We are very pleased to announce a new educational initiative to foster better integration of behavioural and mental health services at the primary care level.
The World Psychiatric Association (WPA) has partnered with the NCD Academy to provide an eLearning course titled "Mental Health Care: Increasing Awareness, Erasing Stigmas". The course incorporates 3 hours of clinical education in five mental health domains: major depressive disorders, unhealthy substance use, memory disorders, psychosexual disorders and trauma. This course is intended to overcome the geographical and financial barriers that have historically disenfranchised providers in rural and resource-constrained settings from professional development opportunities.
Prof. Afzal Javed, WPA President and Dr. Ranna Parekh, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the American College of Cardiology, recently spoke with Abhijit Barve, Chief Medical Officer at Viatris, to discuss the course and how COVID-19 has impacted mental health. You can view the interview here.
Thanks to the online nature of the course, professionals can access the content wherever and whenever they wish to. It is currently offered in English, with plans to translate it into Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish by September this year. In addition, those completing the course will be eligible to claim CME credits.
To read the full information, click here.
Given the many misconceptions around mental health and the need for better and more accessible training for those in the health care profession, we hope you consider this an exciting opportunity.
Author: Prof. Afzal Javed, WPA President