Talk
Ιncreasing access to quality child and adolescent mental health services globally: Examples from around the world
Thursday June 22, 10:40, Stavros Niarchos Hall GNO
The session delved into a multitude of international mental health strategies. The US-based National Children’s Alliance, supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), was brought forward as an example, showcasing its commitment to establishing standards of practice for quality, evidence-based care. The session highlighted the implementation of multidisciplinary responses to mental health, fostering an environment of collaboration and inclusivity with efforts to eliminate barriers in providing high-quality care. Also discussed was the approach taken by Barcelona’s Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, which involves an integrated, comprehensive methodology to handle severe mental health disorders among children and youth with significant social and family complexities. They employ functional recovery and community reconnection tactics alongside outdoor activities, resulting in a 100% success rate in linking patients to an educational center tailored to their needs. Another segment of the talk was dedicated to the significance of child and adolescent mental health in Sub-Saharan Africa, where physical health often overshadows mental health issues. Despite the challenges, training for professionals from 14 countries has helped shift the overall perception of mental health. The session concluded by emphasizing the role of better policies and the importance of data-driven mental health promotion, calling attention to the need for timely and accurate data to improve children's mental health landscape worldwide.
Included Sessions:
- Linking Mental Health and Child Protection in the US to better care for children facing abuse and neglect
Michelle Miller, Director of Mental Health Programs at the National Children’s Alliance (NCA)
- Returning home: the pioneering Acompanya'm model of the Sant Joan de Déu (SJD) Barcelona Children’s Hospital for children facing complex mental health challenges
Inmaculada Insa Pineda, Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, Sant Joan de Deu Hospital, Spain
- Capacity Building Strategies Effectively Employed for Child and Adolescent Mental Health in Sub-Saharan Africa
Olayinka Olusola Omigbodun, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
- A Global Public Health Perspective on Child & Adolescent Mental Health: Determinants, data, and decisions
Shekhar Saxena, Professor of the Practice of Global Mental Health at Harvard University’s T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Speakers
Inmaculada Insa Pineda
Child & Αdolescent Psychiatrist, Sant Joan de Deu Hospital, Spain
Michelle Miller
Director of Mental Health Programs
National Children’s Alliance
Olayinka Omigbodun
Professor of Psychiatry & Provost
College of Medicine, University of Ibadan
Shekhar Saxena
Professor of Global Mental Health, Global Health and Population Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health