Application of a needs-driven, competencies-based mental health training program to a post-disaster situation: The Grenada experience

Authors

  • Stan Kutcher, MD, FRCPC
  • Sonia Chehil, MD, FRCPC

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/ajdm.2008.0029

Keywords:

mental health, post-disaster, training

Abstract

This report outlines an innovative approach to address post-natural disaster mental health needs in a region in which natural disasters are common—the Caribbean. Instead of traditional external vertical psychosocial interventions commonly used in this region, the authors developed and implemented a mental health interventions training program, in the island country of Grenada, which is focused on enhancing the capacity of local community-based health service providers to provide immediate and continued mental healthcare following a natural disaster. Soon after this training, a hurricane stuck the island of Grenada. A review of the self-confidence in the application of this training and the mental health intervention activities of these community health providers demonstrated that they felt able to effectively identify, intervene, and address post-disaster mental health needs within their communities and that their care of individuals affected continued beyond the immediate post-disaster period, suggesting that enhancing the capacity of local community-based health providers to deal with postnatural disaster mental health needs may be a useful model that may be applicable in other jurisdictions.

Author Biographies

Stan Kutcher, MD, FRCPC

Professor, Department of Psychiatry, WHO/PAHO Collaborating Center in Mental Health Training and Policy Development, Dalhousie University, 5909 Veterans Memorial Lane, 8th Floor, AJLB Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Sonia Chehil, MD, FRCPC

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, WHO/PAHO Collaborating Center in Mental Health Training and Policy Development, Dalhousie University, 5909 Veterans Memorial Lane, 8th Floor, AJLB Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

References

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Published

07/01/2008

How to Cite

Kutcher, MD, FRCPC, S., and S. Chehil, MD, FRCPC. “Application of a Needs-Driven, Competencies-Based Mental Health Training Program to a Post-Disaster Situation: The Grenada Experience”. American Journal of Disaster Medicine, vol. 3, no. 4, July 2008, pp. 235-40, doi:10.5055/ajdm.2008.0029.

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Section

Articles