Development of mental health first aid guidelines for problem drinking: a Delphi expert consensus study in Argentina and Chile

BACKGROUND: Among all psychoactive substances, alcohol consumption presents the most significant public health problem and is a leading risk factor for overall disease burden in Latin America. However, most people who meet criteria for a substance use disorder do not receive treatment in primary or secondary care sources. Community members can play a role in helping people to seek help as they are likely to encounter people experiencing problem drinking and recognize the signs. However, many do not have adequate mental health first aid knowledge or skills to provide help. We aimed to culturally adapt the existing English-language mental health first aid guidelines for helping someone with problem drinking for Argentina and Chile. METHODS: The Delphi consensus method was used to determine the importance of helping actions translated from the English-language guidelines and to add new actions suggested by expert panellists. The importance of each statement was rated by two expert panels. Panel one included people with lived experience (either their own or as a support person, n = 23) recruited in Argentina and panel two included health professionals (n = 31) recruited in Argentina and Chile. RESULTS: Overall, 165 helping actions were endorsed by panellists across two consecutive survey rounds. Endorsed items included 132 of the 182 items translated into Spanish from the English-language guidelines and 33 of the 61 new items generated from panellists' comments in the first survey round. CONCLUSIONS: While there were some similarities in recommended helping actions between English-speaking countries, and Argentina and Chile, key differences were seen in attitudes to low-risk drinking. While there was a relatively high level of agreement between health professionals and people with lived experience, some divergence of opinion was seen, particularly in the area of commitment to recovery as a condition for help. Future research should explore the implementation of the guidelines

“About Navigating Chaos”: Latin American and Caribbean Mental Health Workers’ Personal Impact Due to SARS-CoV-2 in the First Hundred Days

Objectives: The personal impact of COVID-19 on mental health care workers (MHWs) has received scarce attention despite their work addressing the emotional wellbeing of those affected by the pandemic. This study aims to analyze Latin American and Caribbean’s MHWs’ subjective impact in connection to working during the initial times of the pandemic. Methods: One hundred and fifty-five persons (n = 155) from seventeen countries were contacted in May–June 2020 through a snowball approach. Complementary methodological strategies of analysis used for data triangulation included content analysis, thematic analysis, and interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Participants reported feelings of fear, anxiety, anguish, and fatigue. Milder negative impacts (e.g., uncertainty, concern), and complex feelings (e.g., ambivalence) were also frequent. One third of participants acknowledged their capacity to learn from this situation and/or experience satisfaction. Conclusion: Mental health of MHWs in Latin America and the Caribbean were under severe strain and the ongoing mental health reforms at risk during the pandemic’s beginning. More research and additional care may be needed to offer support to those involved in caring for the wellbeing of others.Fil: Agrest, Martin. Proyecto Suma: Asistencia y Rehabilitación En Salud Men; ArgentinaFil: Rosales, Melina Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Marina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; ArgentinaFil: Kankan, Tanvi. Columbia University; Estados UnidosFil: Matkovich, Andrés. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Velzi Díaz, Alberto. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Ardila Gómez, Sara Elena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; Argentin

‘We see they are abandoned’: Social support between people discharged from long-term psychiatric hospitalizations and their neighbors in Argentina

Background: Neighbors are an important component of personal social network (PSN) and despite their peripheral role and being considered as familiar strangers, they typically provide instrumental support. For people who is discharged after long-term psychiatric hospitalizations, neighbors would offer other types of social support and play a different role fostering the process of becoming full member of a given community. Aims: To analyze the effects of neighboring on both, those who have had long-term psychiatric hospitalizations and their neighbors. Method: Data was collected between 2020 and 2021, including interviews with formal care staff of three housing support experiences in Argentina, and short testimonies from formerly discharged mental health service users living in the community and their neighbors. We analyzed the data using the Framework Method with a focus on the different aspects of social support and equity and reciprocity theories. Results: Results suggest that emotional support was a frequent function displayed by neighbors toward people with a history of long-term psychiatric hospitalizations, which differs from typical neighboring relationships. Conclusions: Despite reciprocity was observed, users and neighbors displayed an unbalanced helping relationship.Fil: Murlender, Liza Inés. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; ArgentinaFil: Choe, Karen. University of New York; Estados UnidosFil: Fernandez, Marina Ayelen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; ArgentinaFil: Agrest, Martin. No especifíca;Fil: Ardila Gómez, Sara Elena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; Argentin

Implementing a community-based task-shifting psychosocial intervention for individuals with psychosis in Chile: Perspectives from users

© The Author(s) 2018.Background: Latin America, and Chile in particular, has a rich tradition of community mental health services and programs. However, in vivo community-based psychosocial interventions, especially those with a recovery-oriented approach, remain scarce in the region. Between 2014 and 2015, a Critical Time Intervention-Task Shifting project (CTI-TS) was implemented in Santiago, Chile, as part of a larger pilot randomized control trial. CTI is a time-limited intervention delivered at a critical-time to users, is organized by phases, focuses on specific objectives and decreases in intensity over time. CTI-TS, which combines both the task-shifting strategy and the use of peers, introduces a novel approach to community mental health care that has not yet been tried in Chile. Aims: We aim to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and applicability of such a community-based psychosocial intervention in urban settings in Latin America – specifically, in Santiago (Chile) fro