World Mental Health Day Online Campaign – Pakistan (IFMSA-Pakistan)

Name of the activity: World Mental Health Day Online Campaign

Country/NMO: Pakistan (IFMSA-Pakistan)

Program: Mental Health

Contact information: [email protected]

Type of the activity: Campaign

General description:

Mental health is a very neglected field of Medicine. To make Medical Students more sensitized to the idea of mental health illness and the different scenarios they will be presented with as medical professionals the Activity aimed at having Medical Students that had experienced mental health issues themselves to share their stories with others.

Focus area:

Mental Health among medical students

Problem statement:

Around 50 million people are suffering from common mental disorders in Pakistan. The illness afflicts 15 to 35 million adults which is about 10 to 20 per cent of the population while still being both over diagnosed as well as under diagnosed in different areas of the country. Mental Health remains a hugely neglected area of Health Worldwide. Mental illnesses constitute the highest cause of global disability. Yet, access to treatment is limited by the availability and affordability of services and treatment as well as the stigma attached to mental health conditions.

Target groups and beneficiaries:

Participants: Medical Students
Target Group: Medical Students
Beneficiaries: General Public with the future Medical professionals more sensitized to mental health conditions.

Objectives and indicators of success:

1. To increase awareness of particular mental health issues.
2. To enable the medical students to inform people of mental illnesses and their different manifestations.
3. To push Medical Students forward to tasks like fund raising and holding small talk discussions to general non- Medical people they meet regarding mental health.
4. To provide accessible, confidential and effective mental health support services for all students through minimalistic storytelling
5. To have individuals acknowledge the effects of stigma on those with mental illness and work to reduce it as a professional and as an individual
6. To promote the inclusion and participation of people with mental disorders.

Methodology:

Preparatory phase:
Registrations and submission of entries. The entries comprise of thoughts, quotes, stories and personal experiences of people that suffered from mental health disorders and were open to share their experiences.
Activity Phase:
The submission were made online on Facebook keep the entries completely anonymous. The entries with the highest number of votes were given prizes are the end of the Activity.

Plans for evaluation:

The monitoring other project was done through:
– Feedback from comments and remarks on the project posts online.
– The reach of each other and the number of individuals that saw the post with Facebook insight.