Health
HealthRecognition of high rates of common mental disorders in many resource-constrained contexts has indicated the need for routine screening of patients attending public health facilities. Screening may facilitate entry into community level psychiatric services for those identified as disordered. Yet, screening instruments will need to ensure high specificity so as to minimise expenditures on treating… Read more
This manual provides simple instructions on how to integrate the management of perinatal depression into the work of a community health worker. The Thinking Healthy approach is based on some general principles that must be observed for the successful integration and delivery of the intervention. These principles should be emphasised throughout training and supervision, and include: moving… Read more
Maternal mental health is largely neglected in low- and middle-income countries. There is no routine screening or treatment of maternal mental disorders in primary care settings in South Africa. The Perinatal Mental Health Project (PMHP) developed an intervention to deliver mental health care to pregnant women in a collaborative, step-wise manner making use of existing… Read more
The treatment of perinatal depression is a public-health priority because of its high prevalence and association with disability and poor infant development. This research aims to assess the effect of the intervention on perinatal depression in women, and to test the hypothesis that treatment of perinatal depression would lead to improved nutrition and other health outcomes in the… Read more
Postnatal depression is a psychological disorder which occurs within six weeks after childbirth. It is a serious mental health problem for women and its consequences have important implications for the welfare of the family and the development of the child. Postnatal depression is a recognised cause of delayed cognitive development in infants in developed countries. This… Read more
The perinatal mental health of women living in low- and lower-middle-income countries has only recently become the subject of research, in part because greater priority has been assigned to preventing pregnancy-related deaths. In addition, some have argued that in resource-constrained countries women are protected from experiencing perinatal mental problems through the influence of social and… Read more
Everyone who was at the Durban AIDS conference in 2000 remembers the moment we learnt of effective medications for HIV. Some of us were too scared to believe it. But it turned out to be true and what unfolded was relatively straightforward. Life rapidly changed for people with the virus who were able access treatment…. Read more
Fatima[1] wears a yellow headscarf. She has bright eyes and a hopeful face. She is 17, has already been married for several years, had a child who died in infancy and has been divorced by her husband. She asks us if we are from India as she loves Bollywood films and wants to go to Mumbai…. Read more
What overall approach should be taken in responding to health needs in a humanitarian crisis? Humanitarian health responses require both coverage and effectiveness in order to achieve the overall goal of reducing mortality and morbidity. Key criteria to maximise coverage and effectiveness include feasibility, timeliness, maximum opportunity benefit and minimum opportunity cost, and cost-effectiveness. The… Read more
The Humanitarian principles are governing rules for humanitarian agencies. They were endorsed by the UN General Assembly as guidelines for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) as well as by hundreds of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Humanity: “Human suffering must be addressed wherever it is found. The purpose of humanitarian action is to… Read more
The Needs Assessment Task Force developed this Operational Guidance for Coordinated Assessments in Humanitarian Crises to help realise the goal of better quality and more timely assessments through coordinated processes. It was not developed to fill a lack of assessment guidelines and tools, but rather to provide guidance for those seeking to make informed decisions… Read more