Toolkit for the Integration of Mental Health into General Healthcare in Humanitarian Settings

A rapid or comprehensive assessment is a process of systematically collecting and analyzing data around the country background and context, existing mental health policies, systems and resources as well as needs and barriers to care. This information is needed to plan mental health integration programs.

Capacity building includes theoretical and practical training, as well as ongoing technical support and supervision for general health workers such as doctors and nurses as well as community health workers. Additional MHPSS workers to be trained is dependent on the context and can include social workers, counsellors, psychosocial workers and volunteers.

Strengthening of mental health services at facility and community levels provided by trained and supervised healthcare staff in addition to strengthening systems through improved coordination and referral between service providers, HMIS documentation, and psychotropic medication supply.

Monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) is part of the planning, designing and day to day management of integrated mental health programming. An effective MEAL system supports program managers in tracking progress, making program adjustments, discovering unplanned effects of programming, and showing outcomes of mental health integration. MEAL also supports accountability to stakeholders through information sharing and feedback mechanisms.

Coordination, networking and advocacy take place at various levels (national, regional and community) and promote regular flows of information, help fill gaps, strengthen referral between service providers, support inclusion of national expertise and community voices, and raise awareness on mental health issues among key stakeholders such as governments.

A key component of success in integration is the sustainability of mental health services through general healthcare, and transition of these services from the emergency to longer-term development phases. Sustainability should be considered throughout the MH integration process, starting at the very start of project planning. Aspects of sustainability are related to government and policy, local partnerships, human resources and training, programming and services, research and monitoring, and financing.