Setting priority areas for WPA's new triennium

Training beyond borders: A WPA pilot project for Child and Adolescent Mental Health course in Pakistan

Background: The World Psychiatric Association (WPA) strives to close the gap between expertise in high income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). WPA volunteering programme is a project framework wherein area specific experts from HICs volunteer to support local experts in the LMICs in training their own professionals. This paper reports on the outcome of a collaborative project on Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) training in Pakistan. Methods: Thirty participants from twenty three different institutions across Pakistan were selected on the basis of their interest in CAMH. Two volunteers (ST and MH) met online with the Pakistani representatives (NI and QUH) to develop a programme. They also regularly met online between the sessions to evaluate adjustments in order to increase appropriateness of the offered content according to participants‘ feedback and suggestions. Results: The pre- and post-course evaluation revealed statistically significant improvement in knowledge and skills gained in different topics covered in the course (P-value<0.001) as well as improvement in confidence in applying the theoretical knowledge of CAMH problems in their daily clinical practice (P-value<0.001) Conclusions: The WPA volunteering programme is a valuable strategy to deliver effective and much needed training in low resource settings. Long-distance learning via live online sessions is effective and worthwhile, especially when they provide opportunities for participants to learn from interactive sessions.

Social distance and stigma towards persons with serious mental illness among medical students in five European Central Asia countries

The study investigated behavioral measures of social distance (i.e., desired proximity between self and others in social contexts) as an index of stigma against those with mental illness among medical students in the Republic of North Macedonia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Poland, using the Reported and Intended Behavior Scale (RIBS), a standardized, self-administered behavioral measure based on the Star Social Distance Scale. The students' responses to standardized clinical vignettes on schizophrenia, and depression with suicidal ideation, were also assessed. A total of 257 North Macedonian (females, 31.5%; 1-4 grades, 189; 5-6 grades, 68); 268 Turkish (females, 43.3%; 1-4 grades, 90; 5-6 grades, 178); 450 Kazakh (females, 28.4%, 71.6%; 1-4 grades, 312; 5-6 grades, 138); 512 Azerbaijani (females, 24%; 1-4 grades, 468; 5-6 grades, 44; females, 24%), and 317 Polish (females, 59.0%; 1-4 grades, 208; 5-6 grades, 109) students were surveyed. The responses on the RIBS social distance behavior measures did not improve with advancing medical school grade, but students across all sites viewed schizophrenia and depression as real medical illnesses. The results support the development of enhanced range of integrated training opportunities for medical student to socially interact with persons with mental illness sharing their experiences with them.