Rural Mental Health
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About
A large proportion of people live in rural areas of the world especially in the low- to middle-income countries. Urban and rural areas differ in epidemiological rates of mental morbidity. Rural populations have unique environmental profile and lifestyle choices about occupation, social norms, beliefs about health, and expressions of illness and help-seeking behaviour.
The services for mental disorders of rural population remain poor even in high-income countries. The treatment gap for mental illness is about 80% in low-income countries and perhaps even worse for rural people. The reasons of treatment gap are complex. Low investment in mental health leads to limited mental health resources available to the country’s health service. In low- to middle-income countries, these are concentrated in the cities, depriving rural communities of any specialist mental health services. Stigma, discrimination, poor literacy, and specific cultural belief toward mental illness restrict rural people to accept and access appropriate help.
Section Officers
Chair:
Satish Malik
Address: Sir Gangaram Hospital and Gangaram Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (GRIPMER),
C-111, 2nd Floor, New Rajender Nagar,
New Delhi 110060, India
Fax:+91 9810070878
E-mail: prof.scmalik@gmail.com
Co-Chair:
Vimal Sharma
Professor of Global Mental Health Research
Division of Population Health, School of Health Sciences, FBMH, University of Manchester
Consultant Cheshire and Wirral P NHS Trust
Phone:+44 151 488 8381
E-mail: vimal.sharma@manchester.ac.uk
Secretary:
Paola Tejada
MD Psychiatrist MsC PhD
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Universidad El Bosque
Phone: +51 3102216085
Email: tejadapaola@unbosque.edu.co
>> Please click here to see the Section Member list.
Section News
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IIHMRU Policy Brief October 2021: Management of Mental Health Problems through Frontline Health Functionaries in Rural Rajasthan
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Upcoming Section Events
Leadership Training Program of Skilling Professionals in Assessing, Detecting and Managing Mental Disorders​
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Entrenamiento en Salud Mental para profesionales de la salud mediante el uso de la Global Mental Health Assessment Tool (GMHAT/PC)
Timing: 3rd October - 20th November (35 hours)
Where: Virtual
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More information about the training programme and registration can be found here.
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Assessing, Detecting and Managing Mental Disorders
Timing: 3:00-5:00pm IST
Training days: Two days (Wednesday and Thursday) in a week
Session dates: 9-10th, 16-17th and 23-24th November, 30th November - 1st December 2022
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More information, please contact the programme coordinator (GMHAT):
Email: gmhat@iihmr.edu.in
Mob: +91 88904 08516 (calls will only be answered during 9.30am-5.30am IST)
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More information and registration can be found here.
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