Prolonged conflict and political instability in Afghanistan have led to a high burden of mental health disorders among the country’s citizens.
About 2 million Afghans, or one in every 15 people in the country, suffer from mental health issues, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Treating this growing public health problem is especially challenging as there are just 16 psychiatrists and 8 psychologists available for every 100,000 citizens in the country.
The shortage of tr
"Getting quality mental healthcare is every individual’s right across the globe. We believe that capacity building programmes for health practitioners, such as this, are vital in improving the provision of mental healthcare services everywhere."
Ms Lubna Ghazal, assistant professor and interim director for international activities, AKU-SONAM
ained mental health professionals in the country led to the WHO approaching faculty at Aga Khan University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery (SONAM) to design a curriculum for a programme that would help nurses in Afghanistan provide mental and social care services suited to their country’s needs.
Mental health faculty from SONAM then partnered with HealthNet International TPO - a global aid agency focussed on strengthening health care systems in areas disrupted by war or disaster - to develop a four-week programme, which was in line with the goals of the WHO’s Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020.
The Capacity Building programme saw nurses working at the busy Kabul Mental Health Hospital visit the SONAM campus in Karachi to gain the advanced skills and knowledge to provide holistic care in psychiatric nursing to patients and caregivers. The programme used an array of modern teaching methods including video-based learning approaches, clinical case studies, patient simulations and self-reflection through video recordings to facilitate more comprehensive learning.
Besides delving into the cultural sensitivities of different mental health issues and different mental health disorders, participants also received guidance on best practices and training on the Psychological First Aid (PFA) approach, recommended by WHO, to manage mental health patients.
The programme also helped nurses integrate knowledge into clinical practice by giving them an opportunity to work in the psychiatric wards of the Aga Khan University’s teaching hospital in Karachi.
“Trainees from KMHH were already working in mental healthcare settings,” said Ms Salima Farooq, course director and senior instructor at SONAM. “They were aware of the challenges faced by mental health professionals and were keen to learn and have hands-on training to address them at their workplaces. The training programme was all about building on their competency in the mental healthcare area and integrating evidence-based practice.”
A recent follow-up on the nurses trained under this programme, who are now working in their respective clinical areas at KMHH, found that they are effectively using various mental healthcare tools such techniques of therapeutic communications and art therapy as well as integrating other occupational therapies into their practice. Trainees are now also better able to perform a medical history and mental status examination which has enabled them to better identify patients’ signs and symptoms and to thereby plan appropriate nursing care.
Obaidullah Abed, a registered nurse at KMHH, and a participant in the course said: “We have had several trainings on mental healthcare conducted in multiple countries, however, the clinical exposure we got during our training comprehensively fulfilled our learning needs to best handle patients at our hospital.”
Commenting on the importance of a mental health nurse’s role, S Saleh Mohammad Sadat, another registered nurse at KMHH and participant in the course stated: “Our clinical weeks during the programme under the supervision of AKU’s faculty helped us learn and understand the critical role nurses have while dealing with a patient in a mental health ward and how it affects the overall wellbeing of that patient.”
“Getting quality mental healthcare is every individual’s right across the globe,” said Ms Lubna Ghazal, assistant professor and interim director for international activities at SONAM.
“We believe that capacity building programmes for health practitioners, such as this, are vital in improving the provision of mental healthcare services everywhere. Our team is prepared and willing to build partnerships with more mental healthcare institutions and to share our professional knowledge and resources to strengthen and build capacity in mental healthcare and psychiatric nursing,” Ms Ghazal added.
The objectives of the workshop are in line with global efforts to achieve targets under goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Goal 3: ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, which highlights the need for initiatives to promote mental health and wellbeing.