نبذة مختصرة : Amoud University in Borama is located in the self-declared state of Somaliland, in the Horn of Africa. Past conflicts and resulting economic hardship have led to a lack of local academic psychiatry faculty and resources. Amoud has been for some years partnering with voluntary faculty in the United Kingdom to teach psychiatry to its medical students through in-person "teaching missions." This was recently led by a Borama-native psychiatry resident in Ethiopia. COVID-19 added further hardships due to restrictions to travel and in-person gatherings. These challenges also created the opportunity for the development of an innovative, international, hybrid (online onsite), self-sustaining partnership model which has been successful in improving psychiatry teaching for undergraduate students in 2020-2021 and will continue in 2021-2022. An international, 'online-connected' department of psychiatry comprising a primary care physician in Somaliland, three postgraduate trainees in Ethiopia and the United States, and three senior psychiatrists in the United Kingdom developed a local faculty-led, hybrid-delivered, dynamic curriculum (bedside teaching, in person and online lecturing) that adapted to the needs, resources, faith and culture of Somaliland. While 2020-2021 has been the pilot year for the program, the overall experience has been enriching for students and faculty, leading to valuable cross-cultural conversations with impact on teaching and research. While learning about Somalilanders' and trauma, the program leads, also the authors of this article, have identified ways to harness the resilience and faith of students to bring about improvements in global mental health.
(© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)
References: Devi, S. (2015). Slowly and steadily, Somaliland builds its health system. The Lancet, 385(9983), 2139-2140. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)61009-1.
Gavaghan, L., Hughes, P., Saeed, K., & Whitwell, S. (2014). Teaching psychiatry to undergraduate medical students in Somalia. International Psychiatry, 11(1), 15-17. https://doi.org/10.1192/S1749367600004227.
Handuleh, J., Pereira-Sanchez, V., & Wolde-Giorgis, D. F. (2021). Innovative psychiatry medical education initiative: Empowering and supervising trainees for future teaching in psychiatry training program establishment in Somaliland. BJPsych Open, 7(S1), S141-S141. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2021.400.
Handuleh, J. I. M. (2012). Experiences of a junior doctor establishing mental health services in Somaliland. Intervention, 10(1, 274-278.
Leather, A., Ismail, E. A., Ali, R., Abdi, Y. A., Abby, M. H., Gulaid, S. A., Walhad, S. A., Guleid, S., Ervine, I. M., Lowe-Lauri, M., Parker, M., Adams, S., Datema, M., & Parry, E. (2006). Working together to rebuild health care in post-conflict Somaliland. Lancet (London, England), 368(9541), 1119-1125. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69047-8.
Lwanga-Ntale, C., & Owino, B. O. (2020). Understanding vulnerability and resilience in Somalia. Jàmbá: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies, 12(1), 856. https://doi.org/10.4102/jamba.v12i1.856.
Samatar, A. (2008). Somali reconstruction and local initiative: Amoud university. Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies, 1(9), 53-86. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/bildhaan/vol1/iss1/9.
Syed Sheriff, R., & Whitwell, S. (2012). An innovative approach to integrating mental health into health systems. Intervention, 10(1), 59-65. https://doi.org/10.1097/WTF.0b013e3283518df9.
Syed Sheriff, R. J., Baraco, A. F. H., Nour, A., Warsame, A. M., Peachey, K., Haibe, F., & Jenkins, R. (2010). Public-academic partnerships: Improving human resource provision for mental health in Somaliland. Psychiatric Services, 61(3), 225-227. https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.2010.61.3.225.
World Health Organization. (2021). Mental Health ATLAS 2020. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240036703.
Processing Request
No Comments.