Barcelona Global Health Summer School – Catalonia (AECS)

Name of the activity: Barcelona Global Health Summer School

Country/NMO: Catalonia (AECS)

Program: Mental Health

Type of the activity: Campaign

General description:

At the Barcelona Global Health Summer School 2018 we will cover how mental health challenges are being understood and addressed today, both in high-income countries, where they have been partially recognized as a key component of individuals’ well-being, and in low and middle-income countries, where they represent an emergent but urgent topic that needs to be addressed. International key experts and scholars will join us in Barcelona for an intensive week of knowledge sharing, debates of ideas and innovative solutions to improve mental health worldwide, with a special focus on most vulnerable populations.

Focus area:

Mental Health advocacy and public awareness

Problem statement:

Until not that long ago, social, political and cultural structures were perceived as stable and predictable. We are now heading to a more volatile and uncertain world dominated by narratives beyond real facts, where mental health plays a new role, as does its social and cultural construction. This is one of the main reasons why the Barcelona Global health Summer School (BGHSS) of this 2018 is going to be about mental health, under the name “mental health in the age of uncertainty”

Target groups and beneficiaries:

Target group: medical students (IFMSA network and members of AECS-Catalonia) and young professionals from different backgrounds interested in global health challenges in mental health. Beneficiaries: members of the community interacting with target groups, such as patients and colleagues.

Objectives and indicators of success:

Objectives:
To bring understanding of the social and cultural construction of mental health and its stigma.
To develop participants’ competencies in research of problems and solutions of mental health challenges.
To create a network of students and young health professionals aware of mental health role in different groups and situations.
Indicators of success: pre and post course evaluation surveys, quality of projects carried out by participants’, number of initiatives regarding mental health implemented by participants after the course ends.

Methodology:

This activity needs a compromised Organizing Committee (OC) working from one year before the course starts and until one month after it finishes. The OC consists of members of each organization involved (IFMSA, AECS and ISGlobal) and three additional volunteers. All the members of the OC interested in participate in the BGHSS have their fees covered. The support from ISGlobal is crucial to ensure the activity runs smoothly. ISGlobal has been collaborating in order to develop the program, the logistics needed for registration and payments and promotion. Medical students and recent graduates are also supporting the organization of the BGHSS. The speakers are selected and confirmed by the OC. The course price is covered by the participants’ fees.

Plans for evaluation:

Pre and post course evaluation surveys will be carried out by participants in order to assess their knowledge before the school and to check for the improvement after their attendance.
General feedback provided by participants after each session.
Assessment of the final projects carried out by participants.
Updates to the group 3, 6 and 12 months after the BGHSS in order to check for number of initiatives implemented in participants’ NMOs/countries, collaborations with medical schools, stakeholders and involvement in educational programs, NGOs projects or governmental policies.