6-month booster training for FCHVs in Arjunchaupari Rural Municipality | Project INDIGO

People with mental health problems are often stigmatized and discriminated against in their local communities, creating a range of negative impacts such as social exclusion, a lack of accessibility to healthcare, and a lack of well-being. In a cultural setting like Nepal, where mental health services are newly introduced, there are other huge range of access issues, such as affordability and geographical locations, that are hindrances to the use of the service. Through Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) Nepal, project INDIGO (International Study of Discrimination and Stigma Outcome) has implemented training for female community health volunteers (FCHVs) from September 13 to 17, 2022. Besides the 4-day-long training, it was essential to have timely follow-ups to ensure the training content was understood well and to increase the referral of mentally ill patients to the health post.

Therefore, as part of the follow-up session, from May 2 to May 4, a 6-month supervision for FCHVs was conducted in the training hall of Arjunchaupari rural municipality. Sabitra Sharma, a clinical supervisor, facilitated the supervision session, while the district coordinator of Syangja, Jananee Magar, and Research Officer, Kalpana Bhattarai, supported the successful facilitation of the event. There were 19 participants who participated in the supervision session. Alongside the supervision, research work: quantitative and qualitative data collection for 18 participants, was also conducted.