providers of mental health ...interventions as well as those for counselling professionals. The guidelines conclude by identifying priority areas for mental health services among children and adolescents, including the prevention of child and substance abuse as well as services for those living with intellectual disabilities
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The COVID-19 pandemic is causing untold fear and suffering for older people across the world. As of 26 April, the virus itself has already taken the lives of some 193,710 people, and fatality rates for those over 80 years of age is five times the global average. As the virus spreads rapidly to devel...oping countries, likely overwhelming health and social protection systems, the mortality rate for older persons could climb even higher.
Less visible but no less worrisome are the broader effects: health care denied for conditions unrelated to COVID-19; neglect and abuse in institutions and care facilities; an increase in poverty and unemployment; the dramatic impact on well-being and mental health; and the trauma of stigma and discrimination.
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The report examines how people with mental health conditions are often shackled by families in their own homes or in overcrowded and unsanitary institutions, against their will, due to widespread stigma and a lack of mental health services.
Many are forced to eat, sleep, urinate, and defecate in t...he same tiny area. In state-run or private institutions, as well as traditional or religious healing centers, they are often forced to fast, take medications or herbal concoctions, and face physical and sexual violence. The report includes field research and testimonies from Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Palestine, the self-declared independent state of Somaliland, South Sudan, and Yemen.
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Wearing a face mask can help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the community by reducing the release of respiratory droplets from asymptomatic / pre-symptomatic individuals or those with mild non-specific symptoms. The use of face masks for this purpose may be adopted to reduce the societal impact as...sociated with absence from work or healthcare pressures due to infection, or to protect vulnerable individuals in particular settings.
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Loss and damage is an urgent concern, driven by the increasingly harmful effects of climate change. Communities are experiencing new types and forms of climate impact, of higher frequency and intensity, which they are not equipped to handle. These impacts compel vulnerable communities to migrate to ...find alternative livelihoods and ways to survive. But migration generates grave socioeconomic consequences. Through case study analysis from 12 regions in Asia, Africa and the Pacific, this paper explores how climate change-induced migration is creating physical health, mental health and wellbeing issues — both for migrants and the families they leave behind. It then provides recommendations to policymakers on how to strengthen policy, planning and response frameworks to support communities manage health and wellbeing risks created by climate impacts.
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Ukraine: Russian invasion has forced older people with disabilities to endure isolation and neglect – new report
Many temporary shelters inaccessible to people with physical disabilities
Overburdened care system often provides few alternatives to institutions for older people
Authorities ...and humanitarian actors must ensure an inclusive response
Displaced older people with disabilities in Ukraine are physically and financially unable to access adequate housing and care amid Russia’s ongoing invasion, sometimes leaving few alternatives to being placed in residential institutions, Amnesty International said in a new report.
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Providing quality, stigma-free services is essential to equitable health care for all and achieving global HIV goals and broader Sustainable Development Goals related to health. Every person has the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Countries have a legal obliga...tion to develop and implement legislation and policies that guarantee universal access to quality health services and address the root causes of health disparities, including poverty, stigma and discrimination.
The health sector is uniquely placed to lead in addressing inequity, assuring safe personcentred care for everyone and improving social determinants of health by overcoming taboos and discriminatory or stigmatizing behaviours associated with HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Improving health care quality and reducing stigma work together to enhance health outcomes for people living with HIV. Together, they make health care services more accessible, trustworthy and supportive. This encourages early diagnosis, consistent treatment and improved mental well-being. Thus, people living with HIV are more likely to engage with and benefit from health care services, leading to improved overall health.
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