IsforGH - June 6, 2023 🗓️

June 6, 2023

Implementation Science Posed as an Approach to Generating Evidence for Mental Health Interventions in Ukraine

Many children are looking at the camera and smiling delightedly.

According to World Health Organization estimates among conflict-affected populations globally, approximately 9.6 million Ukrainians will experience mental health issues in the next 10 years. Mitigation has been hampered by the Soviet-legacy, highly centralized healthcare system; the pandemic’s impact, and the ongoing war.

In response to the growing mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) challenges in Ukraine, University Research Co., LLC (URC) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) co-hosted a hybrid webinar on May 25. Entitled “A Systems Approach to Mental Health Interventions: Lessons for Ukraine,” the event featured a panel, moderated by CSIS Senior Fellow Romina Bandura, with Earl W. Gast, President of URC, Dr. Regina Hechanova-Alampay, Chief of Party, URC, USAID RenewHealth; Implementation Science Collaborative (ISC) partner Dr. Amanda Nguyen, Research Assistant Professor, University of Virginia; and Dr. Paul Bolton, MHPSS Coordinator, USAID.

As Secretariat of the ISC, URC was uniquely positioned to help emphasize an evidence-driven method of supporting community-based MHPSS interventions in crisis-afflicted regions.

“The evidence base is rather thin on community-based approaches in war-conflicted areas. So, we have been asked by USAID, through USAID’s global health project, [Health Evaluation and Applied Research Development (HEARD) Project], to develop the evidence base on what is working, what is out there, and best practices that can be brought in using an implementation science approach. That work will start very soon… This work will be supported and augmented by an Implementation Science Collaborative that URC and CUNY (City University of New York) co-manage with USAID support.”

Earl W. Gast, President, URC

Later this month, Gast will be traveling to Moldova and Ukraine to meet with local partners.

View the Webinar

Sound Bites From Our Partners

Heard on the panel during the webinar, “A Systems Approach to Mental Health Interventions: Lessons for Ukraine”

Dr. Regina Hechanova-Alampay, Chief of Party, URC, USAID RenewHealth

“Our biggest challenge” Dr. Hechanova-Alampay started, “ – and I assume that is the challenge in Ukraine as well – is service delivery. How do you address millions of clients who need help and what kind of services is most appropriate to them? One of the things we really needed to do is increase service delivery points because in our country, for example, the ratio of psychiatrists to Filipinos is 1 to 200,000. So there was just not enough. And just like the Ukrainians, Filipinos don’t like to seek help.”

Dr. Amanda Nguyen, Research Assistant Professor, University of Virginia, ISC Partner

"...Worldwide a majority of all mental health problems over a life course emerge well before adulthood. And yet most young people don’t have access to quality, evidence- based care. When we think about the context that kids can interact in -- the parents, the families, the schools, the communities -- what we can ask ourselves is, 'What do we need to put in place?' So that 10 years from now, when we hear about kids in Ukraine, they’re doing OK. If we work back from that we get to a a pretty close approximation of what’s a very comprehensive system of mental health care."

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When: July 10-12, 2023

This annual conference provides an educational program, industry exhibit, and networking events for professionals working in the field of posture and wheeled mobility.

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Where: Kigali, Rwanda and Virtual

When: July 17-20, 2023

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When: July 28, 2023, 9 AM-10 AM EST

Co-hosts: Sexual Violence Research Initiative, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Together for Girls, Implementation Science Collaborative

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Registration Open for the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Congress

Where: Edinburgh International Conference Center in Edinburgh, Scotland

When: September 24-27, 2023

This year's theme is "Advancements in Data and Solutions for Tackling Child Abuse."

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Implementation Science Collaborative (ISC) is a multi-stakeholder network addressing a range of health and development priorities through the better use of evidence to inform implementation. The ISC leverages USAID's Health Evaluation and Applied Research Development (HEARD) Project partnership to advance priorities across diverse thematic areas, such as woman-centered care, mental health and psychosocial support, protecting children from violence, and assistive technologies.

We acknowledge support from the Health Evaluation and Applied Research Development Project funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under cooperative agreement AID-OAA-A-17-00002. The project team includes prime recipient, University Research Co., LLC (URC) and sub-recipient organizations. The information provided is not official U.S. Government information and does not represent the views or positions of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the U.S. Government.

Implementation Science Collaborative (ISC)

iscollab.org

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