HEART Talks – HEART High-quality technical assistance for results Mon, 06 Apr 2020 15:17:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.6.10 Podcast: The Social Dynamics of Pandemics /mmedia/podcast-the-social-dynamics-of-pandemics/ Mon, 06 Apr 2020 15:17:25 +0000 /?post_type=mmedia&p=31898 Read more]]> The global pandemic Covid-19 is impacting people in many and varied ways. The effects on all our lives are immense and diverse, from rural and urban communities, young and old, from different geographic and economic groups, we are each living with different realities of a global crisis.

In this month’s episode of the Institute of Development Studies’s podcast series ‘‘Between the Lines’, IDS’ Melissa Leach, Hayley MacGregor, Annie Wilkinson and Ian Scoones discuss how we should learn from past epidemics and outbreaks and the need to understand social dynamics in order to respond to Covid-19.

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Special April/May book discount offer

Discount code IDS50 offering 50% discount on the three titles listed below:

]]> Mental health and psychosocial support for people in humanitarian contexts /mmedia/mental-health-and-psychosocial-support-for-people-in-humanitarian-contexts/ Thu, 06 Feb 2020 11:29:27 +0000 /?post_type=mmedia&p=31844 Read more]]>

The mental health consequences of rapid onset emergencies, fragility, conflict and violence— compounded by the cyclical relationship between poverty and mental illness—are pressing challenges, especially in humanitarian settings. People with pre-existing psychosocial disabilities are also among the most vulnerable in these contexts.

In this video, Alison Schafer and Mark van Ommeren from the World Health Organization discuss what is meant by mental health and psychosocial support, why this should be prioritised in emergency contexts, the rationale for doing more and doing better, and highlight where organisations can go for further advice and support.

This video was produced from a training module, which was designed by experts from WHO and delivered to DFID staff in Summer 2019, as part of the K4D Learning Journey led by the Mental Health Innovation Network  on “Leave No One Behind”: Delivering on the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda for Mental Health and Psychosocial Disabilities.

Other videos in this series include:

Related resource:

Mental Health for Sustainable Development: A Topic Guide for Development Professionals

]]> Mental health for children and young people /mmedia/mental-health-for-children-and-young-people/ Thu, 06 Feb 2020 11:29:25 +0000 /?post_type=mmedia&p=31843 Read more]]>

Roughly half of all mental health conditions start by the mid-teens, and three-quarters by the mid-twenties. Childhood and adolescence are key developmental stages when factors such as family, peers and school, as well as poverty, violence and other forms of adversity, can have lifelong consequences for mental health.

At the same time, development interventions targeted at children and young people can build resilience, promote wellbeing and prevent the onset of mental health conditions. But how do we maximise the benefits of existing development interventions for this age group? How can we promote the voices of young people in the design, development and implementation of these interventions?

In this video Tatiana Salisbury (Centre for Global Mental Health, King’s College London) and Kelly Rose-Clarke (Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, King’s College London) discuss why it’s important to invest in child and adolescent mental health, outline six key messages for donors and discuss how donors can deliver for mental health.

This video was produced from a training module, which was developed by King’s College London and delivered to DFID staff in Summer 2019, as part of the K4D Learning Journey led by the Mental Health Innovation Network on “Leave No One Behind”: Delivering on the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda for Mental Health and Psychosocial Disabilities.

Other videos in this series include:

Related resource:

Mental Health for Sustainable Development: A Topic Guide for Development Professionals

]]> Why mental health matters for social development /mmedia/why-mental-health-matters-for-social-development/ Thu, 06 Feb 2020 11:29:21 +0000 /?post_type=mmedia&p=31849 Read more]]>

In this video, Julian Eaton from CBM and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine discusses the ‘disease-model’ approach to mental health, the social risk factors that can contribute to mental health conditions, and explores how social development programmes can improve mental health and psychosocial support outcomes.

This video was produced from a training module ‘Mental Health and Psychosocial Disabilities in Development’, which was delivered to DFID staff in Spring 2019, as part of the K4D Learning Journey led by the Mental Health Innovation Network on “Leave No One Behind”: Delivering on the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda for Mental Health and Psychosocial Disabilities.

Other videos in this series include:

Related resource:

Mental Health for Sustainable Development: A Topic Guide for Development Professionals

]]> Social development for mental health: scaling up promising and best practice in development /mmedia/social-development-for-mental-health-scaling-up-promising-and-best-practice-in-development/ Thu, 06 Feb 2020 11:29:19 +0000 /?post_type=mmedia&p=31851 Read more]]>

The 2018 Lancet Commission on global mental health and sustainable development makes the case for mental health to be integrated into all aspects of development as part of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. This means including people with psychosocial disabilities in the work that development organisations are already doing, incorporating more targeted approaches to mental health where feasible, and measuring the impact of existing work on mental health outcomes.

In this video Adrian Sell, Chair of the Bond Mental Health and Psychosocial Disability Group, discusses what the evidence suggests so far for community-based mental health work, outlines what the BasicNeeds’ model for mental health in development is, and what elements could be incorporated into existing and new programmes.

This video was produced from a training module ‘Mental Health and Psychosocial Disabilities in Development’, which was delivered to DFID staff in Spring 2019, as part of the K4D Learning Journey led by the Mental Health Innovation Network on“Leave No One Behind”: Delivering on the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda for Mental Health and Psychosocial Disabilities.

Other videos in this series include:

Related resource:

Mental Health for Sustainable Development: A Topic Guide for Development Professionals

]]> Health systems approaches to mental health /mmedia/health-systems-approaches-to-mental-health/ Thu, 06 Feb 2020 11:29:16 +0000 /?post_type=mmedia&p=31846 Read more]]>

In this video, Jasmine Kalha, QualityRights Gujarat, discusses the benefits of a rights-based approach to mental health, the QualityRights framework in the context of health systems, the role that peer support should play in QualityRights, and her favourite Article of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

In this video, Soumitra Pathare, QualityRights Gujarat, discusses how mental health professionals need to engage with the political process of policy making, the important roles that Disabled People’s Organisations and civil society can play, and what we gain when we think about mental health as a human rights issue.

These videos were produced from a training module designed by global experts from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, CBM and the Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy, India, and delivered to DFID staff in Spring 2019, as part of the K4D Learning Journey led by the Mental Health Innovation Network  on “Leave No One Behind”: Delivering on the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda for Mental Health and Psychosocial Disabilities.

Other videos in this series include:

Related resource:

Mental Health for Sustainable Development: A Topic Guide for Development Professionals

]]> Health systems strengthening /mmedia/health-system-strengthening/ Mon, 21 Oct 2019 13:39:31 +0000 /?post_type=mmedia&p=31826 Read more]]> Interview: Evidence review on health systems strengthening

Due to the lack of clear definitions and the potentially huge volume of evidence, comprehensive reviews of health systems strengthening (HSS) interventions are relatively uncommon. In this interview lead author Sophie Witter (Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh) discusses one such rapid evidence review, recently commissioned by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The evidence review explores what works for HSS and in what contexts, providing an evidence base to support DFID’s work.

In this video Sophie Witter outlines the key findings from the review, the complexity of the health system, the value and impact of health systems research more generally, and recommendations for DFID staff and other donors.

Presentation: Health systems strengthening – what is it, how should we assess it, and does it work?

In this video, authors Sophie Witter, Dina Balabanova (LSHTM) and Sandra Mounier-Jack (LSHTM) reflect on the process of undertaking the evidence review, drawing out suggestions on definitions of HSS and approaches to assessment, as well as summarising some key conclusions from the current evidence base.

This presentation was delivered as the first activity of the DFID-K4D Health Systems Strengthening Learning Journey. 

Related resources include:

This content is produced as part of a DFID-K4D Health Systems Strengthening Learning Journey. 

]]> Why monitoring and evaluation is crucial for the success of health system reforms /mmedia/why-monitoring-and-evaluation-is-crucial-for-the-success-of-health-system-reforms/ Thu, 25 Jul 2019 14:09:42 +0000 /?post_type=mmedia&p=31804 Read more]]>

Monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) is used to guide the implementation of a programme, understand the performance of the programme, and assess the best approach to future developments.

To ensure the success of healthcare system reforms, and projects being implemented around them, an innovative MEL design is needed. Often, traditional models measuring the outputs of health systems are insufficient to explain the performance of systems, or how interventions affect them.

The Oxford Policy Management Health team is working to understand the software elements of the health system, looking into the attitudes and cultures within the health system that influence performance outcomes of service delivery. This involves approaching MEL in a holistic manner to generate performance evidence that can contextually inform programme design and answer whether the current approaches being used are the most appropriate.

Senior health consultant Sam Franzen discusses how this method is being used in the work we do, spotlighting the monitoring, evaluation, and learning partnership for the Bihar Technical Support Programme in India, which is focused on providing MEL services to health system strengthening reforms.

]]> Why global health security is gaining prominence /mmedia/why-global-health-security-is-gaining-prominence/ Thu, 18 Jul 2019 13:39:26 +0000 /?post_type=mmedia&p=31792 Read more]]> In recent years, the global health security agenda has gained prominence, as it pursues a multilateral and multi-sectoral approach to respond to health emergencies. It aims to strengthen capacity at a global and national level to prevent, detect, and respond to the spread of infectious diseases.

Despite great progress in improving access to healthcare for all, people around the world are still vulnerable to health emergencies. Globalisation has made disease outbreaks much more dangerous; and natural disasters, conflicts, and migrations all significantly impact the way diseases spread.

Countries need to ensure their health systems can effectively respond to emergencies, and thus reduce individual and collective vulnerabilities to risks. Rashid Zaman, senior consultant in the Oxford Policy Management health team, discusses why ensuring health security is a global priority and explores challenges to achieve it.

]]> Exploring challenges in health transition planning /mmedia/exploring-challenges-in-health-transition-planning/ Thu, 18 Jul 2019 13:35:14 +0000 /?post_type=mmedia&p=31789 Read more]]>

Effective health planning is critical in ensuring affordable, accessible, and high quality health services for all. Many low- and middle-income countries rely on donor funding to establish or maintain the basic healthcare services, and often struggle to ensure sustainability of these when sources of funding in the sector change.

Multilateral organisations and government partners have in the past often focused on singular priority areas, such as eradicating specific diseases, providing vaccinations, or enabling HIV/AIDS treatments. However, as achieving universal health coverage became a global priority, ensuring all healthcare services are available and supported is crucial.

For many countries, this means focusing on ensuring the efficiency of the healthcare system is first continued, and later improved. As sources of funding shift, a managed transition is essential for keeping all services supported.

Tomas Lievens, principal consultant in the Oxford Policy Management Health team, explores the role of transition planning in managing the change in health expenditure performance, and highlights the importance of context specific diagnostics and solutions for ensuring the success of these reforms.

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