Resources search

Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak

WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO)
March 2020

Expand view

The considerations presented in this document have been developed by the WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Use as a series of messages that can be used in communications to support mental and psychosocial well-being in different target groups during the outbreak. Target groups are: general popluation; healthcare workers; team leaders or managers of health facilities; carers of children;  older adults; people with underlying health conditions and their carers; people in isolation 

WHO launches rehabilitation standards for Emergency Medical Teams

WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO)
May 2017

Expand view

WHO together with health partners such as CBM, Handicap International, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, have released the ‘Emergency Medical Teams: Minimum Technical Standards and Recommendations for Rehabilitation’ which provides important guidance on how emergency medical teams (EMTs) can incorporate rehabilitation in their response to emergencies. Using the experiences from the 2015 Nepal earthquake, this video shows the impact it had on the lives of those injured years later and highlights the reasons why rehabilitation needs to be a core component of any emergency medical response. Integrating rehabilitation into the EMT response resulted in greater clinical care by producing important, cost-effective, and positive long term outcomes at the individual, family, and community levels

Minimum technical standards and recommendations for rehabilitation

NORTON Ian
December 2016

Expand view

This document is the result of collaboration between a working group of rehabilitation experts convened by WHO and external consultations. It is thus based on collective experience in rehabilitation during responses to recent large-scale emergencies and also on published data. In time, the minimum standards for rehabilitation in emergencies will be part of a broader series of publications based on the Classification and minimum standards for foreign medical teams in sudden onset disaster.

 

The purpose of this document is to extend these standards for physical rehabilitation and provide guidance to emergency medical teams (EMTs, formerly known as “foreign medical teams”) on building or strengthening their capacity for and work in rehabilitation within defined coordination mechanisms.The standards and recommendations given in this document will ensure that EMTs, both national and international, will better prevent patient complications and ensuing impairment and ensure a continuum of care beyond their departure from the affected area. This document gives the minimum standards for EMTs in regard to the workforce, the field hospital environment, rehabilitation equipment and consumables and information management. Notably, the standards call for:

 

• at least one rehabilitation professional per 20 beds at the time of initial deployment, with further recruitment depending on case-load and local rehabilitation capacity;

• allocation of a purpose-specific rehabilitation space of at least 12 m2 for all type 3 EMTs; and

• deployment of EMTs with at least the essential rehabilitation equipment and consumables according to type.

 

EMTs are encouraged to exceed the minimum standards outlined in this document; supplementary recommendations are included. All teams on the Global Classification List of quality assured teams are required to use the minimum technical standards for rehabilitation, and demonstration of adherence to the standards will be necessary for verification. Support in achieving the minimum standards will be available through EMT mentoring, if necessary

Mental health and psychosocial support for conflict-related sexual violence : principles and interventions

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
2012

Expand view

This resource outlines principles and interventions in relation to mental health and psychosocial support for conflict-related sexual violence
WHO/RHR/HRP/12.18
"Responding to the psychosocial and mental health needs of sexual violence survivors in conflict-affected Settings"
Ferney-Voltaire, France
28-30 November 2011

Guidance note on disability and emergency risk management for health

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
et al
2012

Expand view

"The Guidance note on disability and emergency risk management for health is a short, practical guide that covers actions across emergency risk management, such as risk assessment, prevention, preparedness, response, recovery and reconstruction. Developed primarily for health actors working in emergency and disaster risk management at the local, national or international level, and in governmental or nongovernmental agencies, the guidance note points out the health-related actions that are required to ensure that both mainstream and specific support are available and accessible to people with disabilities in emergencies"

Psychological first aid : guide for field workers

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
WAR TRAUMA FOUNDATION (WTF)
WORLD VISION INTERNATIONAL
2011

Expand view

"This guide covers psychological first aid which involves humane, supportive and practical help to fellow human beings suffering serious crisis events. It is written for people in a position to help others who have experienced an extremely distressing event. It gives a framework for supporting people in ways that respect their dignity, culture and abilities. Despite its name, psychological first aid covers both social and psychological support"

The humanitarian emergency settings perceived needs scale (HESPER) : manual with scale

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
KINGS COLLEGE LONDON
2011

Expand view

The HESPER Scale "aims to provide a method for assessing perceived needs in representative samples of populations affected by large-scale humanitarian emergencies in a valid and reliable manner. This manual includes the HESPER Scale (see Appendix 1), as well as a detailed explanation of how to use the HESPER Scale, how to train interviewers, and how to organise, analyze and report on a HESPER survey"

Culture and mental health in Haiti : a literature review

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
2010

Expand view

"This paper reviews and summarizes the available literature on Haitian mental health and Mental health services. This review was conducted in light of the Haitian earthquake in January 2010. The first part of the review describes historical, economic, sociological and anthropological factors essential to basic understanding of Haiti and its people. This includes discussion of demography, family structure, Haitian economics and religion. The second part of the review focuses on mental health and mental health services. This includes a review of factors such as basic epidemiology of mental illness, common beliefs about mental illness, explanatory models, idioms of distress, help-seeking behavior, configuration of mental health services and the relationship between religion and mental health"

Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian emergencies : what should humanitarian health actors know

IASC REFERENCE GROUP FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT IN EMERGENCY SETTINGS
2010

Expand view

"This document is for humanitarian health actors working at national and sub-national level in countries facing emergencies and crises. It applies to Health Cluster partners, including governmental and non-governmental health service providers. Based on the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (IASC, 2007), this document gives an overview of essential knowledge that humanitarian health actors should have about mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in humanitarian emergencies"

Older people in emergencies : considerations for action and policy development

HUTTON, David
2008

Expand view

This analysis highlights factors that particularly affect older people in emergencies, especially health-related concerns. It also proposes a strategy to raise awareness about older people in emergencies, and recommends policies and practices to address these considerations. It sets out objectives for the three phases of an emergency response: the preparedness phase; the emergency response and operations phase; and the recovery and transition phase

Older persons in emergencies : an active ageing perspective

PLOUFFE, Louise
2008

Expand view

This report considers the contribution that older people can make during natural or conflict-related emergencies and in reconstruction phases. It describes the converging trends of rapid growth of the population over 60 years of age and of health emergencies, and outlines the resulting challenges. It then outlines the basic elements of emergency planning, drawing on case studies to identify the impacts of these situations on older people; it looks at the WHO Active Ageing policy framework; and offers a policy response

Key steps for maternal and newborn health care in humanitarian crisis

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO), DEPARTMENT OF MAKING PREGNANCY SAFER
2007

Expand view

This document has been prepared for maternal and newborn health experts as well as reproductive health experts coordinating and assisting with emergency care during the humanitarian crisis. It describes the ways to estimate the number of pregnant women and those who are about to deliver, highlights some important aspects of emergency care related to pregnancy, childbirth and newborn care, and describes the content of UN kits for such care in three different scenarios

Working together for health : the world health report 2006

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
2006

Expand view

"The 'World Health Report 2006 - Working together for health' contains both an expert assessment of the current crisis in the global health workforce and an ambitious set of proposals to tackle it over the next ten years, starting immediately"

Mental health assistance to the populations affected by the Tsunami in Asia

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
2005

Expand view

People affected by a catastrophe like the tsunami of 26 December 2004 are exposed to extreme stressors which represent risks to mental health. It is estimated that the tsunami caused an increase in mental disorders of between five and ten per cent. This document describes the types of mental health problems which are found in the tsunami-affected area and makes recommendations for interventions

Communicable disease control in emergencies : a field manual

CONNOLLY, M A
Ed
2005

Expand view

This manual is intended to help health professionals and coordinators deal with emergency situations, ensuring that adequate measures are taken to prevent, detect and control the spread of communicable diseases. Emergency situations often involve the displacement of large sections of the population, which may entail high population densities, inadequate shelter, poor sanitation but also the breaking down of health services and disease control programmes. The risk of epidemics in these situations is very high. This document calls for a systematic approach to the control communicable diseases in emergencies, and suggests that the humanitarian response should aim at these four objectives: rapid assessment; prevention; surveillance; outbreak control; disease management. The result of collaborative review and adaptation of existing guidelines, it provices practical guidance to public health professionals

Mental health of populations exposed to biological and chemical weapons

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
2005

Expand view

"The mental and social health consequences of exposure to biological or chemical weapons require a public health strategy. Attacks with chemical and biological weapons are likely to be accompanied by acute fear, organic mental problems, psychological responses to somatic illnesses and injuries, and long-term development of medically unexplained symptoms. The paper outlines some early social interventions, followed by descriptions of early mental health interventions"

Pages

E-bulletin