Date: 6/29/2011
TUMSPR News: Dr. Ambrogio Manenti, the World Health Organization Country Office representative in Iran, alonglised two Italian psychiatrist who are WHO’s consultant on community-based mental health met with Dr. Larijani on June 28, 2011.
Dr. Ambrogio Manenti, the World Health Organization Country Office representative in Iran, alongside two Italian psychiatrist who are WHO’s consultant on community-based mental health, Dr. Abolhassani, TUMS vice-chancellor for health, Dr Nasehi, the head of the Office for Mental Health and Addiction Prevention at the Ministry of Health and some other officials met with Dr. Larijani, TUMS Chancellor on June 28, 2011.
Emphasizing on the most important features of the Italian model of psychiatry, Dr. Bolhari said deinstitutionalization, closing down of traditional asylums, was the core objective of this approach and being a pioneer in this area, Italy had urged WHO to adopt the approach in Europe and other countries.
Thanking the Chancellor for the reception, Dr. Amrogio Manenti, talked about the coincidence that some Iranian authorities responsible for mental health had asked him about mental health collaborations, and having worked in Palestine (Gaza) and Balkans on the issue, he had invited the Italian psychiatrists to come to Iran to introduce the approach.
He referred to the movement in the Italian psychiatry that lead to the legislation of community-based psychiatry in 1978 as a movement that based its core activity of dismantling large [traditional] psychiatric institutions and promote mental health. He said a set of services were needed to answer the needs of patients as well as activating the social and economical sectors of the society. He said WHO endorsed community mental health in 2001.
Dr. Roberto Mezzini, a WHO consultant and one of Franco Basaglia’s aides, thanked the Chancellor for the meeting and said it would be great to help the Iranian mental health system to close the gap with the population needs as they had first-hand account of the experience after the approval of the relevant law in Italy.
He said the Italian mental health model was sustainable and very well integrated in the health network. Having other experiences in two other countries, Dr. Mezzini said good practice was the main objective and their mission was to support any pilot centers for providing mental health.
Dr. Renzo Bonn, another WHO consultant and a social psychiatry lecturer at the University of Udine in Italy, said he was happy to be here and that their experience had been received well. He said the Iranian heath system network was similar to their mental health services in some ways.
Dr. Nasehi the executive for Mental Health and Addiction Prevention at the Ministry of Health said that the latest statistics showed a prevalence rate of 21% for psychological problems which was the first burden of diseases in women and it was only second to accidents in men, depicting negligence of the issue in the past with resultant criminal behaviors in the present. He expected the Ministry of Health could provide the necessary man-power and financial resources to address the problem.
He then said a mental health center had been newly established and a second one was under way. He hoped the approach could support mentally ill patients and reduce the burden of disease and costs.
In the end, Dr. Larijani welcomed the guests and stressed the need for community-based mental health regarding the high burden of the disease in the country. He said fortunately the health networks were in place and they could be activated in this direction too, especially in villages and small cities. He believed the weak performance of the system in large cities was because of the poor interaction between the public and private health sectors and said a comprehensive plan might provide a solution. He also referred to the 10-year long training of family physicians and inclusion of these services in their curriculum as a solution to change the behavior of people in their communities.
Dr Larijani said there was an undeniable link between the growing problem of addiction and mental health insufficiencies and hoped there could be integration between the project and the present health policies to tackle the problem.
Finding some similarities between Italian and Iranian cultures, the Chancellor wished Dr. Bolhari and his colleagues could make the most of the opportunity brought about by prospective collaborations with Italian counterparts.
Finally, the Chancellor said the vastness of the country and its research centers justified implementation of different approached to ultimately foster the ones with the best evidence.
Picture gallery.
http://publicrelations.tums.ac.ir/gallery/detail.asp?galleryID=3513
http://publicrelations.tums.ac.ir/english/news/detail.asp?newsID=25571
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