Use of the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) by mental health volunteers in the UK: examples from South Asian diaspora charities

The Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) was launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2008 to scale up services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders for low- and lower-middle-income countries. Subsequently, an updated mhGAP intervention Guide (mhGAP-IG 2.0) was releas...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Leya Luhar, Aditi Arya, Raeesah Rafiq, Nandini Chakraborty
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press
Series:BJPsych Bulletin
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056469424001165/type/journal_article
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) was launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2008 to scale up services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders for low- and lower-middle-income countries. Subsequently, an updated mhGAP intervention Guide (mhGAP-IG 2.0) was released in 2016. This study explores the use and effectiveness of mhGAP-IG 2.0 by mental health volunteers of two South Asian charities in the UK. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight volunteers. The core themes identified were mental health awareness, mental health education, empathy and care, social perception and bias within the South Asian community, and personal development. The study identified mhGAP as a tool with transformative potential. Although the WHO originally planned the mgGAP-IG as a tool for low- and middle-income countries with limited mental health resources, this study demonstrates its usefulness even in high-income countries, as a foundation to educate volunteers working in mental health.
ISSN:2056-4694
2056-4708