The Target Groups

This project targets nurses and physicians working at Referral Hospitals and Health Centers as well as Village Health Support Groups in two districts (one in Kampong Cham province and one in Tboung Khmum province). Patients and people with mental health problems in the community will also benefit from the project.

Train Village Health Support Groups and Refresher course

A Village Health Support groups during basic mental health training by TPO Cambodia.

We train Village Health Support Groups in basic mental health (knowledge of disorders such as anxiety disorders, depression, and psychosis and addiction problems) and equip them with the basic support skills of mental health first aid (MHFA). This will enable them to identify, manage and refer people with mental problems or illnesses to public mental health services (clinics and referral hospitals).

Community Campaign

Village Health Support Group (VHSG) assists in organizing the community campaign. The main objective is to do awareness raising on mental health in the community. 04 large postures were used by the social workers for this campaign.

Set up Mental Health Clinics & Train Medical Staff in Mental Health Care

We help establish mental health services able to offer mental health services as determined in the ‘minimum package of activities’ (MPA) by the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Cambodia. To achieve this, we provide mental health training to physicians and nurses in the targeted health centers and referral hospitals and with them, review their ‘minimum package of activities’ to ensure staff qualifies to provide treatment to mentally ill patients. The list of medicines and treatment conditions (mentioned in the MPA) are also reviewed with the aim to establish a regular supply of the required medication to the health centers.

Strengthen Referral Hospitals’ Capacity to Deliver Mental Health Care

Enable referral hospitals to implement and deliver mental health services as determined in the ‘complementary package of activities’ (CPA) of the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Cambodia. This is aimed at ensuring they are able to diagnose and treat walk-in or referred patients with mental disorders and provide follow‐up, and can play a role in mental health education, counseling, and community based‐care. Their work will be reviewed in order to deliver better services and to work out a strategy to achieve a more regular supply of the required medicine. Referral mechanisms between referral hospitals (RH), health centers (HC) and Village Health Support Groups (VHSG) to HC and RH will be reinforced to ensure people in the community have access to the right service at the right time.

TPO social workers play an important role in provide coaching on counseling, home visit and psycho-education to nurses at health center level and referral hospital level where the project covers.