Mental Health For All

CATEGORY: Health

Log in or register to follow or vote for this project.

The MINDS Foundation aims to eradicate the stigma surrounding mental illness and provide access to treatment for rural populations in developing countries with educational, medical, financial, and community support.

Standings & Awards

26 out of 1313 in Asia
14 out of 284 in Health
18 out of 574 in Pilot
23 out of 992 in Charitable
70 out of 4003 Overall

1

VOTES

The MINDS Foundation

We promote acceptance of mental illness as a medical condition through grassroots, community education.

Phase I: Community Education – This is the most important phase and serves as the foundation for improving access and quality of treatment. We hold educational seminars – led by a paid, local social worker and volunteer psychologist – featuring a film screening, informational pamphlets, and a teaching session in each of 18 villages in the Vadodara area of Gujarat, India. We work in partnership with village leaders to maximize the impact of each workshop. Mental Health Awareness Assessments are carried out before and after the educational seminar to provide us with ongoing feedback on the efficacy of our program. The objective is to reduce stigmatization of mental illness, encouraging communities to recognize it as a medical condition. This process has begun to create a receptive community in which patients can receive strong local support.

Phase II: Treatment – A combined effort with two objectives: diagnose sick individuals and provide them with access to quality counseling and treatment, entirely free. Data from a Mental Health Indicator Survey administered by our social worker helps us approximate the number of people needing treatment. Most patients are either referred to us by village leaders, or seek our help directly after they or their family attends an educational seminar. We divide the villages into groups by geographic location and provide transportation every 15 days to each village cluster, so that patients can access medical treatment at our partner hospital in Vadodara. Patients will also be referred to psychiatrists and psychologists at partnering private practices in the region for free counseling beyond this bi-monthly service. We emphasize holistic, individualized treatment plans, but also cover the costs of medication for patients in need.

Phase III: Reintegration – We make sure that patients in recovery can succeed in their communities. Fostering acceptance of mental illness makes this task easier. We support this objective with ongoing community rehab programs focusing on yoga, gardening, and traditional crafts. Patients can also become an educational resource for new ones, taking on the duties of our social worker and serving as an example that it is possible to lead a normal life. Our program has no true end, but is a sustainable cycle that can be continued entirely with local support, allowing our team to focus on other areas of need.

Support Your Idea Optional (5 - 7 minutes for three uploads)

Supporting Document:

MINDS 2011 Annual Report

Field Program Details

MINDS In the Press

Roadmap to Success Optional (1 - 3 minutes to upload)

Roadmap to Success:

roadmap_to_success.pdf

Sponsors, Investors, and Supporters

FIVE PROJECT QUESTIONS Required (60 - 90 minutes)

1. What is your innovation?

Our innovation is our grassroots approach to mental health care and our focus on using education to reduce stigma. We work to change the way rural communities in developing countries perceive and address mental illness. To improve access to medical treatment for these areas, we integrate a mental health component into rural primary care clinics rather than building infrastructure. Through reintegration, we hope to empower patients in recovery to contribute meaningfully to their communities.

2. Who gains the most?

Our goal is to educate and provide treatment for a region of 18 villages surrounding the city of Vadodara, a total population of around 10,000. In six months, Phase I has directly impacted over 2,000 individuals (20%), although countless more have likely benefited from the education of their peers. Surveys administered before and after educational seminars show the efficacy of our program (see attached document). Phase II began 2/1/12, and we have yet to receive concrete data on its impact.

3. Who pays?

To date, our funding has come entirely from individual donors and two foundations, although we are actively seeking grants, corporate partnerships and other major sources. 50 cents = education for one person $60 = transportation for patients from five villages to see psychiatrists from our partner hospital $100 = hires a clinical psychologist for a day of diagnosis $200 = pays the salary of a local social worker for one month $240 = funds medical treatment for one patient for one year

4. What is your success?

In the next year, continuing education and the launch of reintegration programs will continue to promote mental health awareness, leading to a change in how communities, not just individuals, approach mental illness. Within 3 years we will have done extensive research on our methods and will replicate our program in another rural community in India. In 5 years we will expand to other regions of South Asia where cultural similarities will ensure the efficacy of our program with little alteration.

5. How will you do it?

Our focus on continuing education, patient reintegration, and communication with village leaders should impact a significant proportion of the population and change the perception of mental illness at a community level. Constant metrical analysis helps us make adjustments to maximize scope of our impact. Ongoing research projects within local populations help us to improve the quality of treatment. Finally, we will continue to pursue funding to ensure the financial stability of our program.