Humanitarian aid workers and staff of non-government organizations (NGO) are often praised for their selfless devotion in making the world a better place to live in. But put the accolades aside, and the question begging to be asked will surface: who takes care of this sector’s mental health needs?
NGO staff and aid workers are often at the forefront of humanitarian work. It is inevitable that in the course of their work, they are exposed to a dreadful environment where death and suffering are common occurrences. In some instances, they themselves are threatened with bodily harm. In his paper, “Mental Health and Aid Workers: The Case for Collaborative Questioning,” Thomas Ditzler of the Center of Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, asserts that “the nature of humanitarian assistance puts workers in contact with the local environment in ways that can erode the normal personal / professional boundaries which provide some measure of psychological protection.”
A 2001 study published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress showed that 30 percent of returning aid workers reported being stressed, while ten percent could be suffering from PTSD.
Showing posts with label mental health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mental health. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Community-based Mental Health Programs: Back to Basics
In the report ”Integrating mental health into primary care : a global perspective,” the World Health Organization and the World Organization of Family Doctors bat for the integration of mental health care program with primary health care since it results in greater access to much needed services.
The report resonates with truth, considering that confinement in mental asylums or rehabilitation centers is a common treatment modality for mental disorders. For poor countries dealing with fund scarcity and the lack of specialists, a psychiatric hospital-based approach alone may not work. However, there are cost-effective models of community- and home-based programs that work well.
Community-based mental health program
A community-based mental health program is not meant to replace the treatment and services offered in hospitals; it rather complements these services by making these more accessible to the people.
Such a program is also more culturally appropriate and capitalizes on the tightly-woven social fabrics of most Asia-Pacifi c countries. The involvement of the
community and family members in caring for a patient helps ease stigma and provide a more healing and nurturing environment for a patient.
The report resonates with truth, considering that confinement in mental asylums or rehabilitation centers is a common treatment modality for mental disorders. For poor countries dealing with fund scarcity and the lack of specialists, a psychiatric hospital-based approach alone may not work. However, there are cost-effective models of community- and home-based programs that work well.
Community-based mental health program
A community-based mental health program is not meant to replace the treatment and services offered in hospitals; it rather complements these services by making these more accessible to the people.
Such a program is also more culturally appropriate and capitalizes on the tightly-woven social fabrics of most Asia-Pacifi c countries. The involvement of the
community and family members in caring for a patient helps ease stigma and provide a more healing and nurturing environment for a patient.
The Hidden Battlefield
The destruction brought about by war and armed confl icts transcends the structure of cities and communities and encompasses the mortality and overall well-being of those who engage in it and those who are dragged into it. The victims, the perpetrators, and defenders may not share the same goals in war but they all share the trauma and suffering surfacing from such violent events.
The effects of war, according to a study by R. Srinivasa Murthy and Rashmi Lakshminarayana of the Regional Offi ce for the Eastern Mediterranean of the World
Health Organization (WHO), are varied and some are not even included in most available literature.
The known effects, the study said, included endemic poverty, malnutrition, disability, economic/social decline and psychosocial illness, among others. The
authors said that only when confl icts and mental health problems are fully understood can effective strategies be developed to deal with the effects of war.
"The effects of war include long-term physical and psychological harm to children and adults, as well as reduction in material and human capital. Death as a result of wars is simply the 'tip of the iceberg,'" the authors said.
The effects of war, according to a study by R. Srinivasa Murthy and Rashmi Lakshminarayana of the Regional Offi ce for the Eastern Mediterranean of the World
Health Organization (WHO), are varied and some are not even included in most available literature.
The known effects, the study said, included endemic poverty, malnutrition, disability, economic/social decline and psychosocial illness, among others. The
authors said that only when confl icts and mental health problems are fully understood can effective strategies be developed to deal with the effects of war.
"The effects of war include long-term physical and psychological harm to children and adults, as well as reduction in material and human capital. Death as a result of wars is simply the 'tip of the iceberg,'" the authors said.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Intended Death: A look at suicidal behavior
The World Health Organization (WHO) noted that suicide is taking the lives of more and more people worldwide. In the year 2000, the WHO revealed that approximately one million people died from suicide, representing a mortality rate of 16 per 100,000 or one death every 40 seconds.
In the last 45 years, it also noted that suicide rates have increased 60 percent worldwide; suicide is now among the three leading causes of death among those aged 15-44 (both sexes). These fi gures, however, do not include suicide attempts that are up to 20 times more frequent than completed suicide.
Further, suicide worldwide is estimated to represent 1.8 percent of the total global burden of disease in 1998, and 2.4 percent in countries with market and former socialist economies in 2002. Although suicide rates have been traditionally highest among the male elderly, rates among young people have been increasing to such an extent that they are now the group at highest risk in a third of both developed and developing countries.
In the last 45 years, it also noted that suicide rates have increased 60 percent worldwide; suicide is now among the three leading causes of death among those aged 15-44 (both sexes). These fi gures, however, do not include suicide attempts that are up to 20 times more frequent than completed suicide.
Further, suicide worldwide is estimated to represent 1.8 percent of the total global burden of disease in 1998, and 2.4 percent in countries with market and former socialist economies in 2002. Although suicide rates have been traditionally highest among the male elderly, rates among young people have been increasing to such an extent that they are now the group at highest risk in a third of both developed and developing countries.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Untangling the Mental Haywire
Globally, an estimated 450 million are suffering from mental and neurological disorders such as epilepsy, dementias (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease, vascular
dementia), and bipolar affective disorder. According to the 2001 World Health Report entitled “Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope,” depression ranked fourth in the global disease burden; it is projected to jump to second place by 2020.
In the Asia-Pacific region, an estimated 13.7 million have dementia; as the region’s population ages, the number of those with dementia is expected to hit 64.6
million by 2050.
Substance addiction, whether alcohol, drugs, or tobacco, is also considered a mental health issue. Asia accounts for close to 55 percent of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) abuse worldwide, and majority of ATS addicts are youth. Alcohol abuse, on the other hand, account for 5.5. percent of the Asia-Pacifi c region’s burden of disease. In some Pacifi c countries, the percentage of alcohol-related abuse and violence is staggering: in Papua New Guinea, close to 90 percent of emergency room trauma are due to alcohol; while in Guam, 62 percent of murders are also alcohol-related.
dementia), and bipolar affective disorder. According to the 2001 World Health Report entitled “Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope,” depression ranked fourth in the global disease burden; it is projected to jump to second place by 2020.
In the Asia-Pacific region, an estimated 13.7 million have dementia; as the region’s population ages, the number of those with dementia is expected to hit 64.6
million by 2050.
Substance addiction, whether alcohol, drugs, or tobacco, is also considered a mental health issue. Asia accounts for close to 55 percent of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) abuse worldwide, and majority of ATS addicts are youth. Alcohol abuse, on the other hand, account for 5.5. percent of the Asia-Pacifi c region’s burden of disease. In some Pacifi c countries, the percentage of alcohol-related abuse and violence is staggering: in Papua New Guinea, close to 90 percent of emergency room trauma are due to alcohol; while in Guam, 62 percent of murders are also alcohol-related.
Monday, September 22, 2008
One Best Medicine
Amidst the soaring prices of medical commodities world wide, there constantly remains one best, yet, inexpensive medicine: laughter.
Despite the idea that consumers might have taken for granted the significance of laughing these days, researchers are continuing exploring further on how laughter - combined with an active sense of humor - helps from relieving stress to combating diseases.
Laughter and the brain
An article, published in Wikipedia, states that modern neurophysiology links laughter to the activation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and other parts of limbic system. The latter, which is considered to be a primitive part of the brain, is involved in emotions and helping us with basic functions necessary for survival. There are two known structures in the limbic system that involve in producing laughter: amygdale and hippocampus.
Cardiovascular disease
According to the research (May 11, 2007) spearheaded by Michael Miller, M.D., director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland School of Medical Center and associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, cardiovascular disease - today’s leading cause of death (World Health Organization) - can be prevented by laughter. He admitted that the team does not know yet why laughing protects the heart but stated that mental stress is associated with impairment of endothelium, the protective barrier lining our blood vessels, causing a series of inflammatory reactions that lead to fat and cholesterol build-up in the coronary arteries and ultimately to a heart attack. Hence, the need for a regular hearty good laugh is recommended.
Other areas
Melissa B. Wanzer, EdD, professor of communication studies at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, looked, in her new research, at how humor helps medical professionals cope with their difficult jobs. She found out that if employees view their managers as humor-oriented, they also view them as more effective. She also added that self-disparaging humor, making fun of oneself, is a very effective form of humor communication especially when it is done appropriately with available props. Humor, she noted, is indeed beneficial in other areas as well.
Laughter as part of its culture
Ranked second by Axa Life Outlook Index (November 28, 2007) as happiest and optimistic people in Asia, it is not that surprising to know that Beethoven del Valle Bunagan, popularly known as Michael V, is featured on Reader’s Digest Asia in commemoration for its 5th Annual Humour Special alongside two other foreign comedians (Readers’ Digest, September 2008).
“Filipinos are able to find even the slimmest silver lining in a tropical thunderstorm. There isn’t one scandal in government which hasn’t been made into a joke. Instead of being horrified, we laughed about Imelda’s shoes. Instead of cringing in shame at Joseph Estrada’s incompetence as President, we made legions of Erap jokes. Hello, Garci? A ringtone was made out of it! (Maricar, 2008)”.
In his article entitled Power of Laughter, Jose Javier Reyes went deeper by explaining this behavior based on socio-cultural and historical aspects. “Caught between a rock and a hard place, Filipinos say "bahala na." Literally, it means "come what may." Figuratively, it means much more. The phrase derives from Bathala, the ancient Filipino's Supreme Being, caretaker of life on earth and beyond, from whom all providence comes. The invocation of "banal na" affirms a trust in divine wisdom. Filipinos know that the natural order of events will take their course, leaving no room for angst nor the predilection to take each event apart and delve for spiritual malaise . . . After all, at earlier times in their past, they have witnessed similar upheavals. And to what end? The Spaniards came and the Spaniards went. So did the Japanese and the Americans. Like the land itself, only the Filipinos, with their passionate Christian belief that suffering is but a stepping stone to a happy ending, endures. Ambition, politics, and men who try to control deserve the reception they get, laughter. Natural forces receive a similar reception. If one listens closely though, it becomes apparent that Filipino humor does not jeer at nature's destructiveness but rather expresses an optimism in its healing powers. Having lived closed to the earth, they know that nature gives and takes in a cycle as eternal as life and death.”
As what Robert R. Province, Ph.D. said, laughter is genetic. It is a mechanism everyone has and is part of universal human vocabulary. There are thousands of languages, hundreds of thousands of dialects, but everyone speaks laughter in pretty much the same way. Thus, everyone can laugh.
-Amanah Busran Lao, HAIN
Citations:
•
• Murray, Michelle “Laughter is the "Best Medicine" for Your Heart” May 11, 2007 < http://www.umm.edu/features/laughter.htm>
•
• “Go Ahead and Laugh” January 26, 2008
• Siti Rohani “Three Funny Men” Readers’ Digest, September 2008
• Cheryl Arcibal “Filipinos 2nd happiest people in Asia-study” November 28, 2007 GMANews.TV
• Maricar “Filipino Humor a Hindrance?” February 5, 2008
• Jose Javier Reyes “The Power of Laughter”