[Curso Cerrado] Nutrition, Food Safety and Health in Emergencies in the Caribbean Self-training web based introductory course

The Harmonised Training Package in Nutrition in Emergencies is a resource that was developed by the Global Nutrition Cluster to provide with the latest technical information of Nutrition in Emergencies. This package was customized to the epidemiologic profile and needs of the Caribbean region by the World Bank, the Pan American Health Organization and the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), to provide countries and regional institutions with a training tool for the nutrition and emergencies personnel in the region.

This introductory self-training web based course in Nutrition in Emergencies has 10 units:

  • Unit 1 Humanitarian system roles, responsibilities and coordination in the Caribbean
  • Unit 2 Understanding malnutrition
  • Unit 3 Food security and health assessment in emergency situations
  • Unit 4 Addressing food safety in emergencies in the Caribbean
  • Unit 5 Infant and Young Child Feeding in emergencies
  • Unit 6 Prevention and treatment of micronutrient deficiencies in emergency situations
  • Unit 7 General Food Distribution in emergency situations in the Caribbean
  • Unit 8 Health interventions that impact nutritional status during emergencies
  • Unit 9 Food security and interventions to protect livelihoods in emergency situations in the Caribbean
  • Unit 10 Monitoring, evaluation, humanitarian standards and accountability

Each unit includes the following:

  • Video with a brief introduction and relevance of the topic
  • Presentation with the basic elements of the unit
  • Document with a detailed description of the topic
  • List of references and additional resources

CARMEN School: How to Effectively Address Non Communicable Diseases in 21st Century. 2013 version

CARMEN School: How to Effectively Address Non Communicable Diseases in 21st Century. 2013

 

PURPOSE:
The participants will develop a thorough understanding of a comprehensive approach to addressing the health problem of Chronic Non Communicable Diseases.

SUMMARY:
The UN High level meeting on NCDs in NY in 2011, Regional Strategy for Prevention adn control of NCDs 2012 and Plan of Action for NCDs 2013-2019 bring capacity building for NCD prevention and control as prominent on the global and regional agenda.This will be the second time that course is offered through a virtual campus. There is a vast experience in capacity building through "face to face" courses in the Americas through the CARMEN school. The course " How to effectivelly address Non communcable disease in 21st centry" is targeted to Caribbean NCD country managers and managers in related areas: Health promotion, NCD Epidemiology, diabetes, CVD or cancer program managers The participants will develop a thorough understanding of a comprehensive approach to addressing the health problem of Chronic Non Communicable Diseases. 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

  1. To position the prevention and control of NCDs in the actual global, regional and national context.
  2. To understand the decision-making and action-taking process in Evidence Based Public Health.
  3. To become familiar with successful surveillance systems and methodologies in the Americas.
  4. To understand the applicability of policy tools for the prevention and control of chronic non communicable diseases.
  5. To understand Social Marketing and its applicability to public health problems and behavior change.
  6. To understand the Chronic Care Model and be able to apply the components to intervention development.

KEY AREAS / MAIN THEMES:

  1. Evidence Based Public Health
  2. Policy Analysis
  3. Non communicable Disease Surveillance
  4. Social Marketing in Public Health
  5. Evidence Based Management

REQUISITES:
undergraduate or gradute diploma; work experience related to NCD prevention or control

COURSE DURATION:
10 weeks for the entire course comprised of 5 modules

TENTATIVE DATES:
September 23 - December 6, 2013

MODALITY:
Online, with tutors

EXPECTED NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS:
Maximum 40 participants (2 per country)

COURSE AUDIENCE:
This course is targeted to NCD country managers and managers in related areas: Health promotion, NCD Epidemiology, diabetes, CVD or cancer program managers.

EXPERTS:

  1. Prof. Ross Brownson: University of Washington, St Luis, Missouri
  2. Prof. Carol Bryant, University of South Florida, Tampa
  3. Cristina Puentes Markides, University of Maryland, Washington DC
  4. Branka Legetic, PAHO-WHO Regional advisor
  5. Alberto Barcelo, PAHO-WHO Regional advisor

ACADEMIC DIRECTOR:

Prof. Dr Anselm Hennis

University of West Indies. Director, Chronic Disease Research Center, Barbados.

ACADEMIC COORDINATOR:
Dr Branka Legetic 

PAHO-WHO Regional Advisor and Unit chef a.i., Noncommunicable Diseases and Disability, Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, Washington DC.

Integration of Mental Health in Primary Care (2015)

Integration of Mental Health into Primary Care (2015)

DOWNLOAD: COURSE BROCHURE

 

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this program is to enhance the capacity for early detection and management of mental health problems in Primary Health Care networks. This will be targeted through a structured training program aimed at improving not only the knowledge, skills and attitudes on the topic of mental health, but also by inducing and supporting actual practice change and integration to accommodate mental health into primary care practices of participants.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

  1. Improve individual clinicians’ proficiency in the diagnosis and management of MH problems;
  2. Strengthen cooperation and collaboration between participating countries:
    1. Develop a common language by using a common clinical tool- the mhGAP-IG;
    2. Explore models of ongoing and future knowledge exchange and interactions about clinical realities between participating countries.
  3. Help participants to better enable the integration of MH interventions into their clinical practices.

PARTICIPANTS:

Primary care practitioners from English-speaking Caribbean countries (listed below), who are working as: MD general practitioners, specialized nurse practitioners, clinical psychologists and other mental health care providers directly involved inpatient care.

Participants must fulfill the following criteria:

  • Two or more years of clinical working experience in healthcare (preferably in mental health services).
  • Interested in enhancing their capacity for early detection and management of mental health problems in their Primary Health Care networks.
  • Have the support of the Ministry of Health/Supervising Body and from their own institutional work supervisors.

COUNTRIES:

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands

COURSE CONTENT:

Module 1 - General Principles of Care

Module 2 - Mental Health and Chronic Conditions

Module 3 - Mental Health Disorders in Children and Adolescents 

Module 4 - Neurological Disorders

Module 5 - Sustance Use Disorders

Final Assignment

LANGUAGE:

English

COURSE FORMAT:

With tutors

COURSE COORDINATORS:

Claudina Cayetano, Marc Laporta, Gaspar Da Costa

CALENDAR AND DURATION:

6 August to 10 December, 2015

180 hours - aproximately 4 months - 18 weeks

 

This course has ended.

 

Mental Health Global Action Program (mhGAP-2017)

Mental Health Gap Action (mhGAP) Virtual Course 2017 - Virtual Campus for Public Health

Mental Health Global Action Program 2017 (mhGAP-2017) Virtual Course

Introduction

Mental health (MH) disorders constitute the single largest burden of diseases worldwide, making up approximately 14% of the global burden of disease. Four of the top five diseases accounting for the most life years lived with disability in persons aged 15-45 years are mental disorders (WHO, World Health Report, 2001). Yet, the treatment gap between those requiring care for mental health problems and those receiving it is large - only 25% in many low-income countries gain access to treatment (WHO, 2008).

From a public health perspective, the integration of mental health into primary health care (PHC) is a priority area at the global, regional and the Caribbean levels, and there are various mandates to support these efforts. In addition, WHO has developed the Mental Health Gap Action Programme Intervention Guide (mhGAP-IG), which aims to train primary health care (PHC) providers in the proper diagnosis and first-line management of MH problems. This is a tool for scaling up care for mental, neurological and substance use disorders (MNS) and to improve access to care for MH problems by integrating mental health into PHC. PHC is less stigmatizing, less discriminatory, closer to where people live and more respectful of basic human rights. Moreover, MH conditions are highly co-morbid with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which present predominantly at the PHC level.

This course is based on the mhGAP integration guide version 2.0, which presents recommendations for the integrated management of priority conditions using protocols for clinical decision-making. The course uses PAHO’s Virtual Campus for Public Health (VCPH) platform, an innovative and effective training method, and builds on previous courses conducted in 2012-13, 2015 and 2016.

There is abundant feedback from General Practitioners, and other primary health care providers who participated in the previous courses, indicating that they are grateful to have been given the opportunity to acquire the necessary tools to recognize and treat patients they encounter in their practices, with various mental health disorders.

This upcoming course is being developed in collaboration with the PAHO/WHO Caribbean Sub-regional Program Coordination (SPC) office, Barbados, and aims to strengthen capacity for the integration of MH into PHC across the Caribbean.

Purpose of the Course

The purpose of this program is to enhance the capacity for early detection and management of mental health problems in Primary Health Care networks. This is to be done by improving the knowledge, skills and attitudes on the topic of mental health, as well as supporting actual practice change and integration to accommodate mental health into primary care practices.

General Objectives

  1. Improve individual clinicians’ proficiency in the diagnosis and management of MH problems;
  2. Strengthen cooperation and collaboration between participating countries by:
    1. Developing a common language by using a common clinical tool - the mental health gap action program integration guide (mhGAP-IG) version 2.0;
    2. Exploring models of ongoing and future knowledge exchange and interactions about clinical realities between participating countries.
  3. Provide participants with the necessary tools to enable the integration of MH interventions into their clinical practice.

Course Structure

Modules

Themes

Module 1

Introduction to mhGAP
1.1. Essential care and Practice
1.2. Social Determinants of Health
1.3. Mental Health and NCDs

Module 2

2.1. Depression
2.2. Other Medically Unexplained Complaints
2.3. Stress
2.4 Self-harm and Suicide

Module 3

3.1. Dementia
3.2. Epilepsy

Module 4

4.1. Psychosis

Module 5

5.1. Framework for working with Children and Adolescents
5.2. Developmental Disorders
5.3. Behavioral Disorders

Module 6

Disorders due to Substance Use

Final assignment

Method

The interactive training will combine virtual, self-directed, peer-to-peer and tutoring-based approaches; it will make use of didactic as well as experiential and practice-based methods. Learning activities on the various topics of study include programmed literature reviews, case studies, webex sessions, assignments and, quizzes.

General Calendar

22nd May to 30th October 2017.

Requirements and Workload

  • Participants must be primary care practitioners from the English-speaking Caribbean Countries.
  • The course lasts 22 weeks, with individual and activities, as well as orientation and support from the course tutors.
  • Participants must receive written support from work supervisors of the institution to which they belong.
  • Dedicate approximately eight to ten hours a week of work to the different synchronous and asynchronous activities, as well as turning in written assignments and course work in a timely manner.
  • Provide facilities for computer and Internet access.
  • While participation schedules are flexible, the overall agenda of the course activities must be met.
 

Department of Health Systems and Services (HSS)

The VCPH is licensed under a Creative Commons 3.0 (CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO) for Intergovernmental Organizations, except where indicated otherwise.
Certain courses and educational resources may be under another type of CC license.

Terms and conditions for the VCPH use