The Asia Pacific Disaster Mental Health Network: Setting a Mental Health Agenda for the Region
Open Access
- 24 August 2020
- journal article
- editorial
- Published by MDPI AG in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Vol. 17 (17), 6144
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176144
Abstract
Addressing the psychological mechanisms and structural inequalities that underpin mental health issues is critical to recovery following disasters and pandemics. The Asia Pacific Disaster Mental Health Network was established in June 2020 in response to the current disaster climate and to foster advancements in disaster-oriented mental health research, practice and policy across the region. Supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) Thematic Platform for Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health EDRM), the network brings together leading disaster psychiatry, psychology and public health experts. Our aim is to advance policy, research and targeted translation of the evidence so that communities are better informed in preparation and response to disasters, pandemics and mass trauma. The first meetings of the network resulted in the development of a regional disaster mental health agenda focused on the current context, with five priority areas: (1) Strengthening community engagement and the integration of diverse perspectives in planning, implementing and evaluating mental health and psychosocial response in disasters; (2) Supporting and assessing the capacity of mental health systems to respond to disasters; (3) Optimising emerging technologies in mental healthcare; (4) Understanding and responding appropriately to addressing the mental health impacts of climate change; (5) Prioritising mental health and psychosocial support for high-risk groups. Consideration of these priority areas in future research, practice and policy will support nuanced and effective psychosocial initiatives for disaster-affected populations within the Asia Pacific region.Funding Information
- World Health Organization (2019/UHC/WKC/0015)
This publication has 59 references indexed in Scilit:
- Beyond Bushfires: Community, Resilience and Recovery - a longitudinal mixed method study of the medium to long term impacts of bushfires on mental health and social connectednessBMC Public Health, 2013
- The end of the Pacific? Effects of sea level rise on Pacific Island livelihoodsSingapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 2013
- Natural disasters and suicide: Evidence from JapanSocial Science & Medicine (1982), 2013
- Annual Research Review: Resilience and mental health in children and adolescents living in areas of armed conflict – a systematic review of findings in low‐ and middle‐income countriesJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2013
- Psychological impact of the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 on general hospital workers in KobePsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 2012
- Weighing the Costs of DisasterPsychological Science in the Public Interest, 2010
- Adherence in Internet Interventions for Anxiety and DepressionJournal of Medical Internet Research, 2009
- Hope, despair and transformation: Climate change and the promotion of mental health and wellbeingInternational Journal of Mental Health Systems, 2008
- Five Essential Elements of Immediate and Mid–Term Mass Trauma Intervention: Empirical EvidencePsychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes, 2007
- Emergency and Disaster: Pervasive Risk and Public Bureaucracy in Developing NationsPublic Organization Review, 2004