Psychiatrists of Kazakhstan participated in the development of WHO programs on mental health of adolescents
This was announced by the national consultant on mental health in Kazakhstan and the countries of Central Asia of the WHO Country Office in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nikolay Negay, during a briefing by the Regional Communications Service.
Practical doctors and scientists of various specialties were invited to adapt it.
N. Negay spoke about the programs that Kazakhstani specialists in the field of psychiatry helped to create. One of them is a set of teaching materials: “Promoting adolescent prosperity”.
According to the national consultant, concern about the mental health of adolescents and young people is growing all over the world. That is why, at the initiative of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), in the spring of 2021, the Strategy for the Promotion and Protection of the Mental Health of Adolescents and the Prevention of Various Forms of Risk Behavior was published.
It should be noted, that specialists from Kazakhstan also participated in the development of this package of teaching materials. At the heart of the initiative, is a vision, whereby, all of civil society will join forces with government agencies to jointly take action to protect and promote the mental health of adolescents.
In addition, the WHO Caregiver Skills Training program has been developed by psychiatrists for families raising children with disabilities and developmental delays.
“The Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Mental Health, with the support of the WHO European Office, launched this program in Kazakhstan in January of this year. The program was translated and adapted by Kazakhstani specialists, a master trainer was trained, and then their supervision was carried out, ”N. Negay said.
NGOs were involved in the adaptation work: “Fund for Support, Assistance to Children and Adolescents of Kazakhstan with Autism and Other Development Problems“ Ashyk Alem ”and Private Fund“ Autism Accessible Environment ”.
To date, the program has been adapted, a translation has been carried out, teams have been formed from the primary health care network, and the training has been tested. In 2022, there are already tasks for the mass coverage of families raising children with special needs.
The third program, with which domestic psychiatrists work, is the introduction of a self-harm monitoring system.
According to N. Negay, the data collected in the monitoring process is an important component for detecting attempts at suicide and acts of self-harm. Once analyzed, this information can be used to inform evidence-based policies and roadmaps.
This approach has already been introduced into practice in Russia and Ireland, and now in the Turkestan and Kostanay regions.
The fourth program, described by N. Negay, is dedicated to filling the mental health gap for non-psychiatric professionals.
“This is a program for the most common mental health disorders in the practice of the general practitioner and other specialties. Today, this program is taught at the Kazakh National Medical University named after S. D. Asfendiyarov, it has been fully adapted and translated into the state language, ”N. Negay said.