Author:
Klymchuk Vitalii,Vysotska Krystyna,Gorbunova Viktoriia V.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how conflict-affected communities in Ukraine (the Lugansk region) can develop sustainable mental health services in decentralised settings. The main interest focuses on community stakeholders’ perception of their problems and solutions that communities can create to achieve better mental health coverage.
Design/methodology/approach
A series of roundtables (RTs) (4 RTs, 62 participants overall), accompanied by interactive brainstorming techniques, were conducted with communities’ representatives/stakeholders from the East of Ukraine (Lugansk region, a government-controlled area) during the year 2021. Participants (health, mental health, social care workers and administration representatives) were provided with the opportunity to discuss mental health services’ development challenges and create affordable solutions for their communities. Results of discussions were submitted to qualitative analysis and offered for review by participants.
Findings
Decentralisation in Ukraine led to allocating funds alongside responsibilities for developing the services to communities. Most of the communities appear not to be ready to acknowledge the role of mental health services, entirely relying on the existing weak psychiatric hospital-based system. Awareness-raising interactive capacity-building activities for the community leaders and decision-makers effectively promote community-based mental health services development. Five clusters of challenges were identified: leadership, coordination and collaboration problems; infrastructure, physical accessibility and financial problems; mental health and primary health-care workforce shortage and lack of competencies; low awareness of mental health and available services and high stigma; war, crises and pandemic-related problems. Communities stakeholders foresaw seven domains of action: increasing the role of communities and service users in the initiatives of governmental bodies; establishing in the communities local coordination/working groups dedicated to mental health service development; developing the community-based spaces (hubs) for integrated services provision; embedding the mental health services in the existing services (social, administrative and health care); mental health advocacy and lobbying led by local leaders and service users; increasing capacity of communities in financial management, fundraising; developing services by combining efforts and budgets of neighbouring communities.
Research limitations/implications
The study has potential limitations. Participants of the roundtables were mostly appointed by local authorities, so some of them didn`t have a motivation for mental health services development. Service users were involved only from the facilitators` side, not from the side of communities; therefore, it was impossible to include their view of problems and solutions. Obtained data were limited to the opinion of local professionals, administration workers and other local stakeholders. The human rights aspect was not clearly articulated in the tasks of the roundtables.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the paper is original in terms of its topic (connecting decentralisation and local stakeholders’ engagement for understanding the challenges of mental health services development) and research strategy (engagement of Ukrainian communities, qualitative analysis of the discussion results and applying the best practices and international recommendations to the local context).
Subject
Psychiatry and Mental health,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Reference31 articles.
1. CMU (2017), “Kontseptsiia rozvytku okhorony psykhichnoho zdorovia v ukraini na period do 2030 Roku (2017). Cabinet of ministers of Ukraine (2017, December 27). [Mental health care development concept note in Ukraine for the period of up to 2030]”, available at: http://zakon3.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1018-2017-%D1%80 (assessed 12 December 2021).
2. CMU (2021), “Action plan 2021-2023 for the implementation of the mental health care development concept note in Ukraine for the period of up to 2030. Cabinet of ministers of Ukraine. (in Ukrainian). ПЛАН заходів на 2021-2023 роки з реалізації Концепції розвитку охорони психічного здоров’я в Україні на період до 2030 року”, available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1215-2021-%D1%80#Text (assessed 13 December 2021).
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