Swami Vivekananda Medical Mission

Email Address

info@missionvivekananda.org.in

Phone Number

+91 8589991227

Our Location

Agali ,Palakkad-678581

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Community Mental Health Programme

Community Mental Health Program was one of the first community health initiatives of Swami Vivekananda Medical Mission in Attappady. The project was started in 2009, with the aim of addressing the high mental health burden in the community, poor treatment compliance, lack of awareness and issues of stigma. When the project was started, the neared mental health services were available in Government Medical Colleges in Thrissur and Kozhikode, bothe approximately 100 kilometers away. A mental health survey was conducted initially. The survey identified around 300 cases of severe mental illness in Attappady’s tribal villages, with schizophrenia being most common.
  • Most patients were under the economically active age group and were unable to afford expensive psychiatric medicines.
  • Due to accessibility issues, many did not receive any treatment, and those who started treatment at medical colleges in Thrissur or Calicut often discontinued due to cost and accessibility issues.
  • Awareness of mental health issues is low, and substance use, family insecurities, and lack of support worsen the situation.
Initial years..
With this background, we initiated the Community Mental Health Program. The initial concept was based on a WHO model aimed at improving access to mental health services, where primary healthcare providers, including doctors and nurses, will be trained to deliver basic psychiatric services, while advanced diagnosis and treatment for severe cases can be provided by a visiting psychiatrist. The project was launched in 2009 with technical support from the psychiatric department at the Government Medical College, Thrissur. The team at medical college trained our doctors and nurses on basic psychiatric protocols. A visiting psychiatrist from there provided psychiatric services in Attappady. Symptomatic patients were identified by a social worker, who encouraged them to seek diagnosis and treatment. The social worker also followed up with the identified patients through home visits and provided counseling to their family members
2009-2019..
Later, we collaborated with the MEHAC Foundation, an NGO dedicated to improving mental health, for technical support. A team from MEHAC, including psychiatrists, social workers, and support staff, visits our hospital monthly to provide advanced mental health services. During these visits, we also accompany the team on home visits to deliver mental health services to severe cases.
Post 2019..
After 10 years of the project, we conducted a follow-up survey and found that while access to mental health services had improved, approximately 25% of patients were still not identified or linked to treatment, down from around 60% in 2010. We decided to intensify our community efforts by adopting a population-based approach to proactively identify patients and connect them to treatment. We took a target of 100% identification and coverage of mental health patients. This revamped concept is being supported by Azim Premji Foundation from 2022.
2009-2019..
Later, we collaborated with the MEHAC Foundation, an NGO dedicated to improving mental health, for technical support. A team from MEHAC, including psychiatrists, social workers, and support staff, visits our hospital monthly to provide advanced mental health services. During these visits, we also accompany the team on home visits to deliver mental health services to severe cases.
Post 2019..
After 10 years of the project, we conducted a follow-up survey and found that while access to mental health services had improved, approximately 25% of patients were still not identified or linked to treatment, down from around 60% in 2010. We decided to intensify our community efforts by adopting a population-based approach to proactively identify patients and connect them to treatment. We took a target of 100% identification and coverage of mental health patients. This revamped concept is being supported by Azim Premji Foundation from 2022.

The current approach of the programme:

  • Clinical support and treatment at the SVMM hospital – Individuals who are showing symptoms are identified by volunteers and social workers and they are encouraged to visit our hospital for diagnosis and treatment. A social worker supports the hospital staff in assessing each patient’s mental health status. A medical professional or psychiatrist then diagnoses the condition and prescribes treatment. All the psychiatric medicines are provided at free-of-cost for the patients. The social worker also provides psycho-social counseling for asymptomatic patients coming for hospital follow-up visits.
  • Home visits, follow-up and education: The social workers visit houses of all the patients to monitor their current mental health status and ensure medication adherence.
    • During these visits, the social workers also educate the family members on the mental health conditions, helping them understand and support the patient’s care.
    • A team of visiting psychiatrist and social workers visit critical cases who cannot come to hospital for follow-up visits. These patients receive psychiatric consultations and injections at their home.
    • The social workers also motivate the family members to bring the patient for follow-up visits if it is due. Routine follow-up calls are conducted, in addition to home visits to remind the family members on scheduled visits and prevent treatment drop-outs.
    • The social workers also provide supportive counseling to help reduce the emotional and psychological burden on caregivers.
  • General awareness and community volunteers engagement:
    • Awareness sessions are conducted on mental health issues and its management targeting various groups including village leaders, frontline government staff, teachers, students, youth, primary care doctors and other groups to raise general awareness and reduce stigma.
    • We also have tagged each patient to a volunteer form the village. These volunteers monitor medication intake, food availability, hygiene, and reports any symptoms requiring attention
      Outcome of the project (2010 vs current program data)
  • Treatment status – Patients not receiving any treatment have reduced to 14% in 2024, compared to 25% in 2020, and 60% in 2010.
    • Symptomatic status – Currently 58% of the patients are symptom free, compared to 24% in 2020Current Activities
    • 500 patients with psychiatric illnesses covered as part of the project.
    • Around 14% of the patients are not availing treatment
    • 14.18 % of mentally ill patients did not receive any treatment (78)
    • 58% of the patients are currently symptom-free.
    • 21 awareness conducted covering 800+ persons (2022-2024) including 300 students, 227 government officials, 23 doctors, 215 villagers, and 43 corporate managers

Community Mental Health Programme -CMHP

Swami Vivekananda Medical Mission in association with Primary Health Center Sholayur has organized an awareness class for ASHA workers on 14th September 2022, at PHC Sholayur. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Vinayan gave an introduction for the session and Health Inspector Mr. Kali Swami gave an overview of the awareness program. The Session was taken by Ms. Aghila T U, Psychiatric Social Worker on the topic “Mental Disorder Early Identification and the Role of ASHA Workers in Supporting the Patients”. 29 ASHA workers attended the session.

cmhp_
cmhp

CMHP team conducted a community level awareness session on 24th December 2022, for teenagers and youth of Vadakottathara Hamlet. The session was taken by CMHP Coordinator Mrs. Saranya Mohan K and Health Project Head Mr. Anandhu K S. The topic was “Participation of Youth in Community Mental Health Care” and the number of participation was 21.

Know more

Meet Our Co-ordinators

Saranya Mohan K

Project Coordinator

CMHP

Niranjana Haridas M

Project Coordinator

CMHP