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CON dean helps launch mental health curriculum
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Gail W. Stuart, Ph.D., R.N., College of Nursing dean, returned from
Africa where she developed and launched a mental health curriculum for
health care officials in Monrovia, Liberia. Stuart was recently tapped
by the Carter Center to lead a mental health workshop to aid efforts to
develop a mental health component of training for mid-level providers
for Liberia’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
 Dr. Gail Stuart,
back row second from left, led a three-day mental health workshop that
trained 32 Liberian health care workers.
The trip was a
project of the Carter Center’s Liberia Mental Health Initiative that
will help improve access to mental health care. The initiative will
assist the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to implement the
national mental health plan, a set of priorities and goals established
by the Liberian government to improve access to mental health services
in the country. Among the activities, the Carter Center will help
create training systems for mental health professionals, such as
nurses; develop support systems for family caregivers; and work to
reduce stigma and discrimination against people with mental illnesses.
Stuart led the three-day workshop that trained 32 Liberian health care
workers on mental health care. The participants (mostly nurses,
physician assistants, educators and government officials,
non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders) came from five
Liberian schools of nursing and one school for physician assistants.
“I am thrilled to have been asked to develop a framework for this
curriculum and, in conjunction with committed Liberians, we are writing
the content of the courses. Liberia is increasing the capacity of the
health care delivery system to respond to the mental health needs of
its citizens,” said Stuart.
Stuart is a veteran nurse educator and leader in mental health policy
in the United States. She is a fellow of the American Academy of
Nursing, past President of the American College of Mental Health
Administration, the past President of the American Psychiatric Nurses
Association and the Chair of the Board of the Annapolis Coalition on
the Behavioral Health Workforce in the United States. She has written a
seminal textbook on mental health nursing, Principles and Practice of
Psychiatric Nursing.
The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy
Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory
University, to advance peace and health worldwide. A nongovernmental
organization, the center has helped to improve life for people in more
than 70 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy and human
rights; preventing diseases; improving mental health care; and teaching
farmers to increase crop production. The center has a long-standing
relationship with the government of Liberia. Through its Peace Program,
it identified the need for mental health capacity development and has
worked with the Ministry of Health to plan for its Mental Health
program.
Friday, Dec. 10, 2010
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