Traditional knowledge among fishers of coastal Tamil Nadu with special reference to climate change

Traditional knowledge is an excellent tool for understanding extreme events related to climate change. The Tamil Nadu fishers have extensive Traditional knowledge related to climate change

Integrating mental health and development: a case study of the BasicNeeds Model in Nepal.

As one article in a series on Global Mental Health Practice, Shoba Raja and colleagues provide a case study of BasicNeeds in Nepal, which emphases user empowerment, community development, health systems strengthening, and policy change to help socially disadvantaged individuals with mental health conditions

Occupation, poverty and mental health improvement in Ghana

AbstractThis study examines the relationship between a number of socioeconomic indicators (asset ownership, assets purchased, change in income, food shortage, kept job after illness) and two outcomes: improvement in mental illness and stability of mental illness. A sample of urban and rural Ghanaians reporting a mental illness (n=400) was used. This focus on changes in mental illness differs from much previous work that examines mental illness status (i.e., whether or not a person has a mental illness). It was found that maintaining employment after the onset of illness was associated with both mental illness improvement and stability. Income increases were related to stability of mental illness only. Asset and food shortage measures were not found to be significant correlates of mental illness improvement or stability. This study indicates that measures taken to protect jobs and social status after the onset of mental illness symptoms are likely to facilitate improvements in mental health

A mental health training program for community health workers in India: impact on knowledge and attitudes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Unmet needs for mental health treatment in low income countries are pervasive. If mental health is to be effectively integrated into primary health care in low income countries like India then grass-roots workers need to acquire relevant knowledge and skills to be able to recognise, refer and support people experiencing mental disorders in their own communities. This study aims to provide a mental health training intervention to community health workers in Bangalore Rural District, Karnataka, India, and to evaluate the impact of this training on mental health literacy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A pre-test post-test study design was undertaken with assessment of mental health literacy at three time points; baseline, completion of the training, and three month follow-up. Mental health literacy was assessed using the interviewer-administered Mental Health Literacy Survey. The training intervention was a four day course based on a facilitator's manual developed specifically for community health workers in India.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>70 community health workers from Doddaballapur, Bangalore Rural District were recuited for the study. The training course improved participants' ability to recognize a mental disorder in a vignette, and reduced participants' faith in unhelpful and potentially harmful pharmacological interventions. There was evidence of a minor reduction in stigmatizing attitudes, and it was unclear if the training resulted in a change in participants' faith in recovery following treatment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings from this study indicate that the training course demonstrated potential to be an effective way to improve some aspects of mental health literacy, and highlights strategies for strengthening the training course.</p

Sitting with others: mental health self-help groups in northern Ghana

BACKGROUND: Over the past four decades, there has been increasing interest in Self-Help Groups, by mental health services users and caregivers, alike. Research in high-income countries suggests that participation in SHGs is associated with decreased use of inpatient facilities, improved social functioning among service users, and decreased caregiver burden. The formation of SHGs has become an important component of mental health programmes operated by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in low-income countries. However, there has been relatively little research examining the benefits of SHGs in this context. METHODS: Qualitative research with 18 SHGs, five local non-governmental organisations, community mental health nurses, administrators in Ghana Health Services, and discussions with BasicNeeds staff. RESULTS: SHGs have the potential to serve as key components of community mental health programmes in low-resource settings. The strongest evidence concerns how SHGs provide a range of supports, e.g., social, financial, and practical, to service users and caregivers. The groups also appear to foster greater acceptance of service users by their families and by communities at large. Membership in SHGs appears to be associated with more consistent treatment and better outcomes for those who are ill. DISCUSSION: This study highlights the need for longitudinal qualitative and quantitative evaluations of the effect of SHGs on clinical, social and economic outcomes of service users and their carers. CONCLUSIONS: The organisation of SHGs appears to be associated with positive outcomes for service users and caregivers. However, there is a need to better understand how SHGs operate and the challenges they face

Cost-effectiveness of the mental health and development model for schizophrenia-spectrum and bipolar disorders in rural Kenya

Background. The treatment gap for serious mental disorders across low-income countries is estimated to be 89%. The model for Mental Health and Development (MHD) offers community-based care for people with mental disorders in eleven low- and middle-income countries. Methods. In Kenya, using a pre-post design, 117 consecutively enrolled participants with schizophrenia-spectrum and bipolar disorders were followed-up at 10 and 20 months. Comparison outcomes were drawn from the literature. Costs were analysed from societal and health system perspectives. Results. From the societal perspective, MHD cost Int$594 per person in the first year and Int$ 876 over two years. The cost per healthy day gained was Int$7.96 in the first year and Int$ 1.03 over two years – less than the agricultural minimum wage. The cost per DALY averted over two years was Int$13.1 and Int$ 727 from the societal and health system perspectives, respectively – on par with antiretrovirals for HIV. Conclusions. MHD achieved increasing returns over time. The model appears cost-effective and equitable, especially over two-years. Its affordability relies on multi-sectoral participation nationally and internationally

Service user and caregiver involvement in mental health system strengthening in low- and middle-income countries: systematic review

The involvement of mental health service users and their caregivers in health system policy and planning, service monitoring and research can contribute to mental health system strengthening, but as yet there have been very few efforts to do so in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods This systematic review examined the evidence and experience of service user and caregiver involvement in mental health system strengthening, as well as models of best practice for evaluation of capacity-building activities that facilitate their greater participation. Both the peer-reviewed and the grey literature were included in the review, which were identified through database searches (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Knowledge, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, LILACS, SciELO, Google Scholar and Cochrane), as well as hand-searching of reference lists and the internet, and a snowballing process of contacting experts active in the area. This review included any kind of study design that described or evaluated service user, family or caregiver (though not community) involvement in LMICs (including service users with intellectual disabilities, dementia, or child and adolescent mental health problems) and that were relevant to mental health system strengthening across five categories. Data were extracted and summarised as a narrative review. Results Twenty papers matched the inclusion criteria. Overall, the review found that although there were examples of service user and caregiver involvement in mental health system strengthening in numerous countries, there was a lack of high-quality research and a weak evidence base for the work that was being conducted across countries. However, there was some emerging research on the development of policies and strategies, including advocacy work, and to a lesser extent the development of services, service monitoring and evaluation, with most service user involvement having taken place within advocacy and service delivery. Research was scarce within the other health system strengthening areas. Conclusions Further research on service user and caregiver involvement in mental health system strengthening in LMICs is recommended, in particular research that includes more rigorous evaluation. A series of specific recommendations are provided based on the review

Observations on spawning activity of green mussel Perna viridis in relation to surface water temperature in Pulicat Lake and Ennore backwaters

A deformed specimen of Narrow barred Spanish mackerel, Scomberomorus commerson (Lacepède, 1800) was observed at Aligadda beach, Karwar on 15th September 2013. It was caught off Karwar by gillnet (beedu bale) operated at around 30 m dept

Preliminary observations on dominance of crustacean larvae in the diet of little tunny Euthynnus affinis (Cantor, 1849) caught off Chennai and Cuddalore coasts

The food habits of little tunny Euthynnus affinis caught by hooks and line off Chennai and Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu were studied from December 2011 to August 2012. A total of 358 samples were collected from both the centres and gut contents were analysed. Almost 42% of the guts were full and 22% were found to be either quarter full or with traces of food contents. About 35% of the guts were empty. Index of relative importance (IRI) was calculated for the prey items. Crustacean larvae (91%) were dominant among the gut contents, followed by fishes (4%) and molluscs (2%). Among the crustacean larvae, brachyuran megalopae and crablets formed about 45% while the stomatopod alima larvae formed 21%. Phyllosoma larvae of scyllarid lobsters and pueruli larvae of spiny lobsters were also found among the identified crustacean larvae

Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) of coastal fisherfolk on climate change - a case study in Chennai, south-east coast of India

Climate change will have strong impact on fisheries with far-reaching consequences on food and livelihood of a sizeable section of the population. The frequency and intensity of extreme climate events is likely to have a major impact on future marine fisheries production. Fishermen have excellent knowledge on the relationship between climatic, oceanographic factors and fish catch. This knowledge enables them to switch their fishing activities with respect to species exploited, location of fishing grounds and gear used. Based on this backdrop, a survey was conducted to collect primary data on Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) from 200 fishermen in and around Chennai with a structured questionnaire. Fishermen believed that reduction in fish catch in recent years is essentially due to overfishing (Garrett mean score : 82) and juvenile exploitation rather than climate change. Fishermen opined that current (62%) and wind direction/speed (28%) are the major climatic parameters affecting fisheries. Current from south to north direction which generally remains for nine months off Chennai leads to good fish catch, since it is favourable for larval distribution. They believe that combined wind blow from south and west leads to coastal upwelling, which occurs during May-June every year for 45 to 55 days. Current flow from south to north yields more rocky fishes due to turbid water condition and leads to heavy catch. However in recent years fishermen were not able to predict climatic events like in earlier years due to large unexpected seasonal variations. Fishermen suggested that government should bring regulations on craft, gear and related aspects in order to ensure sustainable fishing