CHW training on mental illness awareness concludes

A three-day training programme of “Transforming access to care for serious mental disorders in Slums – the TRANSFORM project” for Community Health Workers (CHWs) and medicine vendors of Karail slum in the city concluded on Wednesday.

Professor of Clinical Psychology Department, University of Dhaka Dr Kamal Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, Chief Investigator of The Transform-Bangladesh Dr Tanjir Rashid Saran, Psychologist of Central Drug Addiction Treatment Centre Dr Rahanul Islam and Senior Deputy Director of Bangladesh Centre for Communication Programs (BCCP) Dr Shahidul Alam, were present at the closing ceremony of the training program.

The speakers delivered speeches and handed over certificates and crests to the participants at the closing ceremony.

Participants who attended the training expressed their experiences and said the knowledge gained from this training would help them to identify seriously mentally ill people staying in Karail slums and refer them to the National Institute of Mental Health Hospital for science-based treatment.

The objective of the training was to increase knowledge and skills and to change the attitude, behaviour of community health workers and medicine vendors to identify and refer people with serious mental illness for science-based treatment.

A total of 17 participants attended the training. Among the participants were 9 female health workers and 8 male drug sellers. They participated spontaneously through open discussion, question-and-answer, role-playing, and storytelling.

The Transform-Bangladesh aims to increase uptake of science-based healthcare by developing a collaborative approach between traditional and faith-based healers, primary health care providers, mental health professionals, drug vendors and community health workers.